Claimants are struggling to recover Unpaid CCJs in England and Wales due to justice system failures. A body chaired by a Senior Judge has found that the CCj Enforcement is “extremely slow and ineffective”.
The Civil Justice Council (CJC) is chaired by Sir Geoffrey Vos and he warned that Businesses and private individuals are facing “very significant delays” in recovering what they are owed despite having CCJs awarded in the County Court.
The report issued by the CJC advises “The inability to enforce effectively through the County Court has destroyed confidence amongst creditors, The Civil Justice Centre was set up to advise the Lord Chancellor on Civil Justice.
The working group of the CJC headed by Judge Karen Walden-Smith has highlighted the often ignored area of civil enforcement.
Robert Thompson who chairs the Civil Court Users Association said CCJ Enforcement has been “crying out for improvement” for years and “It has been largely neglected”.
The CJC acknowledged that many defendants that are facing legal debt recovery proceedings and enforcement are individuals on low incomes or struggling with unsecure jobs.
14.6m people, 28% of UK adults are said to be not coping financially according to Financial Conduct Authority data.
Yet the report discovered a unsatisfactory and ineffective civil enforcement system that is failing debtors as well as the claimants.
Debt Advice Charities told a CJC public consultation last year that CCJ debt collection methods discouraged positive engagement with those that owe money.
“Both ‘sides’ of the Enforcement debate complain that the current system is arcane and difficult to understand” the report concluded.
The CJC said it acknowledged that many debtors were seeking to balance their finances and were not always “wilfully seeking to avoid paying that which they owe” The CJC also stated that there was a category of those who “could pay but won’t pay”
“The concern expressed by many creditors is that defendants can avoid enforcement too easily” due to a poorly resourced system.
“The experience of users with the process of enforcement through the county court is that it is extremely slow and ineffective”
CCJ Enforcement options
The County Court is designed to handle civil cases including Debt Recovery. A County Court Judgment (CCJ) is usually the first step in the legal process for creditors and claimants, trying to recover owed monies.
CCJ Enforcement methods include the use of County Court Bailiffs via a ‘Warrant of control’. Larger value debts can also be escalated to a high court writ end enforced by High Court Enforcement Officers.
Other CCJ Enforcement options include Attachment of earnings which is a deduction of payments from wages and third party debt orders to freeze bank account funds.
Enforcement of Judgments ‘Poor’
The report revealed that the “enforcement of judgments is currently performing poorly”. It says that some creditors are giving up on warrants of control due to limited numbers of court bailiffs and the volume of work.
The report makes several recommendations including progressing to a digital court for the enforcement of judgements and debts to be recorded on an online portal.
Vos said in a statement that civil enforcement had been “overly complex” for too long. He also added “I hope all stakeholders will carefully examine the recommendations”
In response, The Ministry of Justice issued a statement saying “We thank the Civil Justice Council for this report. We will carefully consider its findings and respond in due course”.
