Checking whether you have a County Court Judgement (CCJ) is important in managing your finances and credit rating. A CCJ is a legal order made by the county court requiring that you pay back the money you owe to someone else, usually a creditor or lender. With this in mind, it’s essential to understand how to check if you have a CCJ and what to do when one is issued. To help ensure that your finances stay on track, this article will provide readers with a step-by-step guide on how to check for a CCJ, explain what happens when a CCJ is issued, and provide tips for dealing with it.
What's Included?
How do you find out what a CCJ is for?
One of the first steps in understanding whether or not you have a County Court Judgement (CCJ) is to find out what it is for. To do so, you should check the public register of CCJs, which is available online at http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/registers.
If you do have a CCJ, you should contact the court where your case was heard to obtain more information about it. You can also contact the creditor or lender who issued the CCJ and ask them for details of your debt.
What happens when a CCJ is issued?
Once a CCJ is issued, it will be recorded on your credit file for six years, affecting your ability to get credit in the future. It will also appear on public registers like the Register of County Court Judgements (RCCJ). This means that other lenders may be able to see that you have a CCJ, even if you don’t tell them about it.
When a CCJ is issued, the court will also issue an enforcement notice. This order requires that you pay a certain amount of money back to your creditor or lender by a certain date. If you do not comply with this order, your creditor or lender can take legal action against you.
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Check if you qualifyHow long do County Court Judgments last?
A County Court Judgement (CCJ) will remain on your credit file for six years from the date it was issued. This means that it will be visible to any lenders or creditors who check your credit file during this time. It also means that other lenders may be able to see that you have a CCJ, even if you don’t tell them about it.
Who can see your CCJs?
CCJs, or County Court Judgements, are public records which can be accessed by anyone. This means that any potential lenders or creditors who check your credit file can see if you have a CCJ. Additionally, other companies may also be able to access this information, such as debt collection companies, credit reference agencies and even employers.
Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines
The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines (ROJOF) is a public register that contains information about County Court Judgements (CCJs), High Court Judgements, Bankruptcy Restriction Orders and Undertakings, Individual Voluntary Arrangements and other financial orders made by the courts in England and Wales. The register is available for anyone to search and can be accessed at https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/101503.
Credit report
Your credit report is a record of your financial activity, and it contains, amongst many other details, information about any County Court Judgements (CCJs) that have been issued against you. This report is compiled by three major credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can access a copy of your credit report at any time to check for CCJs, as well as to check for any other potential problems that may have an impact on your credit rating.
It is important to regularly check your credit report for accuracy and discrepancies, as errors can significantly impact your ability to gain access to credit at favourable terms.
How to find CCJs via the credit reference agencies
The major credit reference agencies in the United Kingdom – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – all offer services to allow individuals to check for County Court Judgements (CCJs) on their credit report. Checking for CCJs is important in managing your financial health and credit score.
When accessing your credit report through one of these agencies, you should look for a ‘public record’ section – this is where CCJs will be listed if any have been issued against you. Additionally, you can also view information about any other financial orders that may have been made against you in the public register (such as Bankruptcy Restriction Orders or Undertakings).
How to check for a County Court Judgment (CCJ) online
The TrustOnline website allows the public to check for any County Court Judgements that have been issued against them. This resource is run by the Registry Trust, a not-for-profit organisation that collects and stores information from local county courts in England, Wales and Scotland.
By visiting the TrustOnline website, individuals can search for any CCJs that have been issued against them by entering their name, date of birth and postcode. The site will then provide a results list with information about the County Court Judgement (including its amount, date, court location and more). It also allows individuals to challenge incorrect or outdated information on the register by filing an objection online.
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Can I get a CCJ without knowing?
Getting a County Court Judgement (CCJ) without knowing is possible. This can happen if you have an outstanding debt that you haven’t been able to resolve with your creditor or lender.
In such cases, the creditor or lender will usually try and contact you several times to recover the debt, but if all attempts fail, they may decide to take legal action and issue a CCJ against you.
If this happens without your knowledge, it is likely that the CCJ will show up when you next check your credit report, as it is added to the public register of judgments and orders. It’s therefore important to regularly check your credit report to ensure all the information there is correct and up-to-date.
Can I remove a CCJ from my credit report?
Your credit report will remain tainted by a CCJ for six years from the date it was issued, regardless of whether or not you have paid off the debt. However, if you have paid off the debt in full within one month of the CCJ being issued, then you may be able to apply for this to be “satisfied” and removed from your credit report.
To do this, you must contact the court where the CCJ was issued and provide proof of payment. You can then ask for a ‘Certificate of Satisfaction’, which should be sent to each of the three credit reference agencies to get the CCJ removed from your credit report.
Paying the CCJ in full within a month
Paying a County Court Judgement (CCJ) in full within one month will mean it doesn’t appear on your credit report. After all, the CCJ will remain on your public record for six years, even after you’ve repaid the debt, so it’s best to take action as soon as possible. When paying the CCJ in full, you should always make sure to keep a record of your payment and get proof from the court that it has been paid – this may take the form of a ‘Certificate of Satisfaction’ or an acknowledgement letter from the court. You can then use this to contact the three credit reference agencies and have the CCJ removed from your credit report.
Paying the CCJ in full after 30 days
Paying a County Court Judgement (CCJ) in full after 30 days can still positively impact your credit score. Although the CCJ will remain on your public record for six years, paying it off within this time period will show lenders that you are taking responsibility for your debt. It also demonstrates that you can manage your finances, which can help increase your credit score in the long run.
Setting aside the judgement
Setting aside a County Court Judgement (CCJ) can be done if you believe there are valid reasons why it shouldn’t have been issued in the first place. This includes if the debt has already been paid, if you weren’t properly served court papers or if the amount of money being claimed is wrong.
Waiting six years
Waiting six years for a County Court Judgement (CCJ) to fall off your credit report can be long, but it is the only way to remove the negative impact on your credit score. During this time, lenders will consider the CCJ when assessing your creditworthiness, so it’s important to ensure that your credit score is kept in a good state. This means making all your payments on time and keeping any outstanding debts to a minimum.
Additionally, you should check your credit report regularly – at least once every four months – to ensure the CCJ has been removed as soon as it expires.
