CCJs against consumers rise by a third

The number of County Court Judgments (CCJs) issued against consumers in England and Wales in 2021 rose by more than one third compared to 2020, according to latest figures released by the Registry Trust.

The number of consumer judgments registered in 2021 was 848,124, up by 36 percent from 625,901 in 2020. The Registry Trust says that it is worth noting that this is still significantly lower than the pre Covid crisis peaks when annual numbers regularly topped one million.

The total value of consumer judgments owed also rose significantly, by nearly one-quarter (24%), from £1.1 million in 2020 to £1.4 million in 2021. The average value of consumer judgments fell by eight percent, from £1,811 to £1,658, with the median value also down by eight percent from £786 to £722.

The number of judgments ‘satisfied’ (or fully paid) by consumers in 2021 fell compared to 2020, down one percent from 184,049 to 186,237. Over four million consumers, have a judgment registered against them – one in 13 of the adult population. The proportion of judgments marked as satisfied remains worryingly low, at around 16 percent.

In the High Court, the number of judgments against consumers fell by 36 percent, from 262 to 167. But, the total value saw a large rise of 34 percent, from £111 million to £149 million. This more than doubled the average value from £424,694 to £891,603. Due to the small number of judgments registered by the High Court, the numbers are subject to large fluctuations in percentage increases or decreases and the impact of a small number of very large judgments.