A judgment is a record of a debt, entered on the public register to show that an individual has been taken to court for the recovery of a sum of money. If a company (or individual) has been unsuccessful recovering an amount of money that is owed to them, they can take the matter to court. Records of money judgments are held on file for six years from the date the judgment was registered. The information is supplied to us by Registry Trust Ltd, an independent organisation set up by the Lord Chancellor's Department. Their web site has many FAQs about judgments, and their address is Registry Trust Ltd, 173/175 Cleveland Street, London, W1T 6RQ. 484
In England and Wales, money judgments are issued in the county courts, so they are called county court judgments (CCJs).
Judgments issued in Scotland are referred to as decrees and are issued through the Sheriff's Courts. Northern Ireland judgments are issued by the Northern Ireland Court Service. They were formerly issued by the Enforcement of Judgments Office.
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Experian is notified of judgments, satisfactions and cancellations by Registry Trust Ltd on a weekly basis. Registry Trust is the keeper of the public register and was created by the Lord Chancellor's Department. 486
Registry Trust obtains its information in many ways, depending on where a judgment is issued.
England and Wales.
Registry Trust Ltd is contracted by the Lord Chancellor, under the Register of County Court Judgments Regulations 1985 (amended 1990), to maintain the statutory public register for all county court judgments and administration orders registered by the county courts in England and Wales for the preceding six years. Amendments to the register can only be made upon receipt of written instructions from the relevant county court.
Scotland.
By agreement with the Scottish Courts Service, Registry Trust Ltd maintains a public register for all Small Claims and Summary Cause money decrees entered in the Sheriff's Courts in Scotland during the preceding six years. Registry Trust employs agents to collect decree data from the courts. Details of Recalls/Dismissals, etc, are also collected and enable the removal of decrees from the register. There is no arrangement through the courts to add satisfactions to decree data. To provide parity with the England and Wales register, upon receipt of acceptable proof of payment, the decree can be marked as satisfied, or deleted if paid within one month.
Isle of Man.
By agreement with the Isle of Man Government, Registry Trust maintains a public register for all summary court judgments registered during the preceding six years. The General Registry provides the data, and supplies details of Satisfactions and Cancellations, but does not issue Certificates for defendants.
Jersey.
By arrangement with the Judicial Greffe, Registry Trust maintains a public register for judgment data issued by the Petty Debts Courts and the Royal Courts of Justice.
Northern Ireland.
Registry Trust acts as a clearing house in processing Northern Ireland judgments for credit reference agencies.
Enforced judgment data was processed until May 1996, details being received from the Enforcement of Judgments Office, Belfast. These have been updated where Certificates of Unenforceability or Withdrawals have been issued. Registry Trust no longer receives any information from the Enforcements Office. Since May 1996 Registry Trust has been processing unenforced, undefended default, and small claims judgments received direct from the county courts, via the Northern Ireland Court Service.
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The only information we have on judgments is shown on your report. If you have further queries, contact the court concerned, providing them with the case number. The address details of the court concerned are at the end of your credit report. 919
