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County Court Claims & Judgments |
| A creditor (someone you owe money to) may take County Court action against you to claim money they believe is due to them. If you pay the amount outstanding, plus any court fees, costs and interest, you can avoid a hearing or judgment. However, if you are unable to settle the amount in full, or dispute the amount owing, there will be a simple court hearing which you can attend if you wish. The Court will decide if the money is owed and if so, reach a repayment plan that is acceptable to everyone. You will receive a ‘Claim Form’ which shows how much the creditor says is owed and the details of the claim. This form provides you with the opportunity to explain your situation to the court. You will receive an ‘Admission Form’ with the Claim Form which ask for details of your income and expenditure and also provides you with the opportunity to make a repayment offer or specify how much you believe you owe if you believe it is less than the creditor is claiming. You will also have the opportunity to defend the claim. You have 16 days from the postmarked date to send the forms back to the Court. If you don’t make an offer at this stage and the Court decides against you it may state that you must pay the amount in full or by a monthly amount they deem reasonable. This order is called a County Court Judgment and will either stipulate the amount agreed between yourself and your creditor or, if this hasn’t been possible, the repayment figure set by the Court. If you have judgments from more than one creditor the court can combine them and make an ‘Administration Order’ which stipulates how much you must pay each month. If you pay nothing or don’t keep up with these payments the creditors can ask to the court to take further steps to force you to pay which will incur extra costs which will be passed onto you. If you fail to pay the full amount of the judgment within one month, your CCJ will be recorded on the Register of County Court Judgments for six years. Organisations such as banks, building societies and loan companies use the registered information to help decide whether to give you credit or loans, like a mortgage and you may find it difficult to get credit. If you pay the amount due more than a month after the County Court Judgment was given the entry will still remain on the Register for a full six years. However, you can have it marked ‘satisfied’ which will show anyone searching the Register that you have paid it and also the date it was paid. There is no guarantee that you will receive credit when applying. MoneyPlan have access to a specialist legal team to help you with your County Court Judgments. Complete our free financial health check NOW - we will arrange for an advisor to visit you, help you manage your debts and put you on the road to financial recovery. |
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