When you’re issued with a County Court Judgment (CCJ), it will be added to your credit report for a total of six years. Once six years have passed, it will be automatically removed from your credit file and you’ll be free to move on with your life.
However, some lenders will still ask if you’ve ever had a CCJ, and it’s important to be honest about any debt problems you’ve recently faced. Lying about your financial history could be considered a misrepresentation of facts or fraud.
What is a CCJ?
A County Court Judgment (CCJ) is a court order in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that might be issued against you by someone you owe money to (a creditor) if you continually fail to repay a debt. It’s essentially a legal document outlining how the debt should be repaid.
CCJs are usually only used as a last resort when a creditor doesn’t think you’ll repay the money owed without court intervention. If the court agrees with your creditor, they’ll either issue a CCJ forthwith (where you pay the debt upfront) or a CCJ in instalments (where you make monthly payments until the debt is repaid).
Once you’ve been served with a CCJ, you’ll receive a letter in the post. However, you’ll always be given various opportunities to provide information about your financial situation and pay the debt before a CCJ is officially issued.
A CCJ is often called a liability order, but they are not the same. While liability orders are usually reserved for council tax arrears, CCJs can be used for a wide range of debts.
How much debt do you have?
How does a CCJ work?
The CCJ process usually involves the same set of steps, regardless of provider. Here is a brief explanation of what to expect when your creditor applies for a CCJ against you:
Letter of claim
The first step in the CCJ process is being issued with a letter of claim or claim letter. This is a document outlining how much you owe, how to make payment, the deadline for paying, and to whom payment should be made.
It will come with a reply form attached, which will ask for details of your income, expenditure, and other debts. The form must be completed and returned to the court within 30 days of receiving it.
Even if there’s no way you can afford to repay the debt, you must respond and provide the court with details of your financial situation. Ignoring a letter of claim will result in further legal action being brought against you.
Default notice
If you fail to respond to a letter of claim within 30 days, you’ll be issued with a default notice. This is essentially a document warning you that your account is at risk of defaulting and legal action will commence if you don’t make up for the missed payments within 14 days.
For credit agreements regulated by the Consumer Credit Act (1974), you must legally be sent a default notice at least 14 days before any action is taken. This includes things like credit cards, personal loans, store cards, catalogues, and overdrafts.
The 14-day period after receiving a default notice will likely be your last chance to negotiate repayment of the debt before a CCJ is lodged with the court.
Claim form
Ignoring any attempts at trying to settle the debt will see you receiving a CCJ claim form in the post. Responding to the claim form with details of your financial situation within 14 days can allow them to set your repayments at a rate you can comfortably afford.
The claim form will come with several forms attached. The one you complete and return depends on whether or not you agree to owing the debt.
If you plan to repay the debt through the CCJ, it’s crucial you respond to the claim form. Ignoring the claim form means the court has no way of knowing you’re on a low income and you might be issued a CCJ forthwith where you’re ordered to pay the full amount upfront.
How long will a CCJ stay on my credit report?
From the moment you’re given a CCJ, it will be added to your credit report from each of the main credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion) for six years. During this time, your credit rating will be significantly lower as it indicates that you’re struggling financially and have failed to come to an agreement over how to settle the debt.
Having a CCJ on your credit report will mean lenders can see it when you apply for any form of credit (e.g. a loan, mortgage, credit card, phone contract, and even a bank account). Some landlords and employers might also check your credit file, but this is rare.
However, as well as being added to your credit file, your CCJ will also be added to a public register from the Registry Trust called the Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines for six years. This is an online database that can be viewed by anyone for a small fee, but it is usually only accessed by lenders, landlords and employers.
The only way to stop a CCJ from being recorded on a debtor’s credit history is to repay the debt in full within one month of receiving it. Otherwise, the CCJ will stay on your credit report for six years before being automatically removed.
If you repay the debt after the first month, it will be marked as ‘satisfied’ on your credit file but it won’t be removed until six years have passed. Because of this, it’s always recommended to repay the CCJ within the first month if you can.
