CCJ/Parking CCJ Removal

Your Credit Score is Important

Your credit score (rated out of 1000) reflects how you manage your finances. Financial institutions and credit service providers take your credit score into consideration before approving any credit/loans to you therefore, the higher your score is, the better chances you have in securing credit at competitive rates.

It is important for people to regularly check their credit score and understand their credit report as any issues with their credit score will first be highlighted on their credit report. The credit report will also highlight any CCJs that have been entered against you, the address where the CCJs were entered, the name of the Court that applied the CCJs, the Court reference numbers/Claim Numbers, the dates of the CCJs and the amounts.

The first thing you should do upon realising that you have a CCJ is to check your credit file. You can do this by joining a credit services company such as Experian or Checkmyfile. On your credit file you will find the CCJ details such as the Court that applied for the CCJ and the Court reference number, the address and the amount. Once you have this information you must call the relevant Court and request a copy of your Particulars of Claim to be sent to you via email along with the details of the Claimant and the details of any acting Solicitors for the Claimant. If the Court is the Civil National Business Centre, then please click here for their details. If the Court is a different Court, then please click here to search for the relevant Court.

The Particulars of Claim contain the details of the Claim that was issued against you such as how and when the debt occurred, when it was defaulted or terminated, the balance, interest and details of any assignment if applicable. You will need this information if you wish to dispute or challenge the CCJ.

Having a CCJ on your credit report will prevent you from accessing credit such as obtaining a mortgage to purchase your first home, attempting to re-mortgage for a better deal or renting a new property. A CCJ will also prevent you from obtaining employment in certain fields where you would be required to pass a credit check especially in the financial services/banking industry and even obtaining a loan, credit card or car finance. Managing your credit score will help you make the life’s big decisions as they happen.

The different types of CCJs

Parking Ticket CCJ

These are the most common type of CCJs and we deal with these on a daily basis therefore, we have dealt with most parking companies such as:

• Civil Enforcement
• ParkingEye
• Excel Parking
• UK Parking Control
• UK Car Park Management etc.

We are aware of their processes and what they are most likely to respond. Most parking companies will agree to a Draft Order settlement agreement (if you are willing to pay the balance under the CCJ). We would contact the parking companies directly and mediate with them in order to reach a settlement for their consent for your CCJ to be set aside. The agreed and signed Draft Order would then need to be sent to the Court by you for the Courts approval as the approval would be needed to remove the CCJ. The Court fee for this to be reviewed is in the sum of £119.00.

There is no Court hearing with the Draft Order and if this is approved, a sealed and stamped copy would be sent to you by the Court via post. Upon approval the Court would remove the CCJ from your credit file.

Call us today for further information regarding a Parking CCJ.

Financial Services Debt CCJ such as Credit Card CCJs, Loan CCJs, Telecommunication/Mobile Phone Contract CCJs and Catalogue Account CCJs etc.

We deal with these types of CCJs on a regular basis and are fully aware of most of these companies that purchase debt and then litigate on them such as:

• Lowell
• Cabot
• Link Financial
• Arrow Global etc.

We would contact the debt purchasers or their representatives directly and mediate with them in order to reach a settlement for their consent for your CCJ to be set aside. The agreed and signed Draft Order would then need to be sent to the Court by you for the Courts approval as this would be needed to remove the CCJ. The Court fee for this to be reviewed is in the sum of £119.00.

There is no Court hearing with the Draft Order and if this is approved, a sealed and stamped copy would be sent to you by the Court via post. Upon approval the Court would remove the CCJ from your credit file.

If for some reason, the Claimant does not agree to a Draft Order agreement then we would start drafting your N244 Application and your Witness Statement all within our fixed fee. The Court fee for the Application is in the sum of £303.00.

Call us today for further information regarding a Financial Services Debt CCJ.

