The Rising Tide of County Court Judgments
Consumers continue to face more un-managed debt in England and Wales for the second year in a row according to figures for the first quarter of 2015 released by Registry Trust.
Consumers continue to face more unmanaged debt in England and Wales for the second year in a row according to figures for the first quarter of 2015 released by Registry Trust.
Figures released this month, show a 20% increase in county court judgments (CCJ) recorded against consumers in England and Wales in the first three months of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. This follows a 38% increase from Q1 2013 to Q1 2014. 2008 was the last time that more than 200,000 consumer CCJ’s were recorded in the first quarter of the year.
Whilst the average value of a consumer CCJ in Q1 fell for the sixth consecutive year, the total value of judgment’s registered against consumers was up 12% from Q1 in the previous year at £455.2m. This increase in total value follows a 33% rise the previous year. The average value of a consumer CCJ in England and Wales was £2,171 – seven per cent lower than in the first quarter of 2014.
So, whilst the average debt value of judgments is decreasing, the total value of debt secured by a judgment is increasing. This suggests that Creditors are far more inclined to issue judgments for a lower debt value than previous years.
In the first three months of the year Registry Trust received 42,856 requests to search the register for England and Wales, searching for judgments and other registered information against businesses and consumers in the UK
We have seen a noticeable increase in litigation activity from our clients, particularly within the utilities, debt purchase and general commercial sectors. Litigation allows creditors to obtain judgment, secure their position, avoid limitation issues and consider the most effective enforcement method using the data intelligence available to them.
Access to data intelligence prior to issuing court proceedings is a valuable benefit for clients. This enables them to identify each customer’s ability to pay and whether any prior CCJ’s have been registered, thus ensuring the right outcome for both client and more importantly the consumer.
We have one of the largest and most comprehensive recoveries teams in the UK supporting clients both nationally and internationally. If you would like to know more about our Recoveries team and how they can help you, do get in contact.