The good news is, the impact of a CCJ will gradually decrease over time as your CCJ ages and you make payments as agreed. There are various other things you can do to rebuild your credit score, such as registering to vote at your current address, avoiding further credit, and paying your bills on time.
Do you have to declare a CCJ after 6 years?
Since a CCJ will typically be removed from your credit report and the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines after six years, it’s not a legal requirement to declare it to lenders if you apply for credit after this time.
Most lenders are only interested in the last six years of your financial history. So if six years have passed and the CCJ has been removed, there’s not usually a need to declare it – either formally or informally.
However, if it’s been more than six years since you were issued with the CCJ, it’s important to confirm that it has been removed from your credit file. If the CCJ is still visible despite being more than six years old, it could affect your ability to get credit.
Some lenders might also ask if you’ve ever had a CCJ and it’s important to be honest – even if it’s been more than six years. This likely won’t affect their decision to give you credit, but it can help them get a clearer picture of your financial situation.
If you’re asked about a CCJ that’s more than six years old, you’re perfectly entitled to ask why the lender wants to know about your financial history beyond this point and potentially seek professional advice if you feel you’re being unfairly treated for a debt that’s no longer relevant.
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Will the debt be written off after the CCJ is removed from my credit file?
While a CCJ will be automatically removed from a debtor’s credit record after six years regardless of whether it’s paid or not, this doesn’t stop the debt from being enforced.
Most debts become ‘statute-barred’ after six years. This means that if there’s no contact between you and the lender and the debt isn’t paid or acknowledged for six years, the time limit for taking legal action against you runs out.
This time period (known as the limitation period) applies to all unsecured debts (e.g. credit cards, council tax, overdrafts, and benefits overpayments) and credit agreements regulated by the Consumer Credit Act (1974).
However, as soon as a CCJ has been issued, this changes how the debt is viewed in the eyes of the law. CCJ debts are exempt from becoming statute barred, meaning you can be chased for payment indefinitely by the creditor or county court or high court enforcement officers.
The lender might need to apply for permission from the court to continue chasing the debt after six years, but the fact that a CCJ has been issued does not automatically mean it has been written off.
What happens if you stop making CCJ payments towards the end of the 6-year period?
If the CCJ is nearing the end of the six-year period, it can be tempting to stop making payments under the belief that the debt will become statute barred in a few months anyway. However, this isn’t a good idea.
From the moment you stop making payments towards a CCJ, the lender can apply to the court for further legal action to be taken against you – even if the CCJ is due to expire soon.
For example, this might lead to you being served with an attachment of earnings order, which is a court order that tells your employer to deduct a set amount from your wages each month until the debt is repaid.
Another common outcome of not paying a CCJ is being given a third-party debt order. This freezes the money held in your bank account equal to the money owed and deducts it for debt repayment.
Alternatively, the creditor might send enforcement officers to your home to recover the money directly from you or seize items equal to your outstanding balance. When this happens, extra fees can be added to your debt and you might need to give up valuable assets, including your car.
How do I find out if a CCJ has been made against me?
There’s a few things you can do to find out if a CCJ has been made against you.
Firstly, you can search for your name on the Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines for a small fee. This will show you if you have any active court judgments in your name, including any CCJs.
Secondly, you can get a free copy of your credit report from any of the main credit reference agencies. This will let you know if you’ve had any CCJs issued against you in the last six years.
It is possible to have a CCJ without knowing, but you’ll always be sent various reminders to pay the debt before it’s officially lodged. The CCJ will also be picked up on if you apply for credit within six years of receiving it as most lenders will be wary of lending to anyone with a recent court judgment.
Conclusion
Most lenders will only ask about your financial records from the past six years. Since a CCJ is removed from your credit file and the official Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines after this time, you don’t have to legally declare a CCJ if it’s no longer visible.
However, if a lender asks if you’ve ever had a CCJ, you may need to declare an old CCJ, even if it’s been several years and it’s been removed from your credit record. This shouldn’t affect the outcome of their decision, but you have a right to ask why they need these details.
CCJ debts are exempt from becoming statute barred, meaning that if you’ve received a CCJ, the creditor can continue to chase you indefinitely. Because of this, it’s always advised to pay a CCJ if you can.