Service Charge and Ground Rent CCJs

Most of the Claimants or their representatives do not agree to a Draft Order for Service Charge or Ground Rent CCJs therefore, we would advise that these are dealt with via the Application route. Please note, you would need to attend a hearing once the Application has been listed for a hearing however, most Applications are listed for remote hearings over the telephone so you would not need to attend the Court in person unless the Court has ordered you to appear in person. If in doubt, we recommend that you call the Court and confirm if a hearing listed is to attend in person or ever the telephone. The Court fee for the Application is in the sum of £303.00.

Call us today for further information regarding a Service Charge and Ground Rent CCJ

Utilities Debt CCJ  

We deal with these types of CCJs on a regular basis and are fully aware of most of these utility companies such as:

• E-ON
• EDF
• British Gas etc.

We would contact the utility companies or their representatives directly and mediate with them in order to reach a settlement for their consent for your CCJ to be set aside. The agreed and signed Draft Order would then need to be sent to the Court by you for the Courts approval as this would be needed to remove the CCJ. The Court fee for this to be reviewed is in the sum of £119.00.

There is no Court hearing with the Draft Order and if this is approved, a sealed and stamped copy would be sent to you by the Court via post. Upon approval the Court would remove the CCJ from your credit file.

If for some reason, the Claimant does not agree to a Draft Order agreement then we would start drafting your N244 Application and your Witness Statement all within our fixed fee. The Court fee for the Application is in the sum of £303.00.

Call us today for further information regarding a Utilities Debt CCJ.

Company/Business CCJs

It is not unusual for Limited companies to have several addresses – a registered address on Companies House and a trading address elsewhere. If your company has a CCJ it may be because the Claim Form was issued upon the trading address instead of the registered address on Companies House. This is a common reason for company/business CCJs.

Call us today for further information regarding a Company/Business CCJ.

Two ways to deal with a CCJ

1. Draft Order/Consent/Tomlin Order Route

A Draft Order is legal agreement between you and the Claimant and can be made with the Claimant if the Claimant is agreeable and consents to the removal of the CCJ. The Draft Order must contain the relevant Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and the reasons why the CCJ must/should be set aside. Once this has been agreed and signed by you and the Claimant, you would need to file this at the Court for approval and pay the Court fee in the sum of £119.00.

The Court would then review the Draft Order and assuming there are no issues with your evidence and grounds, the Court would approve the Draft Order and send you a copy of this in the post. The Court would then remove the CCJ from your credit file. There is no Court hearing for the Draft Order.

If your Draft Order contained a payment proposal then you would be required to maintain the proposed payments with the Claimant as a failure to do so may lead to another CCJ being entered against you.

Please note the Court may approve the Draft Order or it may defer the approval of the Draft Order and request further evidence from you and on rare occasions, the Court may reject the Draft Order completely. This is all dependent on the Court and your grounds for the CCJ to be set aside.

The timescales for a Draft Order to be agreed and approved by the Court would be approximately around 2-3 months depending on the response from the Claimant and the Court’s timescales to approve the Draft Order. The Court’s timescales however can change significantly.

As part of our services, we will contact the Claimant or their representative on your behalf (where agreed) and mediate with them in order to reach a settlement for their consent for your CCJ to be set aside. The agreed and signed Draft Order would then need to be sent to the Court by you for the Courts approval as this would be needed to remove the CCJ. The Court fee for this to be reviewed is in the sum of £119.00.

There is no Court hearing with the Draft Order and once this has been approved, a sealed and stamped copy would be sent to you by the Court via post. Upon approval the Court would remove the CCJ from your credit file.

If for some reason, the Claimant does not agree to a Draft Order agreement then we would start drafting your N244 Application and your Witness Statement all within our fixed fee. The Court fee for the Application is in the sum of £303.00.

2. N244 Application Form Route

The N244 Application is a Court form which we will complete pursuant to your instructions and we would also draft you a Witness Statement and exhibited any evidence you wish to rely upon with the Witness Statement.

You would then need to sign this and file this at the Court that issued the CCJ and pay the N244 Application fee in the sum of £303.00 unless you are exempt. In most cases, the Court that issued the CCJ is the County Court Business Centre or the County Court Money Claims Centre.

