Paid CCJ - please help

[Ivygarden]

Ok so my husband defaulted on a loan in 2013 and got a CCJ. However, we instructed a solicitor and paid the debt in full, 5 days before the court date.
Fast forward five years and time to remortgage, the CCJ showing on husbands credit report as ‘active’. Took some advice, completed a form and sent sufficient evidence from our solicitor to the court. There were two options on the form- do I want a certificate to show that the CCJ is satisfied or cancelled.
I ticked cancelled. Just had a letter back from the court saying the CCJ has been marked as ‘satisfied’. This means it will remain on my husbands credit report. Why would the court not have cancelled the CCJ? When it says the CCJ needs to be paid within 28 days, does it mean- within 28 days of the court date? Or receiving the letter? I’m so baffled by this and utterly frustrated. It is due to expire in Jan ‘19 but is currently affecting our ability to remortgage and (correct me if I’m wrong) unjustifiably so. Any advice gratefully received.

I can;t quite work out what happened from your OP, but I hope this helps.

If he'd already been given the CCJ when you instructed he solicitor to pay, and you paid 5 days before it was due at court to outline a payment plan (for example, the CCJ had been issued, he hadn;t made attempts to pay, the creditor had returned to court to enforce the CCJ), then it is correct that it will remain on his credit file for 6 years from the date of default, although (as it is) should be marked as 'satisfied'.

If the debt was paid in full following a letter informing you of the application made for a CCJ, but BEFORE the CCJ was actually issued, the CCJ should never have been on his credit file in the first place, simply the original defaulted account.

Does that make sense?

Thanks so much for responding. Clearly I’m really confused (not helped by the fact that my husband hid it all from me). So is the CCJ not issued in court?

I had assumed that the CCJ would be issued in court. Basically, when he received the letter saying he was being taken to court we got a solicitor and paid it in full. I also remember the solicitor being up against it to make the payment before the court date, which I guess is why I’d assumed if it hadn’t actually got to court, you couldn’t have a county court Judgment.

You're correct in that a CCJ can't have been issued without the case actually going to court.

I suspect the issue here could be that here had already been one court case, in which a CCJ was issued, which your partner didn't tell you about. When the balance wasn't paid, and no payment arrangement was agreed, they took your partner back to court to enforce the CCJ (for example get the court to set out a payment plan, or alternatively recovery action in the form of bailiffs). Not wanting to accuse your partner of anything, or make sweeping judgements about your circumsances, but that scenario would would fit with the court case you knew about, and the fact that they haven't removed the CCJ, simply marked it as satisfied.
I think a frank discussion with your partner is in order to establish exactly how far along the process he debt was at the point where he made you aware. If the CCJ should never have been issued, contact the court directly,who will give you all of the details you need to have it removed. If it does turn out the CCJ was already issued, try to take comfort in the fact that it goes off his credit file 6 years after issue, not 6 years after you've paid the balance, so you're already part way through that.

No judgement here, I lefthome at 17 (through pig headed choice), and got myself into several thousands of pounds worth of debt through several stupid decisions,and endedup with 6 CCJs. I'm still paying things off now and I'm almost 30. It happens, but once you face it, these things are much easier than you think to sort out. It ay take a while, but things WILL getsorted out. It just may hold up your plans a while

Thanks Peabod. I genuinely don’t think my husband knows. He literally buried his head in the sand until the point that I opened a letter and found out.
I’ll get him to call the courts first thing tomorrow morning but thanks so much for clarifying the situation for me. It all seems so complicated. I hope it’s not what you are suggesting but I suspect you might be right. 😭
Less than a year left with it on our credit report so it’s not the end of the world if we cant remove it. When the time lapses, do you have to apply to have it removed or does it just go?

Either the courts or whichever solicitor took him to court on behalf of the creditor will be able to tell you. If you have a leter from the solicitor who tookhim to court, I'd getin touch and ask if they'd mind sending out copies off all correspondance so you can both catch up with what the situation is. That way you'll either at wors have a clear picture of where you stand, a best, see there's a mistake and have the evidence you need to prove it.

Good luck with it all :-)

If you go to a mortgage broker and fully disclose the history of the CCJ and evidence of payment etc. they can plead your case for you.

The fact that it was paid off, was 5 years ago and no other bad credit evident since (check your credit report), you will no doubt have a perfect mortgage payment history. These are all positive points in your favour and the bank will still consider your application.