How long does it take before a CCJ appears on a file?

SGE1

CCJ newbie here so would welcome advice - I'v searched online for the answer but can't seem to find them.

I'm locked in a legal battle with a tradesperson who claims I owe them money - they have taken me to court. I couldn't make the date of the hearing and wrote to the judge, but there was some administrative error and the hearing went ahead, and in my absence a CCJ was issued against me (purely on the basis that I didn't show up, rather than on the merits of the case). As soon as I got the letter confirming this, I wrote to the judge and pointed out I thought there'd been a mistake, and 2 months later I got another letter saying the CCJ had been "set aside" and the claim relisted for trial at a future date.

My questions are:

1) Is there a risk that the CCJ appears on my credit file? I can't see anywhere how quickly they appear, or whether there's a risk that even though it's been set aside, it somehow still appears on my records? I think the CCJ was technically 'live' for 2 months until it was set aside, so that's what I'm worried about. I'm monitoring my file and can't see anything so far, but there always seems to be a delay.

2) If the judge says I need to pay, then I'm happy to pay - I don't think s/he will, as I've got a pretty good case, but I'm trying to trust in the system. If that's where things are headed during the hearing (which I'll obviously try my hardest to attend this time around!) then is there a way of avoiding the CCJ getting onto my file? I've read that if I pay within a month, I can apply for a certificate of cancellation. But having had problems with my file in the past (with things being on there that shouldn't and it being an administrative nightmare to get it sorted), I would rather try to avoid it getting onto my file in the first place. Is there any way I can do that? I've never been to court so I've no idea how it works.

Thanks in advance

SGE1

Bump. Anyone?

MovingForwards

All the info is here:
https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgments-ccj-for-debt

1. One month.
2. Immediately pay the debt if the judge decides they favour the trades version.

sourcrates

You can`t just write to a judge and get a judgement set aside, you have to complete court form N-244 stating your reasons why you think you have grounds for a set aside, and enclose your fee of (currently) £255.00.

The court then makes a decision based on the merits of the information submitted.

I don`t think a judgement was ever granted here, you say there are no CCJ`s on your credit file, you also mention an "administrative error", to my mind they have just re-scheduled the case to be heard again.

Lucky you.

It depends what your defence is to the claim, obviously if you win, you don`t get a CCJ, if you lose, you do, but if paid within one calendar month, you can apply to have the judgement removed from your file, otherwise it will stay there for 6 years.