What Is A CCJ?

CCJ is an abbreviation for “County Court Judgment”.

For a CCJ to be entered, the creditor (the person or business owed the money) must issue a claim at court, usually asking the court to order the debtor (the person or business who owes the money) to pay the sum claimed.

If the claim is undefended, the person bringing the claim can ask the court for Judgment to be entered for the sums claimed. The Judgment is an Order of the court ordering the Defendant to pay a sum specified the Claimant and is commonly referred to as a CCJ. The entry of the CCJ is recorded at the Registry of County Court Judgments, which is accessed by credit reference agencies and lenders. A CCJ will have a negative effect on your credit worthiness to lenders.

Court Claim Procedure

The vast majority of civil claims started at court are undefended, meaning that the debtor either ignores the court forms or admits the sum as being owed. In either case, the creditor is entitled to ask the court to enter Judgment that the debtor owes the sum claimed.

If the court is satisfied no defence has been filed in response to the claim or the claim is admitted, if asked by the Claimant it will make an order – the CCJ. The order will usually state the sum owed and when it must be paid by. Most orders specify the sum must be paid straight away and often states “forthwith”. If the order is silent on when the sum needs to be paid, it means it is payable straight away.

A CCJ will also be entered if a claim goes to trial and the court orders someone to pay someone some money.

If Judgment is entered, the court will notify the Registrar Of Judgments who updates the Register of County Court Judgments. Credit reference companies such as Equifax and Experian can see the Register. Lenders rely upon the records of credit reference companies so will want to know whether a CCJ is recorded against someone’s credit file. As we explain here, the effect of that can be considerable.

If you receive papers from the court, do not ignore them. Avoiding a CCJ being entered in the first place is much better than having to try to deal with the problems it creates once in place.