Looking for advice on CCJ/Bankruptcy.

tombooth

Hi,

In August 2009 I filed for bankruptcy and was discharged a year later in 2010. I am now looking at re-building my credit score.

Recently, I moved into a new rented property but the credit check showed up an unsatisfied CCJ which I knew nothing about. To investigate this I created accounts on Equifax, Credit Expert and Noddle to have a look at my credit report (I will cancel my accounts before they charge me!). Neither Equifax or Credit Expert show this CCJ but Noddle does and it is against the property that I owned when I filed for bankruptcy. After a bit more investigation I have figured out that this is against the unsecured portion of my mortgage from when I went bankrupt which I thought was a part of the bankruptcy and not a separate court judgement.

I contacted the court that the judgement was made against and they told me that this is correct and that it will never leave my credit report due to being unsatisfied. This CCJ is for nearly £20k and is owed to Northern Rock who no longer exist as a company. Even if I could afford to pay this back I am unable to because they don't exist!

Can anyone give me any advice on this? Will it disappear off my credit file after six years along with my bankruptcy? Should it even be on my credit file?

I would like to get a credit card to start to build up my credit rating again (one day I would like to get a mortgage again) and I'm worried that this will make that impossible for me.

Thanks,
Tom

fermi

The CCJ will be removed from your credit report 6 years after the judgement date it was obtained on. That happens whether satisfied or not.

What is the date of the CCJ?

And did you go bankrupt before or after that date?

tombooth

Thanks Fermi,

I was hoping that the CCJ would disappear along with the bankruptcy. The courts had me worried by telling me it wouldn't.

The CCJ was dated two months before the bankruptcy. The CCJ was against an unsecured portion of our mortgage - our mortgage deal ending just as the credit crunch hit is what caused us to file for bankruptcy. Our payments almost doubled and no-one would re-mortgage us as my partner had recently lost her job.

tombooth

Do you know whether it is worth me trying to apply for a credit card whilst this is still on my file? I have recently graduated from university and am now in full time employment and I am itching to get my credit file back into shape!

fermi

You could try for a subrime credit builder type card. Many people have been successfully getting a small limit on those a few years after BR, but I would say still hit and miss. A modest phone contract if you can get it also helps.

They won't mitigate the damage of the bankruptcy, but it would mean that when the BR is finally removed then you will have an established history of affordable credit which would be a head start from that point on.

Search the Bankruptcy & Living With It board here. There are several running threads that probably have more up to date info than I have at my fingertips this second.

Also check your credit files to make sure all defaults etc from accounts in the BR are dated before the bankruptcy and are marked in some way to show the are settled. There is a "clean up" sticky thread to help.

tombooth

Thanks for your help,

Fortunately I made sure my phone contract wasn't included in the bankruptcy so I have successfully renewed my contract every year and have been paying this with no issues. I have also taken a couple of small pay day loans over the past year (another reason I would like a credit card) and paid these off in full with no issues.

I'm aware that no amount of credit will remove the BR on my report I just want to make sure I'm in the best position I can be once it is removed.

DCFC79

you took out pay day loans, that might have done more harm than good.

tombooth

Well I had no choice unfortunately (another reason I would love a credit card). I had a choice of taking a payday loan or not eating...

I am now in stable employment though so shouldn't have any more problems hopefully

DCFC79

tombooth wrote: »

Well I had no choice unfortunately (another reason I would love a credit card). I had a choice of taking a payday loan or not eating...

I am now in stable employment though so shouldn't have any more problems hopefully

Yes whats done is done

Thrugelmir

tombooth wrote: »

I contacted the court that the judgement was made against and they told me that this is correct and that it will never leave my credit report due to being unsatisfied. This CCJ is for nearly £20k and is owed to Northern Rock who no longer exist as a company. Even if I could afford to pay this back I am unable to because they don't exist!

Suspect that this is they.

NORTHERN ROCK (ASSET MANAGEMENT) PLC - 03273685

faddy32

It does leave your file after 6 years. Im sure there's tools online that let you do a kind of mini application for a credit card and they then tell you what cards they would recommend and give you a score of 10 for what your chances are of getting different cards. It also doesn't do a full credit search and only leaves footprint on your file that doesn't stop any future applications for credit. Barclaycard have the tool and even if it says you're not eligible for a barclaycard they'll tell you what you might be eligible for. Go on to their site and on the right hand side of the credit cards page you'll see a box saying "Am I eligible"