UK Credit Problems - CCJ

A CCJ or County Court Judgement is the term for a judgement made against a person or company for defaulting on debt or debts. The CCJ judgement is passed in a County Court.

Genarally if a CCJ is paid in full within 30 days of the date of the judgement it will not appear on the credit register, this means it would not affect your credit status, however should a judgement be settled after that period it will be entered into the public record and it will affect your credit rating.

 

Who are likely to apply for CCJ's:

Creditors - Companies who provide you services like electricity, gas, water, internet connection, or businesses and retail outlets that have allowed you products on credit.
Lenders - Companies that have actually lent you money and credit card companies.
Local Authorities - Landlords, If you are in Arrears, have defaulted on rent payments or have not payed council tax bills a CCJ could be bought against you.

Consequences of having a CCJ against you:

A CCJ will be recorded on your credit file and it will adversely affect your credit rating. You will find it more difficult to get a credit card, loan, mortgage or any type of finance in the future as any lender will check your credit history before they agree to lend to you. You will also incur costs for having a CCJ bought against you as you have to pay the creditors court costs.

The only small benefit to you:

Your creditors will stop adding interest to the amount you currently owe them and the court will decide on a repayment plan. So long as you keep up the payments that the court decide on, you should have no more problems with your creditors.

However, remember - If you don’t keep up the arranged payments the creditor could call in the bailiffs. A CCJ against your name will adversely affect future applications for credit.