Is it Time to Check Your Credit File?

Prime Minister Theresa May responded earlier this month to an investigation by the Daily Mail into alleged abuse of County Court Judgements or CCJs as they are known as in the financial sector.

CCJs are a black mark on your credit file and can stop someone getting a mortgage or even qualifying for a mobile phone contract. The main problem with CCJs is that a lot of people simply don’t know they even have them, until they are turned down for credit.

The most common reason for this is that letters are sent to previous addresses, meaning that over 8 in 10 remain uncontested. Failing to update the DVLA when you move house can mean parking tickets and speeding fines go unpaid and result in the all too damaging CCJ.

Over the past 3 years the number of CCJs has risen by over a 1/3rd with over 900,000 issued last year and over 2,000 a day heard in court, with no defence entered.

Everyone should check their credit file to ensure that there is nothing there which shouldn’t be there. If you are looking for a mortgage, this needs to be your first port of call. There are various credit checking websites which charge you a monthly subscription, but you can usually cancel without charge in 30 days and some websites offer free checks.

Under the Data Protection Act, everyone is entitled to challenge the information held about them on the register, but getting it removed can be often be difficult and very time consuming.

Here are a few examples of CCJs we have come across:

• A utility bill for £3.20 went unpaid when our clients moved home. Demands for the money were sent to the old address and eventually a CCJ registered against them. Nothing was discovered until they came to Remortgage 2 years later and were promptly turned down.

• Someone living close by with the same surname and initial (but completely different first name) as our client was blacklisted for not keeping up payments on a car loan. A massive CCJ for £13,000 was registered against our client at his home address.

• A wife who was divorcing her husband ran up a £8,000 credit card bill in her husband’s name, while living with her new partner in Turkey.

We managed (eventually) to sort all three of these clients out with a mortgage, but not without an awful lot of hassle, stress and time. The third example took over a year to resolve.

Of course there are plenty of CCJs registered with good reason and often if they are “satisfied” getting a mortgage is a strong possibility.

If you have a question about CCJs and how they can affect your ability to get a mortgage, you need to speak to an Independent Mortgage Adviser. 

Related Blog articles:

• Can I get a Mortgage with a Bad or Poor Credit rating?
• How to Improve Your Credit Score
• What Credit Checks do Mortgage Companies do?

For more information speak to a mortgage adviser on 01628 507477 or contact us .