Recent figures released by Registry Trust show a sharp increase in the number of County Court Judgments (CCJs) issued against consumers in England and Wales, compared to the same period in 2020.
The number registered in Q2 2020 was 51,245 compared to 188,092 in Q2 2021 - a rise of a huge 267%, whereas the value of consumer judgments owed rose from £112 million to £298 million - an increase of 166% compared to Q2 2020.
Of course, the huge percentage rise seen in 2021 can largely be portioned to artificially low figures in Q2 2020 as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic meant government and regulatory measures paused collections and enforcement activity, as a way of protecting many debtors.
Despite the rise, numbers are still well below the pre-Covid levels seen in 2019. The average value of consumer judgments fell 28 per cent from £2,187 to £1,585, while the median value fell seven per cent from £740 to £685. The number of judgments ‘satisfied’ (or fully paid) by consumers in Q2 2021 was 48,783 (up 20% 40,791 in the same quarter in 2020).
While this is encouraging, the number marked as satisfied remains a small proportion of the total judgments outstanding.
In the High Court, the number of judgments against consumers fell by 48% (from 83% to 43% over the period). The total value fell by 20% from £34 million to £27 million. But, the average value rose by more than half from £407,283 to £628,288, with the median value up from £75,000 to £281,160 a rise of 275%. Due to the small number of judgments registered by the High Court, the numbers are subject to large fluctuations in percentage increases/decreases.
Registry Trust Chair, Mick McAteer, said “We saw a huge increase in the number of judgments recorded in this quarter compared to the same period last year. At that time, interventions by government and regulators, and forbearance by creditors, in response to the Covid crisis had kept judgment numbers at historically low levels. But, as these measures were wound down, numbers began to rise again. The Covid economic crisis is far from over for financially vulnerable households”.
|
Q2 2020 |
Q2 2021 |
Year on year change |
|
|
CCJs against consumers |
|||
|
volume |
51,245 |
188,092 |
267% |
|
total value |
£112,083,586 |
£298,216,823 |
166.1% |
|
Average* value |
£2,187 |
£1,585 |
-27.5% |
|
median |
£740 |
£685 |
-7.4% |
|
High Court judgments against consumers |
|||
|
volume |
83 |
43 |
-48.2% |
|
total value |
£33,804,467 |
£27,016,370 |
-20.1% |
|
Average* value |
£407,283 |
£628,288 |
54.3% |
|
median |
£75,000 |
£281,160 |
274.9% |
|
Satisfactions registered by consumers |
|||
|
volume |
40,791 |
48,783 |
19.6% |
|
total value |
£46,819,086 |
£63,581,813 |
35.8% |
|
Average* value |
£1,148 |
£1,303 |
13.5% |
|
median |
£575 |
£582 |
1.2% |
*Average value refers to the ‘mean’. The mean average tends to be higher than the median, as it more likely to be distorted by outlying, high value cases.