Are you in debt? Have been given a County Court Judgement (CCJ) by your debtors? A CCJ might sound like a worrying prospect but CCJ Discharged might be one of the ways to stop you from getting stung by a CCJ on your credit file altogether.
In this guide we uncover what CCJ Discharged means, what happens if your CCJ is marked as discharged and all the other common questions relating to Country Court Judgements (CCJs).
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What is a CCJ?
Before we discuss what CCJ Discharged is, we first need to establish what a Country Court Order (CCJ) means. A CCJ is a court order which instructs a person to repay their outstanding debts to their creditors or lenders. The primary aim of the CCJ is to force someone into repaying their debts.
However, if you fail to pay your debts or your creditors feel like you don’t have the finances to do this, then it is likely a CCJ will be taken against you by one of your creditors. Consequently, an application is sent to court which will detail why your creditors believe a CCJ is needed against you.
Where can I find details of my CCJ?
The CCJ is listed on a Register of Judgements, Orders and Fines database. This will include important details about you and details regarding your CCJ. It is important to consider that a CCJ will be detrimental to your credit rating, so avoid getting a CCJ in the first place. There are debt solutions to help you before you get to this stage but if you are in this unfortunate situation, let’s carry on and find out ways to deal with this situation.
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What does CCJ discharged mean?
If you do find yourself hit with a CCJ, there is time to rectify things without it affecting your credit score or future lending options and there is something that is known as CCJ discharged.
To put things simply, a CCJ discharged means that you no longer have a judgement against you and have paid your debts in full. However, it is important is understand that this can only happen if you pay your debt in full within one calendar month of the judgement been made.
What happens when my CCJ is discharged?
Once you have paid for the debt, you will need to provide the court with evidence that you have settled the debts before the CCJ discharge deadline date. The court will then communicate with the Registry Trust and have debt discharged from your records.
What if I can’t pay the CCJ within the month?
If it isn’t possible for you to pay the debt within the allocated month, then you are able to pay it later. If the amount is paid in full then your CCJ will be marked as ‘satisfied’. Unfortunately, this will remain on your credit file.
How long does the CCJ stay on your credit report?
Generally, a CCJ will remain on your credit report for six years. A credit report is public record so if you do try and apply for credit, a lender is likely to do a credit check by contacting a credit reference agency. The credit report is a bit like your financial reputation. This includes details of your CCJ, which could prove to have a negative impact on you getting credit.
How much does a CCJ affect my credit file?
One of the popular credit reporting company’s Experian has suggested that having a CCJ against you will affect your credit rating negatively as this shows to lenders that you have a history of failing to repay your debt. Being accepted from a mortgage, taking out a loan or even opening certain bank accounts will be affected and it is likely if you have a CCJ on your file then your application will be rejected.
Does a CCJ discharge affect my credit file or future lending options?
If you make the payment on towards your CCJ within the month then your CCJ will be discharged.
A discharged CCJ will be automatically removed from the public register and you can then apply to have it removed from your credit file. You will need to apply for a ‘Certificate of Satisfaction’ from your County Court.
You will need a N443 claim form, which you can download here. Once the application form is sent and the court has proof of the discharge, the court will have the CCJ removed from the public register and your credit file. Before you apply for credit again it is best to wait a little while so the credit agencies can update their details.
My CCJ has been discharged, what next?
If you have managed to get your CCJ discharged, then that is always a positive step to financial freedom. However, there are many of us who are still in thousands of pounds of debt, with many of us unable to cover essential costs. Instead, sitting and procrastinating over how much debt you are in or even worse a creditor is taking a CCJ out against you, there is support available for people in your position. Be proactive by reading below on how you can overcome your debt problem.
What debt solutions are there in place to help me get out of debt?
Once you have accepted that you want to take those first steps to financial harmony then there are different debt solutions to manage your debt which include:
- Debt Consolidation – This is when you take out one debt consolidating loan to pay off various others. Offering you a more affordable monthly payment, you do need to consider that if the loan amount is over £25,000 then the company will ask you to secure it against an asset. There is the unsecured option too, which is riskier for the lender, so they are likely to look at your credit score and financial health in much more detail before they offer you this option.
Find out more about the benefits and risks of debt consolidation here.
- Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) – A IVA is a formal and legally binding agreement between and your creditors to pay off your loans. As it is legal it needs to be set up by an Insolvency Practitioner. That person will charge you a fee to act on your behalf.
IVAs come with a whole host questions and it is important to understand the details of IVAs before you consider it as a debt solution.
- Debt Management Plan (DMP) – A debt management plan is an agreement you have made with your creditors to get you out of debt and try and pay them. The agreement is informal, and it is usually negotiated by a third party to lower your monthly payments paid to your creditors.
Find out more information on how a debt management plan could help you.
- There are other debts solutions to help you get out debt. To understand which one is right for you, check out our debt plans section.