Alex Zabunyan, Manager of The Debt Advisor’s Debt Management Team and finalist in Credit Today’s 2015 Debt Counsellor of the Year Award provided help and support to a lady who called for advice on setting aside a CCJ (County Court Judgment). The CCJ that had been made against her had been issued incorrectly.
The lady has recently fed back us, “I just want to say a big thank you for the advice that you gave me a while ago at the latter end of 2014. I had a CCJ against me and I had no idea who the company Aktiv Kapital was who had a judgment for £4,100. I managed to get a SAR from the original creditor MBNA to prove that I had no outstanding debts and I was able to get the judgment set aside and struck out. Aktiv Kapital had the wrong details and account number on a credit application but with my signature on it. There was a lot of discrepancies with the documents they sent to me and thankfully the judge agreed to set the judgment aside”.
Alex states, “We frequently provide help and advice on a range of issues including CCJ’s and it’s great to hear that we’ve helped this lady achieve a positive outcome.”
While most CCJs are legitimate, they can often be issued in error to the wrong person.
What is a CCJ?
CCJ stands for County Court Judgment. It is an order made by a court against somebody who owes money to another person or company. The Judgment is entered onto the ‘Register of County Court Judgments’. These entries remain on the registry for 6 years.
What will happen if I have a CCJ issued against me?
If you have a CCJ issued against you, you will receive a claim form. The claim form will have been stamped by the court it was issued by. In most cases these forms are blue although this can vary depending on the court that issued it.
You will also receive a response pack which will include the following forms.
Defense and Counterclaim Form (N9B) – you should complete this if you disagree with the claim.
Admission Form (N9A) – if you complete this form, you are admitting to owing the full amount or amount you specify on the claim.
Acknowledgement of Service – this form is to be used if you wish to defend the claim and require time to put together your defense.
On the ‘Claim Form’ there will be specific details about the case explaining what the creditor says you owe to them, the payment deadline and the details of which you need to pay.
There is a time limit in which you will need to reply to the ‘Claim Form’. This is 14 days from service of the form. The court also allows 5 days for postage, giving a total of 19 days from the date the ‘Claim Form’ was issued.
If you get one of these letters or notices you should try to make every effort to reach an agreement with your creditor to pay back what you owe.
How do I find out if I have a CCJ issued against me?
If you are unsure if you have CCJ registered against you, you can search the Register of County Court Judgments. A fee will be payable for this service. You can search the register by writing to:
Registry Trust Ltd
173/175 Cleveland Street
London
W1T 6QR
Alternatively you can check the register online on the Trust Online website.
You can also look at your credit report which should show any CCJ registered against you. You can use the well known credit reference agencies such asEquifax and Experian. We’re a big fan of Noddle which is a service that supplies you with a free credit report.
What should I do if I believe the CCJ has been issued in error?
The forms that are sent to you once you’ve been issued with a CCJ will have details of the creditor in question.
If you have not received any forms but discovered you have a CCJ, speak with the issuing court or the Registry Trust who will have details of the creditor.
Debts are often passed to collection agencies before a CCJ is issued, so the name of the creditor might not be familiar to you. If this is the case, you should speak with the collection agency who will have the details of the original creditor.
If you still do not recognise the debt, you should ask for copies of the original agreements. If the details on the agreement do not match yours, it’s possible the CCJ has been issued in error or you have been a victim of fraud.
For more information about CCJs, read our blog ‘Have you been issued with a CCJ’.
If you need help and advice regarding CCJs or any other debt issues, then call The Debt Advisor today on 0800 085 1825 or emailadvice@thedebtadvisor.co.uk.
We are fully regulated and authorised by The Financial Conduct Authority (Reg no: 606669) and we are members of The Debt Resolution Forum.