The N244 Application would then be transferred to your local Court before being listed for a hearing at which the Court will decide whether the CCJ must/should be set aside/removed. The hearing most likely would be a telephone hearing however, this can also be a hearing in person as this is dependent on the Court that listed the Application for the hearing.

If you want to fully dispute a CCJ and dispute the balance under the CCJ then the N244 Application is the best route for you.

Free Case Review

We provide a free case review of your grounds and evidence on every case we deal with regardless of whether you proceed with our services or not. This case review would explain your likely grounds, what our services would include and what our fixed fee would be. You can then decide whether you would like to proceed with our services.

CCJ Removal

Was your CCJ Sent to the wrong address? Follow these steps

If you have a CCJ that you knew nothing about, then the Court papers most likely would have been served at the previous or incorrect address.

Maybe you moved house which itself can be very stressful and you may have forgot to update your contact details with your creditors. This however, could lead to a CCJ being entered against you without your knowledge even though you were not provided with an opportunity to defend yourself or file a response to the Claim.

If you have a CCJ on your credit file, you MUST act promptly. You should take the following immediately.

Step 1:

Obtain a copy of your credit file for free, using an online service, such as:

• Experian
• Credit Karma
• Equifax

Obtain the CCJ details from your credit file such as:

• The name of the Court that issued the CCJ
• The Claim Number
• The date of the CCJ
• The amount of the CCJ
• The address where the CCJ was issued

Step 2

Contact the relevant Court

We recommend that you phone the Court instead of emailing them as the Court’s turnaround time for emails vary significantly and you may be waiting for months before your email has been addressed. You should request the following information to be sent to you via email:

• The address to which the Claim Form was posted
• The identity of the Claimant and its Solicitors
• The date of service of the Claim Form and
• A copy of the Particulars of Claim

Step 3

Get advice

Once you have obtained all of the CCJ information, you will be able to seek advice on the prospects of having your CCJ removed.

We can assist you with this and we provide a free case review. We will inform you of:

• your prospects of successfully having the CCJ set aside
• any weaknesses or further evidence required
• the next steps that need to be taken

If you have a CCJ and would like a FREE case review then call us today.

Challenge your CCJ

You can only challenge a CCJ and attempt the removal of a CCJ if you have legal grounds to do so. There are two grounds to set aside a CCJ, the first is a mandatory ground under CPR 13.2 and usually applies where there is an issue with the service of the Claim. e.g., where a Claim has been served at the wrong address completely or at an address where you have never resided at.

The second is a discretionary ground under CPR 13.3 and usually applies where the Claim was issued correctly or to a previous address which was the last known address however, you have some other good reason for the judgment to be set aside. E.g., you did not receive the Claim Form maybe due to postal issues or this was sent to your previous address etc.

Defence to the Claim

If you have only just received a Claim Form then you won’t have a CCJ yet however, you must file a Defence to the Claim within 14 days from the date of the service of the Claim or file an Acknowledgement of Service which would then give you 28 days to file a Defence from the date of the service of the Claim. The Defence you file must be sent to the Court that issued the Claim in order for you to defend the Claim.

If you admit owing the money to the Claimant then you may pay the outstanding balance to the Claimant in full and close the Claim however, please note that the Claimant may add Court fees to the balance as it has issued legal proceedings against you.

Admission to the Claim

If you do not dispute the balance or if you admit to part of the balance however, you are willing to pay it as a lump sum of via instalments then you may file an Admission to the Claim however, please note, by filing an Admission to the Claim you are agreeing that the Claimant may enter a CCJ by way of a Judgment by Admission against you. The Civil Procedure Rules relating to the setting aside of CCJs only apply to Judgments by Defaults and not by Admissions therefore, Judgments by Admission cannot be removed unless you can satisfy the Court’s management powers to do so.

Judgments by Admission

• Usually, you are unable to set aside/ remove a judgment that has been entered against you by Admission however, you can apply to the Court under the Court’s management powers to set aside the judgment pursuant to CPR 3.1 however, the Court will only ever use its management powers to remove a Judgment by Admission if there is an exceptional reason to do so. Only the Court can decide whether to use its powers to set aside the judgment or not and this is solely the Court’s discretion.

