I'm often asked:
"I have seen adverts from firms who will for a set fee remove CCJs from the registers. Is this actually possible, or a cruel con?"
Well, in general terms:
The easiest way to get the judgment set aside is to persuade the creditor to agree to jointly request the court to set it aside. So you have to persuade the creditor to agree!
If you have already paid the judgment then you are in a poor negotiating position - though it's sometimes still worth a try. Some however will make a stand on principle & say 'no'. You can still get the register marked 'Judgment Satisfied', though.
If you haven't paid - well, the creditor wants money! It's always worth offering a lesser sum in satisfaction - the chances are that it'll be worth the creditor's while to accept this, agree to the judgment being set aside, and get some money in their hands now, rather than hang on in the hope that they may get the whole lot out of you at some time in the future. 70% of the debt will be attractive to many creditors.
A suitable letter is shown below. If the creditor agrees, get them to confirm agreement in writing subject to payment being made, and then prepare the simple application form and send it to the creditor to sign (with the money!).
Once you have this in your hands & signed by both parties, send it to the court with a fee of £25.00 payable to HM Paymaster General - although the Court will ask for a fee of £50 if they decide to have a hearing), keeping a copy. All being well, you should get the order setting judgment aside within a couple of weeks.
Finally, send a copy of this to each of the main credit reference agencies and ask them to update their records. They are:
Consumer Help Service
EXPERIAN
P.O. BOX 8000
Nottingham
NG1 5GX
CCN GROUP LIMITED
Consumer Affairs Dept
PO Box 40
Nottingham NG7 2SS
EQUIFAX PLC
P.O. BOX 1140
BRADFORD
BD1 5US
It might also be wise to send a copy to the company which now keeps the central register of CCJs - just in case the county court overlooks doing so:
REGISTRY TRUST LTD
173 Cleveland St,
London W1
Please note that this page is provided as
information intended to be helpful only - Egos Ltd does not offer services in
this field. If you need specific legal help or representation in connection
with such matters, you might consider approaching Mohammed Qasim at Brindley
Twist Tafft & James, solicitors
.
Mohammed Qasim was kind enough to approach me with a couple of helpful comments
on this page, and says 'Brindley Twist Tafft & James specialises in debt
recovery & defence of the same, and in proceedings for disqualification of
directors, acting for a large number of Insolvency practitioners and for private
individuals.'
I'd really appreciate your feedback on this FAQ - so mail me and tell me what you think of it, if it's been useful to you, or let me know of any specific problem you have where I may be able to help.
This page was last updated on 23rd February 2001.
No liability is accepted for any inaccuracy in the information in these pages - see full disclaimer
© Roger Sinclair & Egos Ltd - roger@egos.co.uk 1996 - 2001 - All rights reserved - see full copyright details
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Scenario: they have a default judgment against you which you have not paid. You have, or can get, the money to pay in one lump. You want to get the judgment removed from the CCJ register:
Dear Sir:
re: alleged debt for £x - Without Prejudice
I am writing about the judgment you have against me for £x.
I did have a defence to your claim, but unfortunately I overlooked the time limits for filing it. I am now anxious to resolve the matter.
A third party has offered to lend me [say 70% of £x] to pay you, if you will accept this in full settlement and will agree to set the judgment aside.
The money can be available within 7 days of your written acceptance of this offer.
If you agree I will send you the application to the court to sign with the money.
Yours sincerely,
etc
In the YYY County Court
Case no: 1234567
Between:
Creditorname
Claimant
and
Debtorname
Defendant
We the undersigned Claimant and Defendant have agreed terms for settlement of this matter and hereby jointly apply to the court for an order that the judgment herein on [date] be set aside
Signed:
.............
Claimant
............
Defendant