How will a CCJ affect me?

Paying the CCJ

If you get a county court judgement this is a court order stating that you owe a debt and that you must pay it.

The CCJ will state that you should either pay the debt in full straight away or you may be required to make regular payments each month towards the debt based on what the court thinks you can afford.

If you are required to make monthly payments, a CCJ can actually be an advantage for you as once the judgement is in place, as long as you maintain the payments, the creditor can no longer take further action against you to collect the debt they are owed.

For more information about how a CCJ will affect you continue reading below.

How will a CCJ affect my credit rating?

If you receive a county court judgement, this will be recorded on your credit file.

The record of the CCJ will remain on your credit file for six years. During this time, if anyone carries out a credit check on you they will see that you have had a county court judgement and be less likely to offer you additional credit.

Is interest added to a CCJ once issued?

Generally speaking, once a CCJ has been issued, no further interest will be added to your debt. HOwever there are some instances where either contractural or statutory interest will continue to be added. For more information about this see: Can interest be added to a CCJ?

What happens if I do not pay a CCJ?

You should not ignore a County Court Judgement. If you do so and do not pay it, your creditor then has the right to carry out further actions against you to recover their debt.

Homeowners - If you are a home owner, the creditor can go back to the Court and apply for a charging order against your property. If this is granted, the debt will become secured against your home.

It is unlikely that you will then be forced to sell your home. However eventually when do decide to sell, the debt plus interest will be paid in full before you receive any equity left over.

Renting - If you are renting your property, the creditor can go back to the court and apply for an Attachment of Earnings. If granted, this means that your employer will have to take money from your wages to make payments towards your debt before paying you.