County Court Judgment

In England and Wales (Scotland has its own legal system), County Court Judgments (CCJs) are legal decisions handed down by County Courts. Judgments for monetary sums are entered on the Register of County Court Judgments, which is checked by credit reference agencies to assess the credit-worthiness of individuals.

If the debtor continues to default on a CCJ, the creditor may apply for a charging order, which would secure the debt on a property. Creditors can also apply for an attachment of earnings which would oblige the debtor's employer to deduct monies from their salary and send them to the court. A Third Party Debt order would oblige a third party who holds money belonging to the debtor (for example a bank) to pay the debt. It is also possible to have the court appoint a County Court Bailiff to collect the debt. A Bailiff is an official of court and has the power to seize goods and sell them at auction to settle a debt.

A County Court Judgment will have a very negative impact on your credit rating and make it near impossible for you to gain any form of regular credit or finance for at least six years. The only forms of credit and finance that you can expect to be accepted for would be those credit facilities designed for the sub-prime credit sector. These include things like Payday Loans.

After a CCJ has been registered against you it will then be recorded on your credit file. If you pay the full amount owed under the CCJ within 28 days of it being registered on your credit file then you can apply to have the CCJ removed from your credit file.

If you pay the full amount owed under the CCJ anytime after the first 28 days of the CCJ be registered against you then the CCJ will still remain on your credit file but it will be marked as 'Satisfied'. A CCJ which has been marked as 'satisfied' is not as bad as a CCJ which remains unpaid but it will still impact on your credit file in a negative way.

If you make regular payments to repay the amount owed under the CCJ then this will be recorded on your credit file and will go some to way to lessen the negative impact that a CCJ has on your credit rating.

External links

• CCJ information
• How a CCJ affects your credit rating^{[dead link]}