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Being issued with a County Court Judgment (CCJ) can be daunting, especially if you’ve never been subjected to legal action for a debt, so it’s important to know what to expect from the process, including how long it will stay on your credit file.
Most CCJs will stay on your credit file for a total of six years from the date of issue, but several factors can impact how long a CCJ stays on your credit file and continues to affect the financial decisions you make.
What is a CCJ?
A CCJ is a type of court order that a creditor can take out against you in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for repeatedly failing to repay money you owe.
When someone is unable to keep up with repayments on a debt and has failed to reach an agreement with their creditor to make up for the missed payments, they may be informed of an upcoming CCJ in the form of a warning letter at least 14 days before action is taken.
Knowing how a CCJ works is crucial to knowing what to expect from the process and how it is likely to impact your credit score and any future financial decisions you make.
How long will a CCJ stay on my credit file?
Each credit reference agency (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) will record a CCJ on your credit file on the date it was issued, where it will stay for six years.
The CCJ will stay on your credit file for six years regardless of whether it is repaid partially, fully, or not at all during this time.
Once six years have passed, credit reference agencies will be informed and the CCJ will be removed from your credit file, partially improving your credit score.
There are steps you can take to gradually rebuild your credit score and improve your chances of being approved for further credit down the line.
There will be no evidence of the CCJ on your credit file after six years and lenders won’t know unless they ask. Some lenders will ask if you’ve ever had a CCJ when reviewing credit applications, even after it has been removed. When this happens, you must be open and honest about your financial struggles.
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How will a CCJ affect my credit rating?
When a CCJ is added to your credit report, it will automatically lower your credit score.
Having a CCJ on your credit file means you have failed to keep up with debt repayments or defaulted on other credit agreements in the past and there is a chance you could do so again.
Banks and building societies check your credit history when deciding whether to approve you for a loan, mortgage, or even a bank account, and evidence of a CCJ can negatively affect your creditworthiness.
Other organisations and individuals, such as a potential employer, landlord, letting agent, or insurance company, may also check your credit report and having a CCJ can make these processes much more complicated and time-consuming than they need to be.
Will a CCJ be recorded anywhere else?
As well as being added to your credit report, a CCJ will also be recorded on a public database from the Registry Trust known as the Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines for a total of six years.
The only instances in which a CCJ won’t be added to the public register are:
- If you pay the full amount within one calendar month of the CCJ being issued
- If you successfully dispute the CCJ and get it cancelled by proving it was issued in error
Because it is a public register, your name, address, amount owed, and case and court number can be accessed by anyone for a small fee.
The only information not publicly available is the creditor you owe money to.
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Can you get a CCJ removed from your credit report?
Having a CCJ on your credit report can be disastrous for any future financial plans you have.
However, there are some instances in which you may be able to get it removed from your credit file before the six-year period is up, including:
Pay the full amount within a month
The quickest and easiest way to get a CCJ removed from your credit report is to pay the full amount within a month of it being issued.
With this option, the CCJ will also be removed from the Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines.
This is the best option if you admit to owing the money and are in a position to repay the full amount as it will be as if the CCJ never existed.
Even if you don’t agree to owing the money, paying the full amount within a month, especially if it’s only a small amount, can prevent you from being restricted to years of poor credit and limited financial options.
Wait six years
After six years, a CCJ will be automatically removed from your credit report regardless of whether you have paid it partially, fully, or not at all.
However, during this time, the creditor can still take further legal action to enforce the CCJ. This could be in the form of bailiff action or an alternative court order to recover the amount owed. For this reason, it is risky to wait six years for a CCJ to drop off from your credit report.
Apply to have it set aside
Where you haven’t acknowledged or put in a defence for a CCJ, it is still known as a default judgment and the court has the power to get it set aside.
Simply contact the court that issued the CCJ to find out whether it is a default judgment.
Getting a CCJ set aside is a relatively straightforward process, but your application will only be granted if you have a real prospect of defending the claim and there is a good reason that it should be set aside.
For example, the court will usually agree to set aside a CCJ if the creditor should have known that you had moved and didn’t try to find your current address or consider an alternative means of ensuring you receive the CCJ. Similarly, if you can prove you gave the creditor your new address before the claim was issued but it was still delivered to the wrong address, there is a good chance the court will agree to set the CCJ aside.
Can I ignore a CCJ?
Having a CCJ can put further strain on your finances, and it can be tempting to just ignore it and hope it goes away.
However, ignoring a CCJ can lead to further legal action being issued against you and this could end up having a worse impact on your finances in the long term than if you were to just respond to the original CCJ.
Even if you know you can’t afford to repay the debt, responding can give you the opportunity to explain your financial situation and negotiate an alternative payment plan that everyone can agree on.
Some of the consequences that may arise for failure to act on a CCJ include:
- Being issued with a type of arrestment where the unpaid debt is taken directly from your wages before you receive it
- High Court enforcement officers being sent to your home to ask you to repay the total amount owed
- Bailiffs visiting your home to seize goods equal to the value of the unpaid debt
