CCJ Removals

A County Court Judgement, or CCJ, essentially means that an individual or business has sued you for money you owe them, and won.

Having a CCJ means that you are legally liable for paying the money. If you don’t pay it, high court bailiffs can be sent to your property to remove goods in place of payment.

One of the most common questions we’re asked on this topic is: “how long is a CCJ valid for?”. Well, from the first day it is entered into your record, the CCJ will last for six years. It will be visible on the public Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines and negatively affect your credit rating for the entire time, whether you know it exists or not.

If you pay the entirety of the money owed within 30 days of the CCJ being entered against you, it should not appear on your record. If it does, you can apply to the court to have it cancelled. 

Plus, if you can prove that the CCJ was issued by mistake, it may be cancelled and so no longer appear on your record.

If you pay the CCJ in full after 30 days have passed, it will still appear on your record for six years from the day it was entered. So, you should think carefully about whether you actually are liable for some or all of the CCJ amount, and if you might have a case to have it removed. Contact our solicitors today to get advice on this.

Unfortunately, having a CCJ on your record can have a negative impact your life in several ways. For example:

• You might not be able to get a mortgage
• You may be declined for any form of credit
• You could be prevented from buying a house
• You may be unable to get some kinds of professional jobs that require a credit check (for example, jobs in financial services)
• Bailiffs may be sent to your property
• Household goods or cars may be seized from your property

To avoid these issues, you can talk to a solicitor about getting the CCJ removed if it’s not supposed to be on your record.

Sometimes, you will only find out about a CCJ entered against you when you go to apply for some form of credit and get denied. The most common cause is forgetting to pay a bill to a service provider when moving house. Then, if you also forget to update your address with them, any correspondence about the CCJ will be sent to your old address. As a result, you will be unaware of the correspondence and won’t get the chance to pay or dispute the CCJ. 

Occasionally, CCJs can be sent to an old address by mistake, even when you have updated your details. If there is no response from you within 14 days, claims are automatically processed, easily resulting in you having a CCJ on your record that you don’t know about. In these cases, you will have to prove to the court that you do not owe the CCJ in order to get it removed from your record. A CCJ removals solicitor will be able to assist you with this.

It’s becoming increasingly popular to use a credit reference agency to check your credit. Examples of credit reference agencies include Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You may find out that you have a CCJ by using one of these services, as it will show on your Credit Report. 

At Setfords, we have a straightforward pricing structure for CCJ removals. Prices start at £240, inclusive of VAT, for a straightforward case.

For uncontested/ applications by consent, our pricing structure is as follows:

• 1 x CCJ: £499, plus a court fee of £119.
• 2 x CCJ (same Claimant): £599, plus a court fee of £119.
• 2 x CCJ (two different Claimants): £699, plus a court fee of £119.
• 3 x CCJ (same Claimant): £799, plus a court fee of £119.
• 3 x CCJ (three different Claimants): £899, plus a court fee of £119.

For contested applications, our charges are:

• 1 x CCJ: £799, plus a court fee of £303.
• 2 x CCJ (same Claimant): £899, plus a court fee of £303.
• 2 x CCJ (two different Claimants): £999, plus a court fee of £303.
• 3 x CCJ (same Claimant): £1099, plus a court fee of £303.
• 3 x CCJ (three different Claimants): £1199, plus a court fee of £303.

Additionally, there is an advocacy fee starting at £180.

We also offer services for drafting a defence, with prices starting at £300 plus VAT. The exact fee will depend on the complexity and value of the claim.

Our solicitors are highly qualified in this area and can leverage their expertise to assist you in achieving the most favourable outcome. Please get in touch today to receive a quote for your specific circumstances.

If you pay the full amount owed within 30 days, the CCJ will usually not remain on your record. However, it is often worth talking to a solicitor before you do so. You may not owe as much as the CCJ says, or even anything at all, depending on the circumstances. 

The only way to ensure the CCJ does not go on your record, apart from prompt payment, is to prove to the courts that it should not have been issued in the first place. This is where our CCJ removal solicitors can help, please get in touch for more information.

A CCJ will remain on your credit report for six years unless you pay the full amount within 30 days. Having it on your credit report can make it hard to get credit, meaning you may find it difficult to take out things such as a phone contract, mortgage, credit card, or bank loan.

However, if the court agrees that you do not owe the money, the record of the CCJ will be removed from your credit report and have no impact on your ability to get credit. Getting your CCJ removed can often be complex and time-consuming, which is you it’s recommended that you work with a specialist CCJ solicitor.

Many people only realise that they have a CCJ against them when they apply for a mortgage, loan, or another form of credit and get denied. So, you may have had a CCJ on your record for months or years without knowing. This can happen if the creditor has issued the claim against you at a previous address and/or did not take sufficient steps to confirm you received notice of the CCJ. 

Alternatively, you may have a CCJ entered against you unfairly or by mistake. In these cases, you might be able to apply to the court to have the CCJ ‘set aside.’ This means you can defend your position to remove it from your record. There is no guarantee that it will be removed unless the creditor did not follow the correct procedure to issue the CCJ, but working with a solicitor will give you the best chance of success. 

You must take action to set aside the CCJ as soon as you become aware of it. In most cases, this means you should start proceedings within 30 days, although even if you knew about the CCJ, there might still be scope to get it removed. Please contact us for further details. 

Yes, in some cases it is possible for the claimant to remove a CCJ, but the process and requirements for doing so will depend on the specific circumstances. Often, it’s a complicated process.

Working with an expert CCJ solicitor can give you the best chance of success when it comes to getting your CCJ removed.

If you have paid the full amount of the CCJ, you can complete ‘Form N443’ to let the court know. You can then apply for a certificate of satisfaction. This ensures that the debt is marked as satisfied and acts as evidence that you have paid.  

If legal proceedings are issued against you, the first step is the claim form. This is a form sent to you by the court letting you know about the proceedings. You then have 14 days to respond to the claim form. after this, you will then have another 14 days to submit a defence.

If the court does not receive a response within 14 days, or does not receive a defence once you have responded to the claim form, a default judgement will be issued. 

A default judgement is a court order requiring you (the defendant) to pay the amount owed to the claimant. They are most commonly issued because the court has not received a response to the claim form (please see above).

This may happen because the claim form has been sent to an old address, so you didn’t receive it in time to respond. If this has happened to you, and you now have a CCJ as a result, please get in touch to see how our lawyers may be able to assist you. In some cases, the court may agree that you can defend the claim.