Consumer debt County Court judgements at 10-year high

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In the first three months of the year 247,187 consumer debt related CCJs were issued, up 9.5 per cent on the total recorded in the same period a year earlier.

It represents the highest quarterly total since the summer of 1997 when the the number of judgments served hit 247,991, according to Registry Trust statistics.

Debt experts said the hike is down to a combination of more households struggling to keep financially afloat and a willingness by creditors to use the courts as a way of reclaiming money owed to them.

The total number of all CCJs issued in the first quarter - including those served on businesses - was recorded at 296,841, up 9.1 per cent annually.

Judgments are issued in cases of failure to repay debts to either an individual or company.

The Registry Trust estimates that 70 per cent of judgments are directly credit related, with the rest issued by the DVLA, water companies and HM Revenue & Customs.

Failure to comply with the repayment terms of a judgment will see the debtor placed on the CCJ register for six years, making it harder for them to take out a loan or a mortgage.

It also opens the way for creditors to stake a claim in the property of those that owe money.

Malcolm Hurlston, the chairman of Registry Trust, said: "Lenders are increasingly using the court route to deal with unsecured debts. "A judgment opens the way to further action such as a charging order.

"The dominant trend is upwards in consumer judgments and this quarter's record numbers give a warning to unsecured borrowers that their credit ratings are at risk and further proceedings are only a step away."