CCJ - Legal Fees Please Help

FalkirkG

Good morning all,


I am so close to the end of my bad credit journey I could scream.

My credit report lists my CCJ balance as £954 as at end of July and since then I have paid in £860 with another £130 to go this week.


All good. HOWEVER solicitors saying I actually owe £1457 as at today as well as an additional £120 for a "withdrawal of inhibition".


So my questions to you good people.


If my credit report is right and I can clear my debt this month, can I apply to the court directly to remove the CCJ and continue to pay the solicitors fees in the background (albeit at a more leisurely pace)?


Is it possible my credit report is incorrect?


Can solicitors tack on fees to the amount on the CCJ or should that amount have been the total payable?


Apologies for all the questions but really hoping someone can assist!


Thanks again,

G

National_Debtline

Hi FalkirkG,

If the judgement was entered at the end of July you only have 1 calendar month to clear the full balance to get it removed, so, unfortunately, because more than one month has passed since then, the judgement will remain on your file for 6 years from the date it was set. (But the status will show as settled and not defaulted once it is paid).

EDIT

An inhibition is a court order in Scotland which prevents a property being sold until the debt is paid. I’m presuming you live in Scotland as you mention inhibition. If this is the case the CCJ would actually be a decree, although they are essentially the same thing.

In order to remove an inhibition from the Register of Inhibitions you do need to pay the expenses the creditor incurred for it’s removal. I’m afraid I can’t find any information on how much this would typically cost. You could try asking another solicitor whether £120 is a reasonable amount to charge for this.

If you do actually have a decree in the Sheriff Court the creditor is also allowed to charge interest. This could be the contractual rate or the ‘judicial rate’, which is currently 8%. You should ask the creditor or solicitors for a breakdown of the outstanding balance to check whether it’s interest that has been added.


Laura
@natdebtline

FalkirkG

Hi Laura,

Thank you so much for coming back to me so quickly and I really really hope that is the case and I am CCJ clear (though not free!) from end of this month.

The CCJ has been hanging over me for a few years now but I have steadily reduced the debt month by month. I take it it will be 6 years from the judgement and not from the clearance date?


I have asked for a full itemization of the account and will demand they remove the CCJ immediately upon payment in full.

In the event that they refuse based on the outstanding "fees", my credit report will obviously show a zero balance but is there anything I need to do in order to have the court agree?

Thanks (and sorry for all the questions, I just feel so relieved to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel!).

sourcrates

They can't and won't "remove the CCJ".

It will be marked as settled.

You are stuck with it on your file for six years from date of judgment weather you pay it or not.

As for the extra fees, they are trying it on, you are only required to pay the judgement balance, that's it.

FalkirkG

Thank you Sourcrates, so really its a case of pay the debt on the credit report and do eff all else but sit back and wait another two years...I will take that over worrying about them refusing to settle the CCJ or pull some sneaky tactic.

That's perfect, thank you and Laura again.

fatbelly

FalkirkG wrote: »

All good. HOWEVER solicitors saying I actually owe £1457 as at today as well as an additional £120 for a "withdrawal of inhibition".

I've never heard of that phrase and, if you google it, all google finds is this thread!

Sounds like it's just been plucked from the air.

National_Debtline

I suspect that the OP is living in Scotland so we’ve edited our earlier post. Essentially an inhibition is a court order on a Scottish decree which restricts the sale of a property until the debt is paid. The creditor can charge for its removal from the Register of Inhibitions. Scottish decrees can also attract interest which might be what the additional charges are.


James
@natdebtline

FalkirkG

Oh dear was it all too good to be true!


I guess if that's the case then fine, I just hope they mark my CCJ as settled as according to my records I am done from this month. The fees etc I will look to renegotiate and pay off less aggressively.

The last thing is although I am based in Scotland, the CCJ was registered in Leeds Sheriff Court, would they be able to apply the notice of inhibition as you have laid out?


Thanks again...

National_Debtline

FalkirkG wrote: »

The last thing is although I am based in Scotland, the CCJ was registered in Leeds Sheriff Court, would they be able to apply the notice of inhibition as you have laid out?

Ok, in that case as the debt isn’t CCA regulated they may have started to enforce the CCJ in the English high court and added 8% statutory interest, which might be what those extra charges are. As it isn’t a consumer credit debt they didn’t need to start court proceedings in the same jurisdiction as where you live.

They could then transfer the enforcement of the CCJ through the Scottish system and get an inhibition on your property.

Ask for a breakdown of those extra charges to find out whether it is actually statutory interest. If you’re still having issues with this I recommend calling our helpline on 0808 808 4000.

James
@natdebtline