Prior to the discussion, it is essential to know that having a County Court Judgement (or in short, a CCJ) registered against you will not obviously end in not getting any credit or mortgage. There are special lenders who might lend you money even if you have CCJs. However for these credits you will surely have very high interest rates which are explained by the higher risk that you represent for the creditor. And don’t forget the credit crunch either which clamped down on the risky lending procedures. So in case you have a bad credit record, you are likely either not to get a credit or get it with very high interest rates form a bad credit lender. You won’t like either case, will you?

In case you apply for a credit, the creditors’ first step is usually a credit check. Namely they look for your past difficulties with debt repayments. They can quickly get this information from the statutory Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. A CCJ on your credit record will surely reflect on you, will point to the fact that you represent a high risk, and most probably lowers the chances of getting the requested money.

It is really possible to legally remove CCJs from the Court records! And why is this step a good and an essential one for you to follow? Because it will restore your credit rating as soon as in a few weeks, or even in a few days! Therefore the credit agencies cannot make restrictions to you anymore. Practically, after a successful removal, your CCJ will not exist. In the same time, your credit rating will be unscathed as well. Is it promising enough?

Let’s move on to the restrictions, namely to the issue of eligibility! There are only two things that can cancel your application for such a removal. First, if you have made a written defence to your conjuration. Second, if you attended the court as defendant.

So are you eligible for the removal? Then let’s see what kinds of documents are needed before the proceedings start! For processing the removal of your CCJ you will have to provide with the original court summons, the name of the court, the name of the plaintiff (who is the person who took out the summons, the creditor actually) as well as the Case Number. The latter is asked by the Court for identifying your case. Without this number the Court will not take into account your application. So in case you do not have it, feel free to contact the central registry!

What is the procedure if you think a CCJ have been issued against you undeservedly, improperly or suspiciously? Let’s take it step by step! First, a special N244form should be requested from the Court, or you can download it for free. This form must be completed if applying for a removal of an unfair or improper CCJ. By filling in this form you will provide with all the information regarding your judgement, and also with a valid and legal explanation for the Court to set your judgment aside.

The following list may help you decide what might be considered as a valid reason for applying to a removal.

	It is a perfect reason if you did not get a full notice period (that is, one month) to have the chance to pay your outstanding debt.
	It is also an accepted reason if the summons or the judgement’s notice was sent to an incorrect or old address.
	If you were unable to attend the Court and defend yourself due to special instant circumstances, then you can apply as well.
	It is an obvious reason that the CCJ appeared on your credit file although you paid it up within a month.
	And it is also accepted at once if you have not received either the summons or any notification of the CCJ made against you.
	Also, in case the summons were took jointly both against you and another person, but not both of you got it, then you can apply.
	If the summons were not delivered on time, therefore 3 weeks were not given to you to have the chance to reply to the Court.
	It is also acceptable if you were not at home when summons were issued and until the judgement was registered. In this case it is obvious you have not had the chance to pay off your obligation.
	Finally, it is also an obvious reason if a person used your name and address to get a credit, so you realised you have a County Court Judgement registered against you without having got a credit in the past.

You can be sure that using any of these reasons you will have your judgements set aside. Don’t forget that you might be lucky as the correspondence sent by the Courts or the creditors are usually not recorded.

So what procedures should be followed next? After filling in the N244 form that is essential to remove your judgement(s), send it to the Court and ask for a receipt of this form. If you have this receipt, this means that your removal application is finally accepted and confirmed. So now that your judgement is set aside, you have to send this confirmation to the credit reference agencies who should remove your County Court Judgement from the register. Finally you may verify the credit reference files in order to make sure your file does not contain any default notices. Practically, that’s it! Your file is cleared up! Go ahead and have your County Court Judgement removed for ever! Good luck!