Your Credit File: County Court Judgements and Administration Orders.

COUNTY COURT JUDGMENT (CCJ).

This is an order taken out against you by someone to whom you owe a debt. To get an order against you, the lender first has to issue a Notice of Default, you would normally receive letters warning you of the Notice. If you ignore them you will receive the Notice. You should not ignore it if you do the next step is an application to the Court for a Judgement against you.

You will receive a court Summons requiring you to attend at a given date for a hearing. It is better to go and attend to explain your circumstances, however this is not necessary as enclosed with the summons are forms of mitigation to help your case. The court does not find you guilty or not guilty, it decides whether owe the debt or not. Then it makes a judgement against you if it is proven that you are a debtor. Subject to your own evidence it might be decided to give you time to pay over a period at their discretion. If you are able to pay the full amount within one month then the judgement might not show on your credit file in the future. Take advice from the court at this point!

The CCJ and your Credit File.

A CCJ will stay on your file for six years, regardless of the fact that you might settle the debt sooner. The reason for this is to show Lenders in future applications that past Lenders had to resort to court action to retrieve their monies. After six years the CCJ will automatically be removed from the systems and your credit file will be clean. Should you clear the debt within the six years, you can obtain a note of satisfaction, this will be attached to your file. This at least shows a willingness to clear your debts should you apply for credit within the six year period. Some Lenders might consider you favourably after a shorter period than six years. Remember your record does not disqualify you from applying for credit, it is there to guide Lenders as to your past actions.

Credit Repair.

Do not be mislead by others who might claim to be able to clear your credit file for a fee. They cannot do it. No matter what they might claim your answer should be no. If you pay the debt within the six years be sure to obtain the satisfaction note. That is the only thing that can mitigate a judgement to a future Lender.

ADMINISTRATION ORDER AN AGREEMENT TO PAY.

An Administration order is an arrangement to pay your debts by an agreement made via a court. You come to an agreed payment with your creditors often your creditors will agree to write off a portion of your debt. They agree to this so that they are assured of payment via an Administration Order. You would be foolish to default on this Administration Order.

To take advantage of an Administration order ( Which is better than bankruptcy) the following must apply.

You must owe less than £5000.

You must have at least two creditors.

You must already have CCJs against you which you have been unable to pay.

You will need to show proof of income. This should show that you are earning enough to service the agreed arrangement.

The purpose of an Administration Order is to protect you from your creditors. Once the order has been granted, your creditors cannot pursue you the outstanding debt you owe to them. There are no upfront fees for the court services but at the time of writing the court will levy a fee of 10% of your outstanding debts. Be sure to speak to the court regarding fees and procedure at the time of your application for the Administration order.

NOTE; This information does not apply to business Administration Orders. Business administration is dealt with on a different basis. Apply to the court for guidance.

ALWAYS TAKE APPROPRIATE LEGAL ADVICE!