Unenforced CCJ

[Pwt50]

Hi, could anyone please advise on the length of time a creditor has to commence enforcement action on a CCJ. I received a CCJ over ten years ago, but have not had any further contact from the creditor, until recently when they wrote to me threatening enforcement action, unless I made either full payment or a arrangement to pay. I have been at the same address as when the CCJ was issued so I have not been trying to evade the issue. Any advice gratefull received.*

[Amethyst]

They would need to apply for permission to enforce after 6 years and you can argue against it with section 24 of the limitations act. You could reply to their letter pointing this out.



Time limit for actions to enforce judgments.
(1)An action shall not be brought upon any judgment after the expiration of six years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable.

(2)No arrears of interest in respect of any judgment debt shall be recovered after the expiration of six years from the date on which the interest became due.
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[Pwt50]

That's great, thanks for the advice

[ploddertom]

Of course they were hoping you would not find out.

[Pwt50]

Further to my original post more information has come to light, the CCJ was for a credit card debt which then had a charging order attached, as mentioned I heard nothing for years but apparently the CCJ has recently been transferred to another DCA I was notified of this but at the time didn't realise what was going on, so my question now, if anyone could help, is this, does the transfer of the CCJ automatically transfer the CO, or would they DCA need to apply to transfer the CO separately? Just want to have as much information as possible before I contact them..
Thanks*

[Amethyst]

If there is a charging order that means the CCJ has been enforced, so the limitations act info previously wouldn't apply. The Charging Order secures the Judgment Debt. The new owner of the debt would simply need to do a transfer of the restriction with the land registry if they so wished to enforce the Charging Order ( potentially by applying for a sale order - but they are rare and depend hugely on your circumstances ).

Did the current owner of the judgment debt mention the charging order at all in their letter about enforcement ? ( they may not be aware - in which case you could say 'limitations' and see if they actually investigate and find the original judgment holder obtained a restriction )

However, as there is a charge securing the judgment debt it is likely to pop back up again in the future. To have the restriction removed you would have to have the charge holder inform the land registry they no longer have an interest in the property, and to do that they're going to want the debt to have been settled.
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Personally I'd either make an arrangement to pay the Judgment debt by installments or, if possible, try and negotiate a full and final settlement to settle the debt and have the restriction removed.

How much is the judgment debt ?


btw you should have had contact at the time the judgment creditor applied for a charge - by them, the court and the land registry.

[Pwt50]

Hi, yes they referred to the CO in the letter, the amount is 4600, the debt is in my name but the property is jointly owned, I have requested copies of the CO from the DCA to confirm exactly what they are chasing, I'll probably be looking at a payment arrangement, thanks for your help