If you ran into a sticky financial situation in the past and received a CCJ, this will appear on your credit report and remain there for up to 6 years.
But, what will this mean for your ability to be approved for a loan? In many cases, it’ll prove to be a major roadblock, but there is hope.
Your credit file is a visual representation of your borrowing history and how likely you are to be able to pay back loans in the future. A CCJ is an official court order for you to pay back money you owe. This arrives after several formal warnings have been ignored. This is the reason why they appear on your credit report, and are seen as a major red flag by any lender you apply to borrow money from in the future.
CCJs can single handedly ruin your credit score. Some lenders will flat-out refuse to deal with applicants who have a CCJ on their credit record, regardless of their other credit history.
If you need a loan in the first few years after you get a CCJ, it’s likely you’ll have to deal with lenders that specialise in offering loans to people with bad credit.
These include:
After being dealt with a CCJ, Gary struggled to be approved for a mobile phone contract. He worked on rebuilding his credit score with a credit builder credit card. After a few months of successfully paying off his balance on this, as well as meeting other direct debits he had set up, he was able to successfully apply for a mobile phone contract.
* This is a fictional, but realistic, example.
A CCJ is a big roadblock for people looking to borrow money. However, there are products that will allow you to borrow money in this situation, whilst rebuilding your credit score at the same time.
| Response | Yorkshire and the Humber | West Midlands | Wales | South West | South East | Scotland | Northern Ireland | North West | North East | Greater London | East of England | East Midlands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quite important | 40% | 33.04% | 37.88% | 44.93% | 37.09% | 42.11% | 54.17% | 38.02% | 33.33% | 38.89% | 40.23% | 34.09% |
| Very important | 38.82% | 48.7% | 42.42% | 36.23% | 45.7% | 36.84% | 33.33% | 47.93% | 54.76% | 40.74% | 45.98% | 48.86% |
| Not that important | 10.59% | 9.57% | 12.12% | 8.7% | 12.58% | 11.84% | 8.33% | 9.09% | 11.9% | 12.96% | 3.45% | 10.23% |
| I don't know what a credit score is | 8.24% | 3.48% | 4.55% | 5.8% | 2.65% | 3.95% | 3.31% | 3.7% | 4.6% | |||
| Not important at all | 2.35% | 5.22% | 3.03% | 4.35% | 1.99% | 5.26% | 4.17% | 1.65% | 3.7% | 5.75% | 6.82% |
Our experts explain how credit utilisation works and why it matters.
Learn more about the differences between your credit report and credit score.
Learn more about what to look out for when checking your credit report.
Learn more about why you might not have a credit score and why it matters.
The best methods for getting your credit rating in top shape and boosting your credit score.
ClearScore gives you free access to your Equifax credit score and credit report, forever.
Discover how your business credit score affects your company.
What is an Experian credit score, rating and report? Find out what factors affect your Experian score and how can you improve it.
Learn the facts about loan applications and your credit score plus what you can do to minimise the impact.
Learn how payday and short term instalment loans can affect your credit file and improve your chances of securing credit in the future.
