If a creditor has applied for a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against you, you will receive a claim pack in the post. The pack is normally 4 pages long and can be easily identified as it has a distinctive blue and white colour.

The name of the County Court where the claim has been made, the claim reference number and issue date are all shown in the front top right hand corner of the Claim Form. There will also be a court stamp.

The name of the creditor claiming that you owe them money will be stated in the front top left hand corner of the Claim Form. Under this will be the address for sending documents and payments. This is normally the solicitor acting on behalf of the creditor making the claim against you.

Do I have to respond to a CCJ Claim?

If you receive a CCJ claim pack you must respond to it straight away. You have 19 days from the issue date stated on the front of the Claim Form to do so.

You should not ignore the claim or delay in completing and returning it. If you do not respond to it or send your response in too late a CCJ will normally be issued against you without further notice and without any input from you regarding your ability to pay the debt.

You will then have to pay an additional fee to apply to change the payment instalments you have been ordered to make if you cannot afford them.

Have you received a CCJ or are you at risk of getting one? Give us a call on 0800 077 6180 or complete the form below to speak to one of our experts

How to respond if you agree with the CCJ claim

If you agree you owe the money and want to pay it straight away you should take or send the money including any interest and costs to the address for payment on the front of the claim within 19 days of the issue date. If you do this the debt will be settled and a CCJ will not be issued.

If you agree you owe the money but cannot afford to pay it straight away you must complete the Admission Form (From N9A) and return it directly to the claimant or the address for sending documents shown on the front of the claim form.

The Admission Form allows you provide details about your personal financial circumstances so that the Court can understand how much you can reasonable pay towards your debt each month. A County Court Judgement will then be issued against you based on payments you can afford.

BMD Tip: It is important that you complete the Admission Form correctly. If it is not then the court may ask you to pay more than you can afford each month.

How to respond if you disagree with the CCJ claim

If you disagree with the amount that it is claimed you have the opportunity to make a defence against the claim.  You must complete both the Admission Form (From N9A) and the Defence Form (N9B) and return them both to the Court where the claim was issued. The court will then review your counter claim and decide whether the claim should be upheld or thrown out.

If you believe that you do not owe what is claimed you have the opportunity to give a defence against the claim and raise a counter claim against the claimant.

You must send the Acknowledgement of Service form (N9) to the court with 19 days of the issue date. You must then make sure you send a defence to the court no later than 33 days from the issue date. If you do not a CCJ may be issued against you without further notice based on an amount originally claimed. The court will then review your counter claim and decide whether the claim should be upheld or thrown out.