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County Court Judgment Process

If you’re owed money by your debtor and you go to court and you obtain a judgment against the debtor this will be in the form of a CCJ or County Court Judgment. You may use Money Claims Online to issue court proceedings against your debtor to obtain a judgment in default which enables you to go onto enforcement.

Perhaps you tried it. Alternatively, you may have filed a claim and discovered that you were dealing with a Defence or Counterclaim, and your claim was transferred to the person you were suing’s home court. You may now be reading this with the benefit of a CCJ that has to be converted into cash, regardless of where you started and whether your journey was quick (called a Judgment in Default) or protracted (called a Contested Hearing).

The bottom line is you want your money and not the judgment and we understand that. As you may be aware, getting paid as a result of the litigation process is not automatic unless the person you are suing decides to pay you before the judgment stage. Of course, this does happen, but for some debtors, they will pay you later, and for others, they will not pay at all until you instruct bailiffs to enforce payment. Thousands of judgments are granted in England and Wales each year that fall within this category, so the good news is that you are not alone in your pursuit of payment.

Before we explain the process let’s first briefly explain to you about County Court Judgment.

What is a County Court Judgment (CCJ)?

A County Court Judgment is an order by the court requesting that money owed by a debtor is paid to the creditor. CCJs are recorded in the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines (Register) for six years unless you pay the full amount in a month. Paying the debt early may alleviate difficulties when applying for credit or loans or being denied credit altogether or facing higher interest rates.

If you fail to pay back the money that’s owed, there may be consequences. In England and Wales (among other places), a County Court Judgment or CCJ can serve as an order of repayment entered by the courts against your name if they’re received with fees paid in advance–and these claims often come through on behalf enforcements agencies like bank creditors who offer their services upfront at no cost; but it doesn’t end here! The process also varies depending upon where someone lives: Scottish law provides another option called “enforcing debts dutifully.”

What is The Process For CCJs?

How To File a CCJ?

Before you apply for a CCJ, you must send a letter (sometimes known as a default notice or a Letter Before Action) to your debtor, warning that legal action may be taken if the outstanding debt is not repaid within a minimum of 14 days.

After you have submitted a claim to the County Court, your debtor will receive the following |

Claim Form | this provides details of the amount of debt, which is being claimed, along with any interest

Response Pack | this includes an admission form (i.e.to accept that the money is owed), a defence form (i.e.to contest a claim) and an acknowledgement of service form (i.e.to confirm receipt)

A response must be made within 14 days of receipt of these forms – otherwise, a CCJ will be issued as a default judgment.

What to Do When You Receive a CCJ Claim Form Letter

The idea of filing a CCJ form is not as strange or random. It’s something that can come from multiple steps taken by your creditor, and there are certain criteria they need to meet before this happens – but it doesn’t always happen in such circumstances…

Receiving a Letter of Claim

If you have received a letter from your creditor, telling of their intention to take court action against the debt and serving it on what is called “pre-action protocol”, then there are still options available for reaching an agreement with them. The first step in this process must come through responding within 30 days or before they can issue any kind notice ahead starting up CCJ claims; otherwise all communications will be ignored as well!

Receiving a Default Notice

There are various ways to deal with debt, but if you don’t reply within 30 days of getting the warning letter from your creditor then legal action will begin.

The Consumer Credit Act requires that you be sent a default notice at least 14 days before any action is taken.

The letter or notice should make it clear how you can respond and what action might be taken if you don’t. It must also include a copy of the Financial Conduct Authority’s default information sheet

County Court Judgments for Debt

When someone takes court action against you and it is decided in their favour, they may get a County Court Judgment (CCJ) or High Court Judgment. This means that the judge believes there are grounds for debt collection on your behalf; therefore, no response will be needed from you when dealing with these matters!

When you get a judgment, this means that the court has formally decided on your debt. It’ll come through and explain everything to me!

  • How much you owe
  • How to pay (in full or in instalments)
  • The deadline for paying
  • Who to pay

If you have a court judgment against your name, it can make getting credit difficult. The records of judgments are stored for six years unless paid in full within one month – this might be why so many people struggle to establish themselves as reliable financial representatives once they’ve had legal trouble before appearing on an application or checking account!