The relevant Civil Procedure Rules to set aside/remove a CCJ only apply to Judgments by Default and not by Admission.

Judgments by Default

There are two grounds to set aside judgments by default. These are:

• CPR 13.2 Mandatory Grounds – these apply where legal proceedings were issued at the incorrect address. The Court must set aside a judgment under this ground.
• CPR 13.3 Discretionary Grounds – these apply where legal proceedings were issued correctly to the usual or the last known address however, you have a real prospect of successfully defending the Claim or you have some other good reason why the judgment should be set aside (you did not receive the Claim Form due to it being issued to the previous address, postal issues, fraud or other disputes etc.). The Court may set aside the judgment under this ground but it is solely the Court’s discretion to do so and only the Court can decide this.

CCJ within one month

Did you know that if you pay the balance under a CCJ within one month from the date the CCJ was entered against you then you can get the CCJ removed from the register without incurring any further fees other than paying the CCJ balance itself. Simply write to the Court that issued the CCJ, inform them that you have paid the balance within one month of the CCJ date and provide them with proof of the payment. The Court will then remove the CCJ from your credit file. You do not need to pay any firm for a “CCJ cancellation service” as this is something you can do yourself for free just by contacting the Court.

You would only require assistance for a CCJ removal such as our services if you have gone past the 1-month timescale.

CCJ after one month

If you didn’t receive the Claim Form and you have only just discovered that you have a CCJ after the 30 days has expired then you may have legal grounds to set aside (remove) the CCJ. Please note that a satisfied CCJ is simply a CCJ that has been paid in full and would remain on your credit file even after the payment, for 6 years from the date it was entered. A satisfied CCJ will continue to affect your credit score like a normal CCJ and it will prevent you from obtaining certain types of credit.

There are 3 options available once a CCJ has been discovered by you on your credit file

A CCJ (County Court Judgment) could have serious consequences for you if it is not removed from your credit file/record.

There are 3 options available and which route you take depends on your circumstances.

1. If you pay within 1 month from the date the CCJ was entered against you the CCJ will be removed from your credit report

The CCJ will be removed by the Court by paying the full amount under the CCJ within a month of the date of the CCJ. Your credit file would be as though the CCJ never existed at all and this is the best option if you do not dispute the balance under the CCJ and if your CCJ is less than a month old.

Once the balance is paid, you must notify the Court that the CCJ has been satisfied within one month from the date the CCJ was entered and provide them with proof of the payment. The Court would then inform Registry Trust (a body who registers all CCJs as instructed by the Court) to remove the CCJ and it would be as though a CCJ never existed in the first place.

Should you pay the CCJ within one month from the date it was entered if you dispute it?

Having a CCJ is a serious matter that can affect you for several years therefore, even if you dispute the CCJ, it may still be better for you to pay it within a month, particularly if the balance is only a small amount.

Informing the Court

Usually, the Claimant would need to inform the Court since it is the Claimant’s Claim, that the balance has been paid in full within 30 days from the date the CCJ was entered however, we recommend that you also inform the Court yourself in order to avoid the CCJ being registered for 6 years against you. The Court would then update the Registry Trust and remove the entry of the CCJ from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. The Registry Trust will notify all credit reference agencies to remove the CCJ from your credit file/report.

You may also apply for apply for a Certificate of Satisfaction or Cancellation by using the form N443 and sending this to the Court. You may download the form N443 by clicking here. So long as you have paid the balance under the CCJ within one month from the date the CCJ was entered against you, the CCJ would be removed from the register and your credit file.

What if a CCJ is paid after a month?

The CCJ would be marked as settled but it would remain on your credit file for 6 years and continue to affect you unless you challenge the CCJ. These are your options:

2. Leave the CCJ as satisfied if paid after 1 month from the date it was entered

After 6 years, the Registry Trust will automatically remove the CCJ from your credit file and you do not need to do anything. Even if the balance under the CCJ has not been paid, the CCJ will still be removed as it would expire after 6 years.

