Ccj from council tax advice.

Seant83

Hi,

My partner and I are looking to buy our first home so we have checked our credit file and there is a ccj on her file from the council tax in 2012.

We had completely forgotten about this so was a shock when we saw it and now are worried it's going to effect our chances of getting a mortgage.

The ccj occurred as we had missed the first payment of the year without realising as we physically go into offices to pay the monthly figure. They had sent one warning letter after we had missed it but with one thing or another we stupidly still didn't pay it. We made our next monthly payments on time for a few months and forgot all about the missed payment at the start of the year.

Then we received a letter mentioning a ccj, so I immediately called them myself and arranged a monthly payment to have all fees, charges and remainder of council tax for 2012 paid off by the date of our last original payment date. It pretty much doubled our monthly payment for the rest of the year but we paid every month on time and have done ever since.

Now it's come back to bite us on our bum so to speak. Is there any way of getting this off her record, or are we genuinely stuffed for next 3 years or so? I'm gutted as I know it's our own doing, though a think it a little unfair that one stupid error, which we put right, can have such a big effect on our future.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give us.

pmd123

Can't imagine they will take it off your file, it is a true reflection of what has happened.

It may not be the end of the world tho, I'd suggest a post on the mortgages and endowments forum, where one of the mortgage brokers on there will give you an idea based on your deposit, income and how much you want to borrow whether a mortgage is going to be realistic in your situation.

CIS

In E&W council tax is dealt with by a liability order (which doesn't go on your credit file) and not a CCJ.

HappyMJ

Agree with CIS you don't get CCJ's for council tax.

The council goes to the magistrates court and and gets a liability order and this does not go onto your credit report.

jamesd

It's not usual for a council to use a CCJ because failure to pay council tax is a criminal matter, not a civil one, and the liability order route gives the council far better collection powers. However, they are sometimes used.

A CCJ does not happen until after a court hearing. To get one you should have received a notice of the claim with an opportunity to file a defence if you wanted to. After a CCJ has been obtained you would be notified by the court and it can be removed from the record by paying the judgement amount within about a month of the date of the CCJ. Which of these notices did you receive and not act on? Which didn't you receive? If you were not served proper notices, perhaps because the council gave the court the wrong address, you could seek to have the CCJ removed on that basis.

Nephi77

As above it is very unlikely that the CCJ is in respect of Council Tax, could it possibly be due to an overpayment of Council Tax Benefit/Support?