Information About CCJs In The UK

September 15th, 2011 | Posted in Credit Card Debt

CCJs in the UK stand for County Court Judgments. When you owe somebody money for a product or service that you have received and you do not pay it back, they can apply for a CCJ against you. This is a legal proceeding, run by a County Court, to determine whether or not the money is owed, and if it is, to get it paid back to the creditor.

Any of these that go through the system in England and Wales will show on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. Other parts of the UK have their own systems. The Register was set up by parliament during the eighteen hundreds and has expanded to include CCJs a couple of decades ago.

If somebody owes you money you can apply for the court to look at your case and make a decision. You will have to present any documentation you have relating to the alleged debt and they will decide whether the money is owed or not. An example of when you could use this is if you provided a childcare service for somebody and they did not pay the fees. You would need to produce any contracts or written evidence of an agreement and any payments that had been made.

If you should receive a form from the courts saying that somebody has filed a claim against you it will be imperative that you respond in good time, usually within fourteen days. You will need to send in your side of the story and any details of financial commitments and income that is relative. If in agreement with the claim it will be in your best interest to offer full payment or payment by installments immediately. Should you not respond in time, the court can demand full payment with no further discussion by way of a forthwith judgement.

If you do not agree with the claims being made against you, you should fill in a defense form stating your position in the matter. The court can then make their decision. If they uphold the claim you will be expected to repay the debt in full or in installments. Your financial situation will be taken into consideration when determining payments. It is possible to have more than one arrangement running at a time.

It is important to pay a debt back as soon as possible. You could avoid getting a judgement made against you. Any CCJs you have will show on your credit history and can prevent you from getting credit in the future. If you make payments promptly this can go some way to reducing the impact on your credit report.

Should you have CCJs in the UK filed against you, you should respond immediately. You may wish to contest the claim or apply for leniency and the sooner you do this the easier it will be.

If you want to know what to do about a CCJ visit the Payplan website for more information.