What do I do if I receive a CCJ Claim

If you receive a County Court Judgement claim, you should always respond to it straight away. You will have 19 days from the issue date stated on the front of the form to respond to the claim. If you ignore it a CCJ may be issued against you without further notice.

You will have four response options:
 

Option 1:  I agree I owe the money and want to pay it straight away

If this is the case, you should take or send the money including any interest and costs to the address for payment on the front of the claim within 19 days of the issue date.

If you do this, the debt will be settled and a CCJ will not be issued.
 
For more information continue reading below.

Option 2: I agree I owe the money but cannot pay it straight away

If this is the case, you must complete the Admission Form (From N9A) and return it directly to the claimant or the address for sending documents shown on the front of the claim form.

The Admission Form allows you provide details about your personal financial circumstances so that the Court can understand how much you can reasonable pay towards your debt each month.

A County Court Judgement will then be issued against you based on payments you can afford.

You must return the Admission form within 19 days of the date the Claim was issued. If you do not, a CCJ may be issued against you without further notice based on an amount that you cannot afford to pay.

The Admission form must be completed correctly. If it is not then the court may ask you to pay more than you can afford each month.

Option 3: I disagree with part of the claim

If you disagree with the amount that it is claimed you owe, you do have the opportunity to make a defence against the claim. 

You must complete both the Admission Form (From N9A) and the Defence Form (N9B) and return them both to the Court where the claim was issued

You must return both the Admission form (N9A) and the Defence Form (N9B) within 19 days of the date the Claim was issued. If you do not, a CCJ may be issued against you without further notice based on an amount originally claimed.
The court will then review your counter claim and decide whether the claim should be upheld or thrown out. 

 
Option 4: I disagree with the whole claim

If you believe that you do not owe what is claimed, you do have the opportunity to give a defence against the claim and raise a counter claim against the claimant. 

You must send the Acknowledgement of Service form (N9) to the court with 19 days if the issue date. You must then make sure you send a defence to the court no later than 33 days from the issue date.

If you do not, a CCJ may be issued against you without further notice based on an amount originally claimed.

The court will then review your counter claim and decide whether the claim should be upheld or thrown out.