What You Can Do if You Get a Judgment

The creditor will send you a CCJ claim form if you didn’t respond to the default notice or were unable to reach an agreement.

If you receive any letters or notices and are unsure of what to do with them, don’t hesitate. swift action can prevent the situation from getting worse before it’s resolved correctly in court so that your circumstances will be taken into account when deciding how much debt should actually come out-of-pocket for repayment!

The court will still issue a judgment, but they won’t take your circumstances into account.

They could order you to pay back the debt all at once when it would be impossible for you.

Ask your lender if you can pay back the money in two or three payments. If they won’t let it, ask for some time to come up with a repayment plan – but be sure that whatever agreement is made about payment terms includes a clear timeline for when this debt will finally go away!

  • Pay off your balance
  • Ask for a loan from family, friends or other sources (but be aware that this can put them at risk too)
  • The Court can alter the terms of this judgment if it so desires.
  • Pay it back in instalments

The judgment you have just received in your favor can be cancelled or set aside if:

  • That is not your money.
    You do not owe the debt!
  • You did not receive or did not respond to the original claim from the court saying you owed the money

What Are The Options For Responding To a CCJ? Respond To a Court Claim For Money

You will receive a letter or email if someone claims that you owe them money. You must respond by the date on your assigned response form, otherwise, they may take further action against what’s owed to avoid any additional fees from being assessed!

You can respond by:

  • paying the full amount
  • paying only what you think you owe (When you pay only what you think is owed, it’s a lot easier to stay in the black. As soon as your balance becomes negative because of unpaid bills or fees then there will be an automatic deduction from one paycheck every month until everything has been paid off again!)
  • defending the claim (It sounds like you have a balance due on your account.
    We’re always happy to help our clients with any questions they might have, so don’t hesitate in getting back if this situation applies!)

When you do not respond in time, the court will issue a CCJ and might charge more for their services.

How Can The Debtor Choose To Respond To A County Court Judgment?

The debtor has the following options to respond to a County Court Judgment |

  • The debtor can pay the claim in full (including any interest and fees)
  • The debtor can ask to pay the claim in instalments – if the creditor does not accept payment in instalments, the court will need to decide
  • The debtor can dispute the claim, or the amount owed

A CCJ will be recorded in the Register unless the claim is disputed.

How Can a Claim Be Disputed?

A claim can be disputed in several ways |

  • dispute of the amount claimed (i.e., Admission that some money is owed but not the full amount claimed)
  • defence of the claim (i.e.no money is owing, or creditor has already been paid)
  • counterclaim

The defence form contained in the response pack should be filled in to dispute a claim – and it is usually necessary to attend court. A decision will normally be reached on the day of the court hearing. It is possible to appeal the judgment within 21 days.

If a dispute fails, a CCJ will be recorded in the Register.

Deadline For Replying To a CCJ Claim Form

When you receive a CCJ claim form, the deadline for response is usually 14 days unless an extension has been requested. The inclusion on this particular paperwork of Income and Expenditure forms means that all income sources, as well as outgoings, must be detailed in order to respond properly- so don’t ignore it!

This will show the court your financial status and that you are able to pay off debt.

Your options are:

  • You can file a defence if you disagree with the amount that’s owed.
  • If you want to avoid paying your creditors, then it is best that we admit the claim. This will allow them access and supervision over our financials so they can finally get what’s owed! You’ll also need to fill out some paperwork where I would like all relevant information about me as well as any assets or debts which may affect payment in full immediately following this proceeding.
  • 14 days is not enough time to prepare a defence and you should submit an acknowledgement of service if planning on defending the claim.

Receiving The Judgment

A warrant for your arrest. The court will then look at all of the paperwork and if they find enough reason to issue one, you’ll be taken into custody immediately!

  • You can make a judgment in instalments, where you pay off the debt over time.
  • The judgment you received has been filed and is due immediately.

If you need to go through court, then this could be an option for debtors who are looking at getting their lives back. It gives them the opportunity not only to tell what happened but also agree on repayment if the judgment goes against them- which isn’t compulsory of course!

You’ll receive a judgment in instalments if you admit the claim and make monthly payments.