If your CCJ is quite old then waiting for it to expire depending on how long is left may be the best option for you. However, if it is a recent CCJ then, ask yourself if you can really afford to wait several years with a poor credit rating?

3. Apply to have the CCJ set side

If you have a default judgment then the Court has the power pursuant to CPR 13 to set aside the CCJ however, this is dependent on your grounds.

What is a default judgment?

A default judgment is a judgment that has been entered as you failed to file a response to the Claim or failed to comply with a Court Order etc.

If you are unsure of what kind of a CCJ you have then please contact the relevant Court as they will be able to provide you with the necessary information you require.

Two ways to deal with a judgment by default

1, Draft Order Agreement Route

A Draft Order is an agreement between you and the Claimant who issued the Claim and the CCJ against you and can only be used where you are willing to pay the balance under the Claim on condition that the Claimant consents to the removal of the CCJ or where you dispute the Claim in full due to fraud etc. therefore, no payment is actually required.

We would contact the Claimant on your behalf and propose the settlement and inform them of your grounds to set aside the CCJ. If the Claimant is agreeable to the settlement and your grounds, the Claimant would sign the Draft Order and return this to us. You would then need to sign the Draft Order and file this at the Court along with your evidence. You would then need to pay the Court fee in the sum of £119.00 directly to the Court in order for the Court to review the Draft Order. There is no Court hearing for the Draft Order route.

The timescales for the Draft Order route would be around 2-3 months depending on how quick the Claimant responds and the Court’s timescales to approve the Draft Order which can vary.

Once the Draft Order has been filed at the Court, the Court can do any of the following:

• Approved the Draft Order and remove the CCJ – you will receive the sealed Draft Order from the Court via post. Once received you can then make any payments to the Claimant and close this Claim
• Defer the approval of the Draft Order – the Court may do this if they require further information regarding your grounds or further evidence from you or the Claimant
• Reject the Draft Order – this is rare however; the Court can reject a Draft Order. If the Court does reject a Draft Order, then the Court would write to you and tell you why it has been rejected

2, N244 Application route

If you dispute the Claim in full and do not intend to pay the balance under the Claim then you would need to file an Application to set aside the CCJ at a Court hearing. You would also require a Witness Statement to evidence your side of the story as to why you dispute this CCJ and for you to exhibit any evidence you wish to rely upon at a hearing.

The Court fee for the N244 Application is in the sum of £303.00. Once this payment has been made the Court would process your Application and transfer the Claim to your local Court. The Court would send a Notice of Transfer of Proceedings to you when the Claim is transferred. Your local Court will then list your Application for a hearing.

Did you know that unlike other firms, our fixed fees include the Draft Order route and the Application route if the Draft Order fails, at no extra cost. If the Draft Order failed for whatever reason, we would draft you an N244 Application and a Witness Statement for you to challenge your CCJ directly at a Court hearing.

The timescales for the N244 Application can be 6-9 months, sometimes this can be quicker however, other times it can take longer than 9 months as the local Court would only be able to list the Application for a hearing once it has capacity to do so therefore, the timescales can vary significantly.

What fees will you have to pay?

The Court fee for the Draft Order is in the sum of £119.00. The Court fee for an N244 Application is in the sum of £303.00. You would only pay one of these fees unless the Court refuse to approve a Draft Order and you are forced to make the Application.

You may be exempt from paying the Court fees if you are on certain benefits etc. Further information on exceptions of the Court fees can be found by clicking here.

If your N244 Application to set aside the judgment is successful, then the Court may reimburse the Application fee to you and you may be able to Claim for other costs against the Claimant however, these costs will most likely be at the discretion of the Court.

Will the Court set aside a default judgment?

When the Court MUST set aside the judgment

The Court must set aside the judgment if the Claimant did not follow the Civil Procedure Rules correctly and where there are issues with the service of the Claim under CPR 13.2 (mandatory grounds).

