Judgment

A creditor commences Court proceedings by issuing a Claim Form. The Claim Form is served on the debtor by the Court, together with a Response Pack. If the debtor ("the defendant") fails to respond to the Claim Form in one of the ways detailed in the Response Pack, then the creditor ("the claimant") can obtain Judgment against the debtor.

The Judgment itself does not produce any money. It is simply a Court Order that requires the defendant to make a payment to the claimant. Having obtained a Judgment against a debtor, the creditor's debt recovery agent will then advise the creditor about how the Judgment should be enforced.

The Court may also give the claimant Summary Judgment against the defendant on all or part of a claim where the defendant has submitted a defence to the claimant's claim, but the defendant has no real prospect of successfully defending the claim or issue and there is no other reason why the claim or issue should be disposed of at trial.

For example, where the defendant submits a defence which says that the claimant's invoices have been paid, where the claimant can show that the defendant's cheque has been stopped it would be appropriate for the claimant to make an application to the Court for Summary Judgment against the defendant.

In order to apply for Summary Judgment the claimant's debt recovery agent completes an application form and written evidence in support. The application and the evidence are filed at Court and a fee is paid. The defendant will have an opportunity to file his own evidence and a Court hearing will then take place before a Court official who will decide whether or not the claimant should be awarded Summary Judgment. This short procedure, which is likely to be completed within 8 to 12 weeks, will replace the usual Court procedure for dealing with defended matters which could take 6 to 12 months to conclude and which would cost the claimant and the defendant significantly more.

Useful notes regarding the procedure to be followed if the Defendant disputes the debt following the issue of a claim form can be found on Her Majesty's Courts Service web-site at...

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/fastmulti/index.htm

When the claimant is awarded Judgment against the defendant, the Court will normally order that the defendant pays the debt, interest and costs, including any Court fees the claimant has paid.

If a Judgment has been obtained in the County Court and the debtor does not satisfy the Judgment within 30 days, then details of the Judgment will remain on the Register of County Court Judgments. Then, if in the future a potential supplier obtains a credit reference relating to the debtor, the potential supplier will see that the debtor has had a Judgment (a CCJ) registered against the debtor and may therefore decide that the debtor is a bad credit risk and choose not to trade with the debtor. A debtor therefore has an incentive to promptly pay any sum he is ordered to pay. If he does not, then he may find that it becomes difficult to obtain credit.