CCJs

[robshaw]

CCJs are judgments made against a person or company for debt in the county court.  When a CCJ is paid in full within 30 days of the date of judgment it does not appear in the credit register.  CCJs are catalogued and held for 6 years with the Registry Trust, therefore they are a matter of public record.  Having a CCJ against you could mean that you are turned down for future loans, or could be expected to pay a higher rate than other customers.  Have you had a CCJ upheld against you?  If so, what impact has a CCJ had on your life?

[Derek]

In some cases a CCJ can be a good thing. As a single father to four on benefits with debts of £7,000, I was struggling to pay them off. I wrote to each company and explained that I was no longer in work and had no way of paying off any more than a small amount each month. While 4 of the companies I owed money to accepted this, one rejected my offer and kept hassling me with demands to pay more and threatening to take me to court. I was really scared as I did not want to appear in court and be lumped with the stigma of a CCJ. However, it got to the point where we ended up in court, where I made an offer to pay just £1 a month. Regarding my situation the court accepted this, which was a huge relief to me and took a massive wieght off my mind. Although I will have the CCJ on my credit file for 6 years,  I have no plans to take out any credit during this time anyway as it will take me at least 7 years to pay back my current debts. For me a CCJ signalled the end of threatening letters and hostility from my creditor and I came out feeling like I had won.

[robshaw]

Well done Derek, it sounds like you are getting your finances under control and have taken the sensible option not taking any more loans out for thenext few years. CCJs do have a lot of bad press and many people do not understand them. In many cases, going to court does not even result in a CCJ. The court may decide that the debt is unfair so you do not have to pay it and will not have a mark on your credit report. Also, if you repay the money owed within a month of your court appearance, you will not be hit with a CCJ. Keep up the good work Derek.

[HelenJames]

I think this topic was already mentioned at this forum