CCJ’s and claimant details – A lengthy tale

As a debt charity we answer lots of questions about debt, but one of the most common questions we answer is about Count Court Judgments (CCJ) and how to find the claimant details.

For the majority we speak to, they find out they have a CCJ when they apply for something, a property (renting or a mortgage) or they have applied for a job and have been told they have an unsatisfied CCJ showing on their credit record. This can be a huge problem and throw a spanner in the works of even the best laid plans.

You would expect finding the claimant details in today’s digital world to be as simple as clicking a button, but alas, finding out who has been awarded a judgment against you is still a lengthy and archaic process. Given the impact of a CCJ, especially the long term effect if you have no idea one has been issued against you, it would seem appropriate to make this information available from the onset.

So how do you find out about a judgement?

The first thing you need is the reference number for the case. You can find this a couple of ways.

Firstly, you can check your credit files for free using ClearScore, Credit Karma or Credit Club (a quick Google search will get you there). If you look under the public records section of your full report, it should give you the details such as the case reference, the amount, the court and the status of the judgment.
In some instances, the details do not show on your credit files. If this is the case, you can check the register of fines and judgments for England & Wales which is through a website called Trust Online. The downside to doing it this way, is that there is a small cost of between £6-£10 per search. If you have had different addresses, you may need more than one search, so it is always worthwhile checking your credit files first for free.

Once you have the reference number and you know the name of the issuing court you can find out who the claimant is. For most, the issuing court will be Northampton County Court Business Centre. This is the bulk processing centre for most of the CCJ’s in England & Wales. If you have a judgment for a consumer credit debt (a loan, credit card, private parking ticket or an old mobile contract for example) the chances are, this is where it was processed. All you need to do now is to call the court in question and provide them with the reference number, and they will provide you with the claimant details so you can deal with it in whichever manner is appropriate for your situation. Quite a lengthy process for something that should be so simple yes?

The Registry Trust, who operates Trust Online, has been campaigning for quite some time to have claimant data included on the register. This has a number of benefits which are listed in a rather interesting blog by Mick McAteer, Chair at Registry Trust. As yet there is no further update on this but we would hope something can be done sooner rather than later. A link to the article can be found here