Do you need to remove a CCJ? We’re happy to point you in the right direction.
Although we no longer offer this service ourselves, we recommend you contact CCJ Removal Services, a not-for-profit legal advice agency that specialises in CCJ Removal Advice & Support. They have a proven track record of successfully removing CCJ’s, evidenced by over 450 glowing testimonials from satisfied clients. They may not be a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, but they’re a wonderful resource for guidance and will support you every step of the way. They offer a FREE 15-minute Case Assessment to discuss your unique situation and to establish if your CCJ can be removed. If they can help, they’ll outline the process, and clearly explain their affordable fixed fees. You can contact them on 0161 711 1455.
We believe in maintaining transparency and trust with our clients and website visitors. We want you to know that we recommend CCJ Removal Services because we genuinely believe they’ll do a great job for you, but we also receive a payment for this recommendation. This payment does not influence our decision to recommend them, nor does it affect the quality or cost of the legal services they provide to you. We’re here to help you make the best choice for your needs.
We’re sorry we can’t provide direct assistance with CCJ removal at this time. We wholeheartedly wish you success in resolving this matter.
If you’ve received a CCJ (County Court Judgment), this could have some serious consequences for you if it’s not removed from your credit record.
It can hinder you in obtaining credit, such as a mortgage or even a mobile phone contract. Depending on your line of work, it may even mean that you could lose your job.
There are three ways to remove a CCJ from your credit report, and which route you take depends on your circumstances.
1. Paying within a month will remove the CCJ from your credit report
If you pay the full amount of the CCJ within a month of the date of the CCJ, it will be removed from your credit report. It’s as though the CCJ never existed and will almost certainly be the best option if you admit owing the money and the judgment is less than a month old
The Registry Trust keeps a Register of all CCJ’s. The courts update the Registry Trust every time a CCJ is issued. When the court notifies the Registry Trust that a CCJ has been paid within a month, the CCJ is completely removed from the Register. It’s as though it was never entered in the first place.
Should you pay the CCJ if you dispute it?
Even if you dispute the CCJ, it may still be better to pay it within a month, particularly if it’s only for a small amount (such as a private parking charge). That’s because the consequences of having the CCJ on your credit record could be disastrous.
It may be advisable to pay it but let the claimant know that:
- you’re only paying it to get it removed from your credit record and/or
- you intend to take action to claim the money back from them once the CCJ has been removed.
If you’re wondering whether or not to pay a disputed CCJ, you may want to read this article.
Informing the court
The claimant should let the court know when you’ve paid the CCJ in full. The court then updates the Registry Trust, who will remove the entry from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. The Registry Trust, in turn, will notify all the credit reference agencies to remove it from your credit report.
If the claimant doesn’t tell the court, they won’t know. So, when you pay, ask the claimant to confirm that they’ve told the court.
Unfortunately, claimants can’t be legally forced to tell the court you’ve paid. If the claimant doesn’t do so, you will need to inform the court yourself. The best way to do this is by applying for a Certificate of Satisfaction or Cancellation, using form N443, which you can download here:
You will need to provide evidence of payment, such as a receipt from the claimant or a copy of your bank statement.
The court will ask the claimant to confirm you’ve paid. If the claimant acknowledges that you’ve settled the debt or doesn’t reply, the court will accept that you’ve paid in full and update the Registry Trust. Provided you paid within a month, the CCJ will be removed from the Register.
Can you remove the CCJ if you pay after a month?
If you paid the total amount after a month from the date of the CCJ, the public register will state that the judgment is satisfied, which may improve your credit score and make it slightly easier for you to obtain credit.
However, you will still experience most of the problems associated with having a CCJ on your credit report.
2. The Registry Trust will automatically remove the CCJ from your credit record after six years
After six years, the CCJ will be removed automatically from your credit record without you having to do anything. Even if you don’t pay it, the CCJ will be removed.
