Car Finance with a CCJ
Having a CCJ can make it difficult to find lenders willing to approve a deal with you for car finance, mortgages and various other credit-related agreements. You may think it is not even possible to get car finance with a CCJ, so it’s imperative that you spend time educating yourself on what a CCJ is and how it can affect your application to improve your chances of getting a car finance deal.
What is a CCJ?
A County Court Judgement (CCJ) can be granted against you when you fail to repay any debts that you owe. This is common practice across the UK and the following steps will be completed before you are issued with one:
- Debtors will issue you with a warning letter declaring how much you owe them
- If you cannot afford to pay this back they will move on to legal action
- A judgement will be passed that details how much you owe and how you’ll need to repay it
In certain circumstances, it’s possible to have your CCJ removed from the register if you can pay the full amount of the CCJ within the first month of it being issued. Whilst this does not remove it from your credit file, where it will remain for 6 years, it does help to alleviate some of your debt and will enable you to start building up your credit score.
How Does a CCJ Impact Car Finance Applications?
A CCJ will remain on your record for 6 years once it has been issued. This means that even after you’ve paid off what you owe it can linger and make it difficult to get car finance or other credit deals. This is one of the things that will be taken into account when your credit score is being calculated and may result in you having a poor credit score. As it remains on your file even once you’ve paid it off, it can still negatively impact your chances of getting approved for credit agreements.
This negative impact on your credit score becomes a problem when applying for car finance, as it means you may not perform as well as you’d like in the credit check. Whilst it may not mean that you completely fail the credit check, having a poor credit rating can sometimes lead to paying higher premiums than you would with a good credit score.
Certain lenders may choose not to offer you the credit to purchase a new car, but there are specialist bad credit car finance companies such as us here at ChooseMyCar, who aim to help those with bad credit, no credit, a CCJ, or IVA to get back on the road in a safe, affordable manner.
Can I Get Car Finance with a CCJ?
Car finance and CCJs can be a complicated mix. At these times it’s even more important than usual to ensure that you have a regular income and having a car could be key to this.
We understand that everyone’s situation is different and we’d encourage you to use our car finance calculator to see what you can afford.
If you have a CCJ and are interested in applying for car finance then we’re happy to help you find the best option for you. ChooseMyCar takes every application individually, and we have a wide range of lenders who will consider people with bad credit. Applying online will affect your credit rating, and will allow you to find out your eligibility for car finance, even with a CCJ.
At ChooseMyCar, we use a soft credit check followed by a hard search during our credit checks, which is a very beneficial process for those with bad credit; hard credit checks can have an impact on your credit score if they’re carried out too often, so by completing a soft search first you’re able to see whether it’s worth applying for a credit agreement before committing to a hard search. Soft searches are not as comprehensive and detailed as hard searches, meaning they give a general outline of the applicant’s credit history rather than an in-depth dive into their finances. This does, however, mean that you may not always get the same result from your soft and hard searches, so we can’t guarantee that a successful soft search will lead to a successful car finance application.
If you want to understand more about car finance for people with bad credit or find out about IVAs, check out our guide.
Managing Your Finances and Avoiding a CCJ
While it’s best to pay off debt quickly, it doesn’t stop many from struggling to meet debt repayments. If you are one of those struggling, we would recommend getting advice through a reputable debt advisor. We’d recommend someone like the debt charity Step Change, who offer advice and support for those struggling with debt-related problems.
Often you can agree on a repayment plan without having to go through court action by simply contacting your creditor and explaining your situation to them before they decide to start formal court action. By being more communicative, you are less likely to be handed a CCJ. Following these conversations, we often see agreements struck between the lender and the borrower to allow the repayments to be made without court action.
Managing your finances efficiently and paying off your debts quickly and, in an ideal world, early, can reflect very well on you. It shows lenders that you can budget effectively and are a sensible borrower, and can also help you to build up your credit score over time.
Keeping a monthly budget is of utmost importance, especially if you’re considering entering a new credit agreement. You need to know your finances and capabilities before you show lenders what you can offer, this allows you to keep yourself safe from falling into unmanageable debt and ensures that the credit plan you have signed up for is affordable in line with your monthly finances.
How To Lessen The Impact of a CCJ On Your Credit Score
If the worst does happen, and you end up being placed on a CCJ there are several ways that you can lessen the impact.
If you pay up promptly, within one month of the CCJ being issued, then it won’t be recorded on your credit report
If you are in a situation where the CCJ can be disputed, and you can prove to a court that you shouldn’t have been issued one in the first place, you may be able to get it cancelled. You should only take this route if you are a sure thing.
Talk to a credit agency, like Experian or Equifax about your credit file and how the CCJ is affecting it. They may be able to offer you suggestions and advice on how best to minimise the impact.
If an insurance company was responsible for the debt, or more than 6 years have elapsed and it’s still on your file, you can contact a credit agency and get them to remove it. The same is true if you followed the first points above, and paid it off quickly or managed to dispute it. Sometimes it will still be on your file in these circumstances, and you may need to contact an agency to remove it.
Otherwise, the best way to minimise the impact of a CCJ on your credit score is to take steps similar to those when improving your credit score. These steps are generally good financial practice and may well help you be approved for car finance with a CCJ.
How Can ChooseMyCar Help?
ChooseMyCar is a specialist bad credit car finance provider who can help those with poor credit ratings to get the car of their dreams in a more affordable and manageable way than paying for it outright. Our finance deals are structured to offer our customers a simple, clear, and regimented way to pay for their car in a way that’s easy to track – this way you’re able to keep an eye on your monthly outgoing to keep on top of payments.
By using the soft search and hard search system we mentioned before, we’re able to protect both the lender and the applicant in this process, ensuring that the lender receives payment each month whilst also making sure that the applicant can afford these payments without it resulting in heavy amounts of debt.
Get In Touch
Get in touch with us here at ChooseMyCar to find out how we can help you to get on the road in a new car today! We have a fantastic range of vehicles tailored to fit your needs from large family cars to compact city vehicles – no matter what you are looking for, we’re sure to have options to suit you. Once you’ve found a car within your budget, you simply have to follow our easy online application process which includes a quick response credit check service which will give you a successful or incorrect response in next to no time. Upon passing this credit check, you’ll be able to proceed with your application and set up a payment plan for your new car! Once that’s all in order, we’ll give you a date to come and collect your car and you’ll be on the road again in no time at all.
If you have any questions or queries about our bad credit car finance options, you can get in touch with us either online or by phone on 01617681543.
County Court Judgements may affect your chances of being approved for car finance, however it won’t definitely stop this. As experts in car finance we may be able to help those on CCJs that want to apply for car finance.
For more information read our full guide on CCJs and car finance.
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