Considering F&F settlement on recently discovered 4 year old CCJ

[anonymouse03]

Hello,

I have recently checked my credit file and found a CCJ at a previous address for £2.5k made 4.5 years ago by Lowell. The CCJ was applied when I did not live at the address and so I have received no notification or correspondence in over 5 years. I did not acknowledged the debt since 2008 (I know now that this was the wrong thing to do) and the default has since dropped off my credit file, however the CCJ is of course still there.

I am considering making a F&F offer of around 35% value to Lowell (I can hopefully raise this money as a loan from a friend), with the hopes that under the F&F settlement they will agree to mark the CCJ as satisifed on my credit report.

Does anyone know if this is something that is likely to be accepted, and if they can / will mark the CCJ as satisifed on my credit report? I have read that there can be issues if the court sees it as only a partial payment and not full payment, but if Lowell provided a statement with a nil balance, would this get around that?

Any advice appreciated.

Thank you.

[Amethyst]

The CCJ would still show on the credit file and the register, albeit as satisfied, even if you paid it in full.

It is unlikely that anything other than the full payment will result in the CCJ being marked as satisfied.

You only have it on there for 1.5 years more.

So the judgment was obtained in 2014 ? and you last acknowledged the debt in 2008 ? any idea on specific months ? ( ie there a 6 year gap between ? )

When you acknowledged the debt in 2008 were you still living at the relevant address? When did you move? and, although presumably you didn't inform Lowell, did you update your credit file and electoral roll details? ( wondering if it may be worth applying to set the CCJ aside if you knew nothing about it until very recently - however that is going to take a couple months to do at least so probably won't assist with the job application checks )

Employers who run these checks will sometimes check that a CCJ is being paid - and that can be by installment - rather than sitting there potentially waiting for enforcement.... so could be worth speaking with the prospective employer and seeing what their rules are.

[anonymouse03]

Hi Amethyst, thanks for your reply.

I am aware the CCJ would still show, but surely a 'satisfied' CCJ (with a notice of correction maybe?) is better for an employer to see than an active one?

My query really surrounds the marking of the CCJ as satisifed - is this something the court do upon instruction from the creditor or can the creditor do it themselves?

Sorry, I got my dates wrong - the default occurred in 2009. I can see where you were coming from with the possibility of it being statute barred when the CCJ was applied, but this is not the case. It was applied within months of the statute barred date approaching.

At the time of the default, I lived at "Address 1", I moved to "Address 2" in 2011 and then "Address 3" (Current address) in March 2014 - the CCJ was issued in September 2014 to Address 2. I did not inform Lowell of address change, I have never contacted them at all through sheer fear of what would happen if they 'found' me. EDIT: I did not update my credit file with any of this either, although links have been made through bank address changes and something called Gresham? I only entered the electoral roll after the default dropped off my credit file in 2015, and this was when I had no idea about the CCJ,

I would rather not have this debt hanging around, and I can raise the means to pay off around £1k - is this a fair F&F offer in your experience? But I would have to ask for the condition that it is marked as satisifed, and that is what I need to know if it is possible to do this on a CCJ, as I know they can't be marked 'partially satisifed'.

[Amethyst]

Satisfied would indeed be better - depending on the employer of course - however without paying the full judgment amount it is unlikely you will be able to have it marked as satisfied as the register requires a certificate of satisfaction which shows the amount paid ( and the date - so the employer will see you have literally just paid it off ) Of course you could settle it for a reduced amount with Lowell - but if it doesn't benefit you it seems pointless when you could just sort out monthly installments to avoid possible enforcement before the judgment is 6 years old.

How to satisfy a County Court Judgment (CCJ)

CCJs are shown as either satisfied or unsatisfied on the Register. Satisfied means you have paid in full, unsatisfied means you have not. You can ask the court for this to be corrected if it is wrong.
If you have fully paid the CCJ more than a calendar month after the judgment date, you can apply to have it shown as satisfied by providing the court with proof of payment. The satisfied judgment will stay on the Register for the statutory six years from the date of the judgment.
When the court has received the proof of payment, they should notify us to amend the Register, to show the record as ‘satisfied’. Once updated, the Register will show that your debt has been fully paid and the date it was paid.
If you require a certificate showing that your record has been paid, you can apply to the relevant court for a 'Certificate of Satisfaction'. There is a court fee of £15 for the certificate.
You can only receive a “Certificate of Satisfaction’ if your debt is paid in full; part repayments are not recorded.

The only way to remove the judgment would be to successfully have it set aside - but you would then have to defend the claim or settle it out of court at that point. You COULD try to get Lowell to accept a settlement and consent to set aside .... but again they're unlikely to accept that at much of a discount when they know you are desperate to have it removed - plus it would cost you the application fee of £100 ( if by consent ) or £255.

[anonymouse03]

If I sort out montly payments, will I be paying these until the CCJ is paid back in full, or only until the 6 years is up?

[Amethyst]

Until it's paid in full.