However, in some circumstances, the claimant can still enforce the CCJ. This means that, if the amount of the CCJ hasn’t been paid in full, the claimant can still take action to recover it. For example, they could instruct bailiffs or apply for an order against your bank. Nevertheless, this enforcement action won’t impact your credit record, provided that the CCJ is more than 6 years old.
If your CCJ is already quite old, waiting for the 6 years to expire may be the best option. However, if it’s only recently been entered, can you really afford to wait so many years with a poor credit rating?
3. Apply to have the CCJ set side
If the CCJ is a “default judgment”, then the court has the power to set it aside.
What is a default judgment?
A default judgment is a judgment that the court makes when a defendant fails to acknowledge a claim or to put in a defence.
You can find out whether the CCJ is a default judgment by contacting the court that issued it. Ask them to email you a copy of the judgment.
How do you apply to the court to set aside a default judgment?
You will need to complete form N244 and send it to the court that issued the default judgment. The current version of that form is available from the government website.
To find out more about how to fill in each section, read this article about how to complete Form N244 when you’re applying to set aside a default judgment.
What fees will you have to pay?
You will need to pay a court fee when you make your application.
To find out how much the court fee is, check out this article which explains the amount of the court fee and whether you may be able to get help with paying it.
If your application to set aside the judgment is successful, the court is likely to order the claimant to reimburse you for the court fee.
When will the court set aside a default judgment?
The court must set aside the judgment if any conditions for obtaining a default judgment were not satisfied. In other words, if the claimant didn’t follow the procedural rules, the court must set aside the judgment. This is known as the mandatory ground because it doesn’t require the court to exercise discretion.
The mandatory ground commonly applies when the claimant sent the court papers to the wrong address.
However, the mandatory ground may also apply if, before the date of the judgment:
- You filed an acknowledgement of service or defence before the expiry of the time limit
- You paid the whole amount claimed
- You admitted owing the amount claimed and requested time to pay
When the court may set aside the judgment
If the claimant followed the procedural rules correctly, the judgment is valid. However, the court still has the discretion to set aside the judgment if
- you have a real prospect of successfully defending the claim; or
- there is some other good reason why the judgment should be set aside.
This is known as the discretionary ground.
If the claim form was sent to a previous address, this is often viewed as a good reason to set aside the judgment.
Sometimes, it’s necessary to make a formal application and attend a hearing before the court will set aside the CCJ. However, if the claimant consents to the judgment being set aside, this should not be necessary.
Can the judgment be set aside if you’ve paid it?
Defendants may sometimes be reluctant to pay a CCJ because they think it’s an admission that the CCJ is valid. However, paying a CCJ is not a barrier to having it set aside.
Although paying the CCJ may make it more difficult to persuade the court that you have a defence, that is only one of the grounds to have it set aside. If you’re concerned about how it will affect a judge’s view of your case, you should make clear that you are paying without admission of liability.
In many cases, paying the full amount of the judgment may be the best course of action because:
- it will stop any enforcement action, and the increasing costs associated with that
- the CCJ will be marked as satisfied on your credit report, which is slightly better than an unsatisfied CCJ
- the claimant may be more likely to consent to judgment being set aside
There may be good reasons why you don’t want to pay the CCJ, for example, if you deny the claim and want the opportunity to defend it. However, you shouldn’t worry that paying the claimant will mean you can’t have the judgment set aside.
Act promptly
When exercising its discretion to set aside a CCJ the court must consider whether or not you made the application promptly. For that reason, it’s important to take action as soon as you know about the CCJ. That will give you the best chance of the CCJ being set aside.
Updating the Registry Trust
Once the CCJ has been set aside, the court should automatically update the Registry Trust to let them know. This will result in the CCJ being permanently removed.
Occasionally, the court forgets to update the Registry Trust, in which case you may need to remind them. You can also contact the Registry Trust directly with evidence that it’s been set aside. The best evidence to send them is the court order setting aside the judgment. They will usually check with the court to make sure it’s genuine.
The Registry Trust will update all of the credit reference agencies, although this sometimes takes a few days.
Once this has happened, the CCJ will be completely removed from your credit file.
