County Court Judgments
This blog concerns County Court Judgments (CCJs) and explains what they are, how they might affect your ability to obtain credit (particularly mortgages) and what actions you can take to mitigate the impact of CCJs on your credit bureau record.
What is a CCJ?
A CCJ is a court order registered against you if you fail to repay money that you owe. Sometimes the order might be made as the consequence of a misunderstanding or mistake but most commonly because you have neglected to make payments for a debt in the due time.
What is the impact of a CCJ?
I am posting this blog because CCJs occasionally arise in connection with a mortgage application which my firm is submitting on behalf of a client. However the existence of a CCJ could also adversely affect your ability to obtain other types of credit – for example a car loan or a mobile phone agreement.
How will a prospective lender know?
Once the judgment is made against you in the court an entry will appear on your credit bureau record and will remain there for 6 years unless settled in full within 1 month of the judgment being made. See the section below headed Certificate of Cancellation.
Otherwise the judgment will show on your credit bureau record for 6 years even if you have settled the amount due more than 1 month after the judgment was made. See also the section below headed Certificate of Satisfaction. The existence of a County Court Judgment even when satisfied may adversely affect your ability to obtain credit and with most mainstream mortgage lenders might result in a mortgage application being declined.
Certificate of Cancellation
If you pay the full amount of the judgment within 1 month of the court date you can get a judgment removed from the register. You will need to write to the court, say that you have paid in full the amount due and will need to send proof of payment from the business or person to whom you owed the money. The judgment will then be removed from the register.
Certificate of Satisfaction
If you settle the debt later than 1 month after the judgment was made you can apply to the court to obtain a Certificate of Satisfaction which might be useful when applying for credit during the succeeding 6 years.
You can apply for a Certificate of Satisfaction by downloading and completing form N443 and then submitting it to the court where the judgment was made. Again you will need to send proof of payment from the person or business to whom you owe money. You will also need to send a cheque for £14 made payable to HMCTS or make payment by card by contacting the court where the judgment was made.
Mortgage Applications
Many mainstream mortgage lenders are unwilling to accept applications from customers who have had a county court judgment registered against them unless the amount of the judgment was for a small amount (usually less than £250 or so), has been settled or it can be demonstrated that the judgment was made as the consequence of a genuine misunderstanding.
Even if the majority of lenders are unwilling to accept an application where a CCJ exists there are others who specialise in lending to customers who for whatever reason may have a CCJ showing on their credit bureau record.
If you anticipate applying for a mortgage and believe that you might have a CCJ registered against you then as a first step you might wish to have sight of your credit bureau record before going to the expense of making a mortgage application. You can sign up for a 30 day free trial by going to www.checkmyfile.com
Finally we at Michael Forward Financial Services Ltd have experience in handling mortgage applications on behalf of clients who have had CCJs registered against them or have other adverse credit history. For more information contact:
Heidi Spencer heidi@michaelforward.co.uk 07851 836 362
Michael Forward michael@michaelforward.co.uk 01604 635 435
Every care has been taken in preparing this blog but further information regarding CCJs can be obtained from the government website by typing County Court Judgments into your search bar.