In 2019 county court debt judgments or CCJs reached a record high.
The Registry Trust revealed that a total of 1.5 million CCJs were issued
in 2019. This makes it a record year of
action taken against consumers in debt.
Registry Trust chairman, Mick McAteer, said that a growing number of vulnerable households are “facing severe financial strain.” Data compiled by the Trust showed that the total value of consumer debt being chased via CCJs amounted to over £1.7bn last year. This is an 8% rise on 2018.
1.5 million CCJs issued in 2019. Record employment not easing financial stress.
“We have record employment and low interest rates but a lot of people are suffering financial stress. There’s also a rise in zero-hours contracts.”
McAteer continued, the results demonstrated that “there is no room for complacency”. Despite suggestions that the sustained low-level interest rates could have been expected to ease the debt burden on UK households.
McAteer said many young
debtors receiving CCJs owe just a few hundred of pounds, including from mobile
phone contracts and subscription services.
160,000 people in their 20s
received CCJs in England and Wales in 2019, an increase McAteer attributed
partly to casual employment.
“The fall in the average value shows more and more creditors are using the courts to recover smaller debts,” he said.
The value of judgments saw a significant increase of 17%.
“Registry Trust data on CCJs is a critical indicator of the state of UK household finances. The number of CCJs has seen huge growth in the post financial crisis period and this quarter are 111% higher than the same quarter in 2012 when they reached a post crisis low.”
The average value for consumer CCJs in 2019 reached
£1,506, an increase of 5% year-on-year.
Bank of England data for last month showed that UK
households owe £72.5bn on credit cards following a rise of £400m in November
2019 alone.
Total outstanding consumer credit, including credit cards, store cards, car finance and personal loans, grew 7% in the same month to £215.4bn.
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