You may get a county court judgement (CCJ) or high court judgement if someone takes court action against you (saying you owe them money) and you do not respond.
You must respond to the court claim (external link) by the date on the email or letter you receive.
If you get a judgement, this means that the court has formally decided that you owe the money.
The judgement will come in the post and will explain:
- how much you owe
- how to pay (in full or in instalments)
- the deadline for paying
- who to pay
Records of judgements (external link) are kept for six years unless you pay the full amount within a month - this can make it hard to get credit.
If you do not owe the money, you can ask the court to cancel (external link), or ‘set aside’, the judgement.
If you do owe the money, you should arrange to pay what you can afford.
If you get a judgement do not ignore it - you could be taken back to court and forced to pay.