It's time to battle CCJ fake news

However, this is probably also one of the worst things about the internet. Information is great, but false information can be damaging and with access to so much, it is hard for people to identify what is true and what is ‘fake news’.

This is true across all areas of life and you don’t need to look too far online to see just how confused people are about their prospects of getting a mortgage if they have credit issues against their name. For example, here’s an extract from a recent thread on the popular forum, Mumsnet.

Question: “My partner has a CCJ from 1 year ago which was just satisfied this month. He also had another one issued last month but paid it within the 30-day limit so it was settled and will not be on his file. They were both only small, under £1000 each but he had a poor understanding about money and debt which is why it came to this. Needless to say, he has learned the hard way from his mistakes. We are both flipping daily between hope and utter despair. Is it true what everyone says? Are our chances ruined?”

Response: “I do believe there are lenders out there that will consider those with defaults and CCJs, but I think they need to be at least a couple of years old and you won’t benefit from any good deals, I’m afraid.”

This is just one example, but it is indicative of a lot of opinion online which is that, if you have received a CCJ or default in recent years, you will struggle to get a mortgage. This sentiment could be restricting the number of people who attempt to apply for a mortgage and the size of your potential client base.

There were more than 1.1 million CCJs registered against individuals in England and Wales last year alone, according to Registry Trust, which potentially means a million possible clients who may be reticent about seeking mortgage advice. But there are plenty of transparent and competitive products available for them.

For example, Pepper Money’s Pepper6 product range is designed specifically for your clients that haven’t had a CCJ or default in the last 6 months.

This puts real onus on you to be proactive in marketing to these potential clients to make it clear that they do have options. Of course, in any promotions for consumers you need to ensure you are clear, fair and not misleading and when issuing communications to customers with adverse credit it is important that you don’t create false expectations about the availability and cost of credit.

If you are able to identify those clients who are struggling to make sense of the information available to them, you could make a positive difference to their lives and help to grow your business.