What if I don’t have any money left over to pay my CCJ?
If you don’t have any money left over once you’ve paid your priority bills and debts, then you could make a token make an offer of whatever you feel you can afford, no matter how small.
If the court decides that you can't afford a monthly instalment, then the court will record it as a 'judgement forthwith'.
.png)
"Judgement forthwith" means:
- A court decided you must pay the full amount owed immediately, and
- The people you owe can now take action to get it
Your creditor could take further court action such as an attachment of earnings order or bailiff action.
We wouldn’t recommend leaving the offer of payment section blank or writing “£0” as the court will almost certainly give a judgment forthwith.
If you have no money left over to pay the CCJ, you would probably benefit from some help with your finances. Answer a few quick questions to find out how we can help you.
Can I change how much I pay towards a CCJ?
In most cases, you can ask the court to reconsider but you must act quickly.
You can ask the court to change the payments if you can’t afford them (‘redetermination’) or if your circumstances have changed (‘variation’).
Redetermination
Redetermining a CCJ is when you apply to change the payment terms if you can’t afford them.
This process allows you to ask the court to review the payments you were told to make to the CCJ and change them if they’re too high.
This is free to apply for, but is only available if the following conditions are met:
- The CCJ was a ‘judgment after determination’ – this will be stated on the judgment letter. This means you returned your paperwork on time, the creditor refused your offer and the court made a decision or ‘determination’ about the rate of payment
- Your application for redetermination is received by the court no later than 16 days from the date of judgment on the CCJ judgment letter.
You apply for redetermination by writing to the court and enclosing a copy of your budget showing the amount you can afford to pay. We have an example letter you can use to do this.
If your original CCJ payment was decided by a court officer: When you apply for redetermination a District Judge will review your case and decide what the rate of payment should be, usually without a hearing.
If the original CCJ payment was decided by a District Judge: You’ll be asked to attend your local County Court hearing centre for a hearing to decide the new rate of payment.
If original CCJ payments were decided by a District Judge at a hearing: You won’t be able to apply for free redetermination. This doesn’t happen often because most CCJs are decided by court officers with no hearing.
Variation
This process asks the court to change the instalments if they’re too high.
You can apply for variation at any time if your circumstances change, but there’s a court fee of £14.
To apply for variation, you need to fill in court form N245. This is similar to the N9A admission form you were sent when your creditor started court action, and you need to fill in details of your income, living costs and debts, and make an offer of payment.
- You send the completed N245 form to the court with payment, or with proof that you’re exempt from payment.
- The court will send the N245 form to the creditor to check if they agree with the new instalments. If the creditor doesn’t agree the court will decide a fair payment. Usually this will be done without a hearing.
- The court will then write to you with details of the new instalment. There’s no guarantee the CCJ instalments will be set at the new amount you’ve offered.
Read our guide to completing the N245 form.
To avoid the risk of your creditor starting further enforcement action, if you’re applying to vary the CCJ you’ll need to keep paying the instalments ordered in the original CCJ judgment letter until the court writes to you with details of the new payments. This could take a few weeks.