Advice from landlords needed! Rental credit checks + CCJ = No,no??

N79

DVardysShadow wrote: »

It is indeed possible to get CCJ's set aside. This can be done with or without the agreement of the creditor, by application to the court on grounds such as papers having been sent to the wrong address. It resets the clock back to the point at which proceedings were started - so the CCJ could be applied again - with a new date!!! but there would be a hearing. So if you go down this road, don't start until you can pay the whole lot off.

You only have 21 days from becoming aware of the CCJ to do a statutory declaration though (without a very good reason - eg in hospital). It sounds like the OP may well be long out of time, so the CCJ stands.

OP - the reason the CCJ is so damning is that it means that not only has someone claimed you owe them money but a court has agreed, ordered you to pay and have decided to ignore the court order. You have not even paid the CCJ to this day. Given that you have a history of acting unlawfully and ignoring both your obligations and court orders it is not surprising that many LL's, especially those at the higher end of the market, will simply not let to you.

At the very least you should pay the CCJ so that it is satisfied. We all make mistakes - but showing that you are correcting them and being honest means you will probably find a LL eventually.

Kayj24

agrinnall wrote: »

How did you come to 'discover' that you have a CCJ? Were you not aware of it before you checked or is it just that you didn't know it would be on your credit record? If it was issued without you knowing there may be a possibility (probably small after this time) of getting it set aside

No I had no idea the CCJ was there. I've not applied for credit not for a very long time and it was only by chance that just before xmas I applied to get a car on finance and was rejected by one company but then accepted by another who wanted me to end up paying double to what I wanted to borrow. So after speaking to the bank they offered my a 2K overdraft so I could get the car and told me to run my credit report which I have only just done as I wanted to get xmas out of the way first.

So here I am stuck with a CCJ that I have never had any letters etc! The CCJ is not for a large amount just under £300 so actually settling it would not be an issue I just dont understand why I havent been chased for the money even to this day?

Im guessing fighting a CCJ isnt easy and is probably quite time consuming and very rarely gets removed - so just not really to sure what to do here as it sounds a CCJ paid or unpaid either way my chances of renting are not looking good. I would quite happily saw my right arm off if it improved my chances of renting is there anything else I could do?

Paying rent upfront would be an option if we stayed at home for a couple of months longer, but I didnt think this would encourage a landlord to rent to me as it only really proves that I have the money there and then.

BitterAndTwisted

The first thing you should do is pay off the debt that incurred the CCJ. At least it would be shown as "satisfied" on your records. There is no such thing as "only" a £300 unpaid and enforced debt to a landlord. I should warn you that just because the creditor hasn't collected this debt that they won't. Usually right before the six years when it becomes state-barred they will sell the debt on to a Debt-Collection agent who will start hassling you and imposing massive charges for the privilege. Please pay it off now.

N79

Kayj24 wrote: »

No I had no idea the CCJ was there. I've not applied for credit not for a very long time and it was only by chance that just before xmas I applied to get a car on finance and was rejected by one company but then accepted by another who wanted me to end up paying double to what I wanted to borrow. So after speaking to the bank they offered my a 2K overdraft so I could get the car and told me to run my credit report which I have only just done as I wanted to get xmas out of the way first.

So here I am stuck with a CCJ that I have never had any letters etc! The CCJ is not for a large amount just under £300 so actually settling it would not be an issue I just dont understand why I havent been chased for the money even to this day?

Im guessing fighting a CCJ isnt easy and is probably quite time consuming and very rarely gets removed - so just not really to sure what to do here as it sounds a CCJ paid or unpaid either way my chances of renting are not looking good. I would quite happily saw my right arm off if it improved my chances of renting is there anything else I could do?

Paying rent upfront would be an option if we stayed at home for a couple of months longer, but I didnt think this would encourage a landlord to rent to me as it only really proves that I have the money there and then.

As I said above, if you became aware of the CCJ more than 21 days ago then absent a good reason for delay, you are now stuck with it. That is the price of inaction.

I presume you have not been chased for it because the creditor did not have your address or other contact details. It is even possible that the debt was not yours and so you were not chased (I say was not yours because, of course, it now is you debt by order of the courts).

N79

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

The first thing you should do is pay off the debt that incurred the CCJ. At least it would be shown as "satisfied" on your records. There is no such thing as "only" a £300 unpaid and enforced debt to a landlord. I should warn you that just because the creditor hasn't collected this debt that they won't. Usually right before the six years when it becomes state-barred they will sell the debt on to a Debt-Collection agent who will start hassling you and imposing massive charges for the privilege. Please pay it off now.

Now that the creditor has a court judgement, the debt will not fall under the limitations act. However, after 6 years the creditor would need to apply to the courts for permission to enforce the debt.

BitterAndTwisted

I'm glad that you're certain about that. I got the distinct impression after having a read on the Debt-Free Wannabe forum that very bad things start to happen once the creditor has sold the debt on to a DCA. Like home visits, harassment, usurous additional charges and then bailiffs at the door claiming they can take away goods.

For the sake of three hundred quid I'd pay up and make it all go away.

Kayj24

Ah ok still a bit confused by it all (I blame being young). But I will try and contact the courts over the next couple of days and see if I can have a copy of the judgement. For the CCJ to have been issued the courts must have a valid reason to believe the debt is mine.

The main thing concerning me which I forgot to mention was an unknown linked address also came onto my credit report. I have contacted experian explaining I have never lived there nor know of anyone who has lived there just waiting for them to get back to me.

I just hope the two are connected somehow and the debt isnt actually mine but linked through this 'dodgy' addresses somehow (such as maybe the person wasnt contactable at there old address and mine has came up somehow) the linked address is showing as a year before the CCJ so could be possible.

I think I will be keeping my Experian membership from now onwards just to prevent anything like this happening again the future!

DVardysShadow

Kayj24 wrote: »

I just hope the two are connected somehow and the debt isnt actually mine but linked through this 'dodgy' addresses somehow (such as maybe the person wasnt contactable at there old address and mine has came up somehow) the linked address is showing as a year before the CCJ so could be possible.

2 shots at it then, First, to get it off your record because it is not yours, Second to get it set aside...

If it might not be yours, don't pay it off unless you have no alternative. Paying it off could be construed as accepting the debt.