Mandatory grounds apply where the Claimant sent the Court papers to the wrong address and where:

• You filed an Acknowledgement of Service or a Defence to the Claim within the timescales
• You already paid the amount claimed in the Claim
• You admitted owing the amount claimed and requested time to pay

When the Court MAY set aside the judgment

If the Claimant followed the Civil Procedure Rules correctly and the Claim was issued correctly to the usual or the last know address then the CCJ would be valid however, the Court still has the discretion to set aside and remove the CCJ under CPR 13.3 (discretionary grounds) 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.

Examples of where discretionary grounds would apply would be:

• If the Claim Form was sent to a previous address, which is often viewed as a good reason to set aside the CCJ
• Medical grounds which prevented you from filing a response to the Claim
• Fraud
• Postal issues

Can the judgment be set aside if you have paid the balance under the CCJ?

We understand that you might be reluctant to pay a CCJ as it may be classed that you accept liability of the balance and that the CCJ may have been valid however, paying a CCJ would not necessarily prevent you from having the CCJ set aside. We recommend that any payment to the Claimant of a CCJ is made on a without prejudice basis which means that you do not actually admit that you owe the balance but are paying just to settle the Claim and to avoid any further costs and fees only.

Paying the balance under a CCJ however, may benefit you in several ways because:

• it will stop any enforcement action, and prevent any further costs being added to the Claim
• the CCJ will be marked as satisfied on your credit report
• the Claimant may be more likely to agree to the removal of the CCJ by way of a Draft Order/Consent Order agreement

Please note, just because you have paid the balance under the CCJ, it does not mean that you cannot have the CCJ set aside against you.

Act promptly

The other factor that the Court will take into consideration when exercising its discretion to set aside a CCJ is the promptness of the Application. The Court expects you to challenge a CCJ within 30 days of the judgment being entered against your or within 30 days of you being made aware of the judgment. That being said, promptness is at the Court’s discretion whether you are within the 30 days or not and only the Court can decide if your Application is prompt.

It is therefore very important that you take action as soon as possible and as soon as you become aware of the CCJ as this will improve your chances for the CCJ being set aside.

Updating the Registry Trust

Once the CCJ has been set aside, the Court should automatically update the Registry Trust and remove the CCJ however, this may reflect on your credit file the following month.

If for any reason you need to contact the Registry Trust then you can find their contact details by clicking here.

The County Court Business Centre now the Civil National Business Centre

The Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) is a central bulk Court that deals with bulk Claims. Majority of the times a CCJ would be issued from the CNBC at the request of the Claimant however, they can also be issued from other Courts such as the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMC) that’s why it is important to check your credit file in order to confirm which Court issued the CCJ.

It is not unusual for people to allege that they were not aware of any Claim being issued against them, either because the original Claim was lost in the post, they didn’t receive a Claim whatsoever or because they recently moved address. As a result, no response was filed to the Claim which resulted in a judgment by default being entered against them by the Claimant.

Enforcement – Why should you apply to have the default judgment removed?

There are several reasons why you should apply to have a CCJ removed as soon as possible. As mentioned above, having a CCJ on your credit file would seriously impact your chances in securing credit, whether that be by way or a mortgage, remortgage, loan, credit card, car finance or finance on everyday goods.

A CCJ is an Order by the Court stating that you owe the Claimant the money under the CCJ and must pay this. If you fail to pay the balance to the Claimant then the Claimant is able to enforce the CCJ which would not only increase the balance but the Claimant would also be able to do the following:

• apply for a Warrant of Control and have a Bailiff visit your property and remove goods to secure the balance under the CCJ or encourage you to pay the balance
• apply for an Attachment of Earnings whereby the Court would instruct your employer to deduct monies directly from your wage and send this to the Court which would then be sent to the Claimant
• depending on the balance of the CCJ, the Claimant may also apply for a Charging Order against your property. If the application for the Charging Order is approved by the Court, then a Charge would be placed against the property at the Land Registry and this would remain on the property until the balance has been paid in full and until the Claimant files an Application to remove the charge upon the payment. In some cases, the Claimant is able to force you to sell the property to satisfy the Charge by applying for an Order for Sale

When the Court MUST set aside a CCJ

The Court must set judgment aside a CCJ if it is satisfied to the Court that you did not receive the original Claim Form and there are issues with the service of the Claim. This is called mandatory grounds.

