How To Collect An Unpaid CCJ

How To Collect An Unpaid CCJ

Do you work for a Business-to-Business organisation and have recently experienced problem clients that have left payments unpaid or missed payment dates?

Have you exhausted all means of communication to chase the client for payment? Are you asking yourself How To Collect An Unpaid CCJ?

If you have clients that are not paying you, you may think that having a Country Court Judgement (CCJ) sent to your debtor will prompt a payment to be forthcoming from them.

Unfortunately, regardless of the severity of being sent a CCJ, this is not always the case.

A County Court Judgement, or CCJ, is a type of court order in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which is used in the event of someone failing to pay money that they owe.

There are over half a million CCJ’s that are sent out every single year, which highlights the obvious necessity for these.

If a debtor does not pay the amount that is owed within one month of receiving the CCJ, this will be placed on their credit records for six years.

This will result in the debtor having difficulty to obtain credit in the future.

Whilst they may make debtors immediately pay or agree to an installment of payments, some will simply ignore the CCJ. This is where the need for CCJ enforcement is necessary.

It can take a lot of valuable time to obtain a County Court Judgement, so when your debtors still won’t pay you, this can leave you feeling angry and disappointed.

If your debtor has left both of these unpaid, this is when higher enforcement action will need to be taken in order to recover the money that is rightfully owed to you. There are a variety of options when it comes to this, and choosing the most appropriate option is extremely important.

It has been known that if you choose the wrong method of recovery, then this can be worse than choosing none at all, and could impact your finances or cash flow.

At Federal Management, we have hundreds of years worth of combined experience in dealing with enforcing the payment of County Court Judgements. Our robust, professional and pragmatic service ensures the maximisation of a potentially successful recovery of your unpaid CCJ.

Non-Payment of A CCJ – 4 Things You Can Do To Collect

Our award-winning team of expert Debt Collection experts have put together the top 4 options available to you when attempting to collect an unpaid CCJ.

Apply A Charging Order

When you have a County Court Judgement that has been placed upon a debtor, you can apply a charging order to this to assist with the collection of the debt.

If your debtor owns or is interested in buying a property you can request that the court place a charge for the amount you are owed from the price. Additionally, court fees and basic costs will be added to this also.

If you choose the option of a Charging Order, you may not be paid the debt immediately as this will only be released once a property is sold.

However, this will give you some security that your debt will be paid to you provided there is sufficient equity on the property.

It’s normal for those that are owed money to wait for the debtor to sell their property, however, you may be able to force a sale. This will mean that your debt is paid off quickly.

County Court Bailiff/High Court Enforcement Officer Attendance

Following the unsuccessful process of sending a County Court Judgement, you may choose the option of using a County Court Bailiff (CCB) or High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) to enter the debtor’s premises to seize assets equivalent to the value of the debt.

There will be an additional fee on top of this for the costs of execution.

However, there are differences between the two, as High Court Enforcement Officers are known to have considerably higher collection rates than County Court Bailiffs. This is due to the fact that they have a higher authority to enforce.

The fees and costs are recoverable from the person that owes the money, therefore the HCEO will have an incentive to recover the outstanding sums. Otherwise, they would not get paid.

The process of using a High Court Enforcement Officer is usually a straightforward exercise. To enforce the money being paid, the first action that the HCEO will take is to take control (seize) the debtor’s goods.

When they do this, the goods can be taken away and sold if the debtor cannot pay the amount that is due.

This is a recommended method of collection, as the prospect of seizing goods is usually enough to obtain payment from the debtor.

Winding Up Petition or Bankruptcy

The term “Winding Up Petition” is an application that is presented to a court when someone is owed more than £750. This will be in the form of a written demand that requests payment to be made.

If the creditor has received the petition to wind up their company and still fails to pay what they are owed, they will have no choice but to enter voluntary liquidation.

This is due to the fact that, in these particular circumstances, they are not allowed to sell their company or assets to pay for the debt.

By law, if a company cannot meet its financial obligations then it is considered legally insolvent which may then mean they are to be forced into compulsory liquidation.

How To Collect An Unpaid CCJ – Instruct A Professional Debt Collection Agency

If you have tried any of the above with no resolution, or do not see these as viable options for collecting your unpaid County Court Judgement, the best solution is to instruct the services of a professional Debt Collection Agency such as Federal Management.

Collecting Unpaid County Court Judgements can feel like a daunting task at the best of times, so it is only right that you come to the professionals to help alleviate unnecessary stress.

Since 2004, we have collected millions of pounds every year for our clients and have credible and demonstrated industry experiencing collecting unpaid County Court Judgements. We have collected these debts across every sector, working on behalf of an impressive portfolio of clients.

Our extremely high recovery rates are complemented by our low commission rates which ensures the most hassle-free, cost-effective and quick service.

It may seem too late in the process to think about the retention of business relationships, however, Federal Management operates in a way as to not jeopardise the relationship between both parties.

If you find yourself in the situation where you have a County Court Judgement that still has not been paid, look no further than Federal Management.

Get in contact with our New Business Team today for FREE advice.

Posted on March 3, 2021