The monthly repayment rate will depend on the information you provided in your admission form.

If you don’t answer the claim and can’t take your circumstances into account, they’ll still enter a judgment against You!

If you default on your judgment, the courts will probably grant a warrant of arrest and order that money is seized from any assets at hand. This is called an “instalment” or ‘forthwith’ judgment – it means we’ll get our hands on what’s owed as soon as possible!

If you can’t afford your monthly payments, it is important to ask the court for a redetermination. This will allow them to take another look at whether or not they think that’s enough time and money available order to make these repayment plans work!

The CCJ process can be a bit more complicated if you haven’t met certain timescales.

If You Don’t Keep To The Terms of a CCJ

You should be aware that if you don’t keep to the terms of your CCJ, then it can lead to a creditor to enforce their debt.

There are several ways that they can do this:

  • bailiff action
  • Charging Order
  • Attachment of Earnings Order.

Bailiff Action

The creditor can apply for a bailiff to collect the debt. If granted permission, they will issue you with an Order of Control which is your ticket into their court system!

The bailiff has the power to visit your home or business and collect money owed and seize goods that could be sold in order for you to repay what’s left of debt.

The warrant can be suspended to allow you time for repayment. Get a free review.

Attachment of Earnings Order

An Attachment of Earnings Order is a legal process in which the wages owed to an individual can be deducted by their employer.

Charging Order

The creditor can ask for a Charging Order to be secured against your property.

When you sell or re-mortgage your property, the debt will be paid back and then some. You can deal with that repayment at whichever point works for you!

If your house is worth less than what you owe on it, or if people depend heavily for their living situation in the home and they’ll be left without one of theirs forever due to forced sale by creditors- then this could very well happen.

The Enforcement Process

You will find in the Money Claims Online system, that it’s relatively easy to issue a Warrant of Control but we don’t encourage claimants to take this step if their judgment is over £600. You can tell if your judgment is over £600 by looking at the box on the front of the judgment.

Instead, we will encourage you if you have a judgment of over £600 to transfer them to the High Court and issue a Writ of Control. This is the High Court’s version of a Warrant of Control, and you can see from the TV show, “Call the Bailiffs” how the enforcement agents work to get you your money.

Unlike the County Court system, High Court Enforcement Officers and Agents are driven to recover your money since they are paid by the Judgment Debtor.

Benefits of Transferring a CCJ Up to The High Court

We hope that the TV show “Call the Bailiffs” demonstrates the benefits of entrusting your judgment to a proactive and knowledgeable team of enforcement specialists. You can observe the agents’ personalities as well as Claire’s and the Shergroup team’s support. Our entire procedure is geared to provide a quick and effective enforcement service while adhering to the letter of the law and the expectations that we have set for ourselves.

Above all, after your first investment of a one-time fee, the debtor must pay all fees associated with the High Court enforcement process. There are no hidden fees to pay, and no more invoices will be received. It costs £161 in total, including upfronts.

Is Your CCJ Over £600?

If you have a County Court Judgment from any court in England and Wales, which is less than 6 years old and is over £600 you can go to our website and transfer your judgment using our online store at

We charge a one-time fee of £161 to process your judgment and you will recoup all this amount if your debtor pays up.

Is Your CCJ Under £600?

If your County Court Judgment is under £600 or is based on a regulated credit agreement, then you can use our NO COLLECT NO FEE service as an alternative to using a County Court Bailiff to collect your judgment using our expert collection team – again you can upload your judgment and pay nothing to get started at

https://shergroup.com/product-page/cashflow-b2b-no-win-no-fee-debt-collection/

Summing Up

By using Shergroup’s expert enforcement team you will get to work with the enforcement agents you can see on “Call the Bailiffs”. Our enforcement agents will go all the way to enforce your judgment and get your debtor to pay you in full. We have a knack for making the impossible possible for our clients and helping them with a positive outcome for their problems.

So don’t sit on a judgment you need to be enforced. Use our online channels to transfer it to us or contact us about any query you have. We are here to help you get your situation resolved.

If you want to make a purchase, click here | https://shergroup.com/product-page/cashflow-county-court-judgment-ccj-transfer/

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Last updated | 19 July 2023

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