How can I clear CCJs if debt collectors have gone missing?

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When I eventually found out about the CCJs, I contacted the debt agency acting on the behalf of the lenders to offer a settlement so I could clear my credit file.

Late last year the debt agency contacted me saying that the original debt collection office dealing with my case in Liverpool had closed and the operation had been transferred to Ireland. They suggested I try to make contact with the respective banks directly.

I worry that I will just hit a dead end, but I really want to clear these entries off my file - do you have any advice?

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Linda McKay, of This is Money, replies: We are all at the mercy of our credit file and the window it gives to prospective lenders or insurers on your financial situation.

Any missed payments for insurance, mortgages or even your phone can affect your credit rating and this in turns affects any future ability to gain credit.

I asked our experts at one of the leading credit referencing agencies for guidance.

James Jones, of Experian, replies: If you have two CCJs from debts owed to a couple of banks in 2008, then it’s highly likely that your credit report will also include a default for each of these debts.

Credit account defaults and court judgments both stay on your credit report for six years, regardless of repayment. While the effect on your credit rating is likely to diminish with age – and these entries will be about five years old now – some lenders are likely to insist on seeing them fully repaid (‘satisfied’) before offering you further credit.

Hopefully we [or other credit agencies] can help you with this. If you get your credit report from Experian and then get back in touch, we can give you the precise contact details for the relevant offices of the lenders or collectors currently responsible for these specific accounts.

This should enable you to get in touch with them, sort out a repayment plan for these debts and arrange for your credit report to be updated – both in relation to the defaults and the CCJs.

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