The Court’s discretion under discretionary grounds

In some cases, where the Claim was issued correctly, the Court has a discretion to set aside the default judgment if you have a valid Defence to the Claim or where you have some other good reason for the judgment to be set aside. This is called discretionary grounds. However, the Court will need to be persuaded that you have a real prospect of successfully defending the Claim or that there is some other good reason why the judgment should be set aside by the Court.

If the Court is not persuaded that you have a real prospect of defending the Claim or of any other good reason, then the Court may not set aside the judgment against you.

The Court will look at promptness so don’t delay!

The Court will also factor in whether you have dealt with the CCJ against you promptly. Usually, the Court expects you to challenge a CCJ within 30 days of the judgment being entered against you or 30 days of when you became aware of the CCJ if this was issued at the incorrect address etc. however, promptness is at the Court’s discretion therefore, we would recommend that you apply as soon as possible.

What is a default judgment?

When the Claimant starts legal proceedings, the Claimant would instruct the Court to send a Claim Form to you based on the Claimant’s Claim. The Court would then serve this Claim to your address provided by the Claimant. You would have 14 days to file a response to the Claim (28 days if you file an Acknowledgment of Service). If you do not file a response to the Claim then the Court would grant the Claimant a judgment by default for the amount being claimed by the Claimant plus the costs of entering into the judgment. This is known as a default judgment.

Why have you received a default judgment?

If you have a default judgment then its will be because the Court thinks that you received the Claim Form but you failed to file a response to the Claim within the timeframe.

One of the most common reasons for not filing a response to the Claim is that the Claim was served at the incorrect or previous address. Maybe the Claimant did not know that you had moved address or maybe the Claimant served the Claim at the last active address on your credit file which has not been updated. As a result, the Court issued the default judgment due to there being no response to the Claim from you.

Sometimes, the Claim may have been issued to the correct address but it may be that you were away during the period in question, maybe you live in a shared accommodation where post is always going missing, there are several streets where you reside with similar street names or you may have just been having postal issues with the Royal Mail at the time. Either way, you may find that you have missed the Court deadline to file a response to the Claim within the timeframe and now it is too late to file a response to the Claim. The Claimant may have already obtained a judgment against you and may be preparing to enforce this judgment by sending Bailiffs.

What can you can do about it?

The Claimant can apply for a default judgment due to there being no response to the Claim. The Court may approve the Claimant’s request for the judgment but this does not necessarily mean the request to approve the judgment was made by a Judge. As is in most cases, the request can be approved by a member of the Court staff based on no response being filed by you.

In order to dispute this CCJ and contest the Claim, you would need to apply to set aside the judgment. Only then will your Application be sent to a Judge to review and make a decision regarding the judgment.

The CCJ would only be set aside where you have evidenced that you have a real prospect of successfully defending the Claim or where you have some other good reason. The Court is likely to view that you have a good reason for the judgment to be set aside if you did not receive the Claim Form in the first instance and especially if you can provide evidence to satisfy this requirement.

Sometimes, there would not be a need to challenge the CCJ at a hearing as the Claimant may agree/consent to the removal of the CCJ based on your grounds and circumstances. If this is the case then no hearing would be required and this may be dealt with via a Draft Order agreement signed by both parties to the Claim.

Applying to Set Aside a Default Judgment? Move Fast!

In order to increase your chances on successfully setting aside and removing a CCJ you must ensure that you act fast and treat the CCJ as a priority. We strongly recommend that you deal with the CCJ urgently as we know it can be easy for people to put it off and deal with it another day however, this will not help your case.

