The County Court Judgement (CCJ)

If your case has gone to court, and it is proved you owe the money claimed, the court will issue an order saying you must repay the debt. This order is called the CCJ and will be for the amount agreed by you and the creditor or, if there is no agreement an amount set by the court.
If you have judgements from more than one creditor , the court can combine your debts and make an administration order, which means you must make a single payment every month to be shared amongst your creditors.

Who do I Pay?

You must the creditor or a representative who will accept payments on there behalf. Usually a debt collection agency or a solicitor.

Paying the Claimant

I Can't Pay!!!

If you don't pay the creditor can ask the court to make you pay and this will entail more costs. If you genuinely can't pay, even in instalments, you can ask to court to review the judgement and have:
a) the instalments changed to an amount you can afford.
or
b) Suspend the order until you can afford to pay.

Help!!! I Can't Pay

The CCJ Record

If you pay the amount within one month the judgement will not be recorded. Otherwise your CCJ will be recorded on the Register of County Court Judgements for six years.
Banks, building societies, credit card companies and other lenders check this register before deciding to lend you money.

How Does it Effect My Credit Rating?


I Don't Agree With the CCJ

If you don't agree with the judgement you can ask the court to set it aside and not to immediately apply the CCJ. You may have to pay a fee and must have a genuine reason to do this. If you don't have a genuine reason this could viewed by the court as wasting its' time or even perjury. These are very serious offences and can incur fines or even prison sentences.
A set aside will mean the claim is heard again, things go back to the beginning and you will have another chance to reply to the claim form. The CCJ is removed from the Register until a new judgement is made.

Applying to have a judgement set aside can be a complicated matter and considering the implications of a false claim you should seek good and sound legal advice before doing this.

I Didn't Receive a Claim Form

If the court didn't recieve your claim form the claimant would have asked for a judgement by default. You will be sent a judgement with the heading 'in default'.
If you have been sent a judgement 'in default', but did not get a claim form, you can ask for the judgement to be set aside, asking the judgement to be cancelled. However,you can only do this if you think you do not owe the money.
If uncertain seek good and sound legal advice before proceeding.

You Cannot Ignore The Judgement

If you have a CCJ you cannot ignore it, it will not go away. You must do something about it, even if you cannot afford the amount you have been ordered to pay.
If you do not pay anything, or do not keep up payments the claimant will ask the court to take further steps to enforce the judgement. This could mean further court fees.
Your local county court can give you a copy of the leaflet 'I cannot pay my judgement- what do I do?'