CCJ at the worst time!

[Winterlove]

I left a job 6 years ago and they filed a CCJ against me for some overpaid wages. I hadn’t heard from the company since I immediately left until Autumn 2021. My mum was terminally unwell a few months ago and I asked my partner to look after the matter. He thought the letter saying it was going to court looked fake and that it was a scare tactic to get me to pay. Anyway, it was real and it went to court the month my mum died and they won, of course.

I paid the sum in full within 28 days but haven’t been able to get a hold of the company we paid to get them to mark is as satisfied. I understand they need to get the court to remove it from my file.

My credit score has taken a hit which is so frustrating because I paid it immediately. We then applied directly to the court with proof of payment to have it removed and paid the fee but it’s still not off and we have chased this up and are awaiting a response.

The crux of the matter is that we need a small mortgage to buy over my mum’s house but the mortgage broker is saying he can’t help at all because of the CCJ even though it will be removed from my file in a few weeks.

Does anyone have any success stories about having settled a CCJ and getting a mortgage very soon after?

I don’t want to lose my mum’s house and my childhood home!

Any success stories to give me some hope?

If the timing is critical and you’re really going to lose the opportunity to buy you’re mother’s home why not consider a specialist broker who is experienced with poor credit and CCJ mortgages? Get that mortgage, avoiding a lengthy fix, and remortgage as soon after your CCJ is removed as you can. The rate won’t be good, but might be better than losing the opportunity.

I’d also try other brokers for your existing situation.

As far as I know your CCJ won't be removed for 6 years, it will only be marked as satisfied. Lenders may still take a dim view of a CCJ being so recent even if it is satisfied and you may still need a mortgage for adverse credit/minor adverse credit. A broker should be able to help though.

I used to work for a credit reference agency and CCJs remain on your file for 6 years, that 6 years only begins from the date it was declared "Satisfied"

You can try and fight this but you need to get in touch with the court who issued the CCJ against you.

@blahblahx

I used to work for a credit reference agency and CCJs remain on your file for 6 years, that 6 years only begins from the date it was declared "Satisfied"

You can try and fight this but you need to get in touch with the court who issued the CCJ against you.

The 6 years is from the date of the judgement, not from when it's satisfied. Because, even if it's not satisfied, it will disappear from your file after 6 years.

I believe it's possible to appeal a ccj or request a reconsideration by the original court if there are exceptional circumstances.

Contact CAB for advice but don't expect anything to be rectified quickly. Could your DH buy it on his own?

Thanks all for the replies. I found this online:

If you pay off a CCJ in full within 30 days of receiving the judgment, you can apply through the court to have it removed; otherwise it will remain on the Register for six years.

I did pay it off within the 30 days and have sent the proof off to the court because the company haven’t removed it on my behalf and it’s been a while. I wondered if my credit score will revert back to how it was since it’s not only ‘satisfied’ but also meets the criteria to be removed completely. I don’t know what will happen next and wondered if anyone had the same experience before or knows from their line of work?

I am sure I have seen posts on money saving expert saying that specialist lenders can help with these situations. Maybe pop on there and see if there are any recommendations.

@Winterlove as long as you pay before the CCJ is registered it can be set aside. You have done the right thing by sending the proof to the court. Chase up again. If you have been told it will disappear in a few weeks but timing is critical, get something in writing from the Court and perhaps your Broker can lodge it with the mortgage lenders as proof.

There is alot of miss advise on this thread! If you get a CCJ lodge, pay within 28 days and it's like it never existed. It won't appear on your credit file. If you go over the timeframe and pay, it is marked as satisfied and shows up for 6 years on the file.

If you are served and order made against you and you didn't realise you can apply to have it set aside. This means that the Court will rewind the clock back to the day of decision. If you owe the debt then you get the 28 days again to pay and judgement is removed.

I've advised many friends.

@JustTryingouthere this is what I thought would happen. Once the court confirm payment within 28 days what happens to my credit score and file? Will it revert back to how it was immediately?

TL;DR

To confirm, it was ruled in October 2021 and I paid within 28 days. The company who won against me were supposed to write to the court to confirm it had been paid early to get it removed from my file. This didn’t happen and now they never return my calls.

I saw online I could print off my evidence, fill out a form and send it to the court with a cheque for the admin fee and that the court would remove it. The documents are with them now and the court have confirmed they’ve received it and are looking into it.

Of course, this all happened 3 months ago and my credit file already has the CCJ listed and it’s still sitting as active. Will it revert back to ‘excellent’ immediately and I’ll be able to apply for a mortgage without being affected by it?

@Winterlove yes, you file will be restored. Your credit file will go back to excellent but it might not be the same day. It depends upon when the news is reported to them and updated. Once it's been confirmed by the Court, you can ring the credit file people and send over the evidence to speed it up. Remember that there are different reporting agencies, so repeat the process. The key ones are Equifax Experian and I can't remember the other name. Check with the Broker. I've been down your path and had a CCJ removed and another one set aside, oh the joy of youth and ignorance.

Hello. Just wanted to update everyone on what happened. The court replied to me last week to say they’d be removing the CCJ from my file. My credit score jumped right back up to ‘excellent’ overnight and it looks like I never even had it at all.

The only thing is that my credit limit on my credit card went from £3000 to £500 so I’ll need to ask the bank about increasing this again soon.

We also started our mortgage application again last night.

So many sleepless nights and a big weight lifted.

@Winterlove fantastic outcome!

Having a lower credit limit might help with your application. I'd wait until after you've got your mortgage to try to increase it

I’ve decided to leave the credit limit low. I don’t mind that it’s low and I’m sure the lender won’t either but I wondered how I would explain the sudden decrease. They didn’t ask for credit card statements in the end so it might not even be a query.

Application is in and waiting game now!