There are several reasons why you must make your Application a priority, here are some examples:

1. It affects your credit rating

You may fail a credit check due to a CCJ if a lender offers credit to a you. Lenders will always carry out a credit check before approving any credit therefore a CCJ is likely to mean that you cannot obtain credit.

It would also be very difficult to persuade the lender that the default judgment is unfair or was wrongly entered against you without you challenging the CCJ.

A CCJ would also affect your chances of securing employment as most employers require you to pass a credit check as part of their recruitment process.

2. The Claimant could take enforcement action

With an active CCJ against you, the Claimant may enforce the CCJ. This could include:

• A Warrant of Control – Bailiffs removing your goods
• An Attachment of Earnings – deducting monies directly from your wage by contacting your employer
• Applying for a Charging Order against your property

Did you know that by applying to set aside the judgment you can request that any enforcement proceedings against you are stopped or stayed until the Court has heard your Application and your side of the story as to why the judgment should be set aside.

3. The Court will certainly look at promptness regarding any Application to challenge the CCJ therefore you should avoid delays as much as possible to increase your chances to set aside the CCJ

Only the Court has the discretion to set aside a CCJ and upon exercising their decision whether to set aside the CCJ the Court looks at whether the Application to set aside the judgment was made promptly or not. If it was not made promptly then why was it not made promptly.

Reasons such as you were not aware of your rights, you were trying to negotiate with the Claimant or that you did not have the funds to make the Application at the time would not suffice.

We recommend that you apply to set aside your CCJ straight away.

How likely is it that the CCJ will be removed?

The Court will look at several points before deciding whether to set aside a CCJ against you, such as:

Was the Claim Form correctly served?

The Claimant is required to serve the Claim Form at the usual or last known address however, if you can evidence that you were not at the address where the Claim was issued and the Claimant knew this or ought to have known then the service of the Claim and the CCJ is defective and the Court must set this aside.

However, if the Claimant was no aware that you had moved and if it has no reason to believe that you were not at that address then the Claim Form may be deemed as served correctly to the usual or last known address. If this is the case then you would either need a valid Defence to the Claim or some other good reason for the judgment to be set aside.

What if the Claim Form was served correctly?

The Court can still set aside a CCJ even if the Claim Form was served correctly and even if the CCJ was valid as the Court would look at the following circumstances in order to decide whether the CCJ can be set aside or not. You would need to evidence either:

• You have had a good Defence to the original claim; or
• there is some other good reason for the judgment to be set aside

Examples of ‘some other good reason’ include but are not limited to:

• You didn’t know about the Claim because it was sent to a previous address and you have evidence of this
• You have medical grounds which prevented you from filing a response to the Claim at the time
• You were abroad at the time the Claim was issued against you or
• The CCJ is putting your job at risk

Your evidence

To evidence that you were not at the address where the Claim was issued, you would require:

• A Tenancy Agreement or Mortgage Statement evidencing your current address at the time the Claim was issued
• Council Tax Bills
• Utility Bills
• Bank Statements

To evidence your medical grounds, you would need:

• A medical letter from your GP
• Hospital letters or
• A copy of your recent prescription

If you were abroad at the time you would need:

• A copy of your Flight Booking/Ticket/Boarding Pass
• Stamped exit and entry stamps on your Passport
• Copies of any Tenancy Agreements, Bookings or Utility Bills in your name at the property abroad etc.

Please ensure that you act promptly as delaying this further could lead the Court to not set aside the CCJ against you.

Will the Claimant consent to the CCJ being set aside/removed?

Only the Court can set aside and remove a CCJ from your credit file however, you may not require an Application to set aside the judgment or attend a Court hearing if the Claimant consents to the removal of the CCJ. In most cases, the consent would be agreed via a Draft Order agreement signed by both parties which would just need the Court’s approval in order to set aside and remove the CCJ.

In most cases a Draft Order is approved by the Court however, the Court does have the power to defer the Draft Order and request further evidence or reject this completely.

Once the CCJ is set aside, it will be removed from your credit file and it will be as though the CCJ never existed in the first place.

Contact us today for a FREE case review in order to challenge and set aside/remove your CCJ