Does your debtor have CCJ's Or Insolvency Action?

It is quite easy to find out if someone has a CCJ. Company CCJ’s are slightly different, but it can still be done fairly easily.

Individuals

For an individual, all you need is the subject’s name and address. If you don’t know their address, visit my Trace page to see if you can verify their address for free, (or very low cost). If you cannot find them, (some people like to lay low), then email me and I’ll see if I can point you in the right direction.

Assuming you have their details, Trust Online, is where you need to be heading. This is a service run by The Registry Trust. It is a government organisation which holds all records of CCJ’s and Fines.

There are 3 options, £6-£8-£10, which are pretty self-explanatory. I would recommend going for the £6 option in most cases, but if you are talking big money, then a few extra quid might just be worth it.

Businesses

The process is very similar, but I have a couple of pointers. Firstly, go to The Registry Office’s website again, but via this link. It will take you straight to the business CCJ section.

Now, before you part with your cash, ask yourself:

1. Is this business a limited/ltd company?
2. Did they tell me that they were a limited/ltd company?
3. Is there a contract with a limited/ltd company?

If the answer to this is a yes, then make sure you get their details from Companies House Register.

If the answer is a no, then it is reasonable to assume that there might be a shady, clandestine limited/ltd company hiding behind the scenes. Do your due diligence! This happens ALL the time!

If you have stubbled upon this page because you are already chasing a debtor who is hiding behind a limited/ltd company. By all means email me your invoice/account statement/key correspondence, and I will have a look over it for you. No guarantee on times though because it depends how busy I am!

Insolvency comes in various forms, for both businesses and individuals.  I will try to give a brief explanation of them all, but most importantly, if there is any whiff of any type of insolvency action, then you need to stay the heck away.

Individuals

You need their name, and last known address. If you cannot find them, (as mentioned earlier, some people like to lay low), then email me and I’ll see if I can point you in the right direction.

Then visit the government’s, ‘Individual Insolvency Register’. But the name of the person might need to be tried in various forms. Say form example, you are checking, ‘Mike Hunt’, you might want to change the Christian name to, ‘Michael’.

If you get a result, and it matches with the address that you have, then your subject is bankrupt, and you should not engage. They remain on the register for just over a year, but you can search back over 6-years – there is a cost for this data. If it is big money that you are investing or lending etc, then you should really do a full check.

Get in touch if you want more free advice. As always, I must remind you that I do this in my free time, so there are no guarantees on timescales.

Businesses

If your subject is a limited/ltd company, or even an LLP, you can usually find the information on Companies House. It should list dissolutions, winding up petitions, and any administrations.