The good news is yes.
It is a common misconception that once six years has passed, you can no longer enforce a County Court Judgment (CCJ) that you hold against a debtor. This misunderstanding is likely down to a mixture of CCJs no longer being visible on a debtor’s record and that six years is also the general limitation period for a party to bring a claim against another in respect of a contractual dispute – which most money claims fall under.
As confirmed in the case of Credit Lyonnais v SK Global Hong Kong Limited [2003] HKCA 250, a court is generally expected to assist a judgment creditor to recover a debt due. For some methods of enforcement, such as issuing a Writ of Control (for execution by a High Court Enforcement Officer) then additional permission is needed from the Court and the Court may consider the length of time taken to bring the enforcement as a discretionary factor when deciding whether or not to make the appropriate order.
In a similar way to enforcement of a judgment, a creditor can also present a winding-up petition (or bankruptcy petition) on a judgment that is six years or older – this was confirmed in the case of Ridgeway Motors (Isleworth) Ltd v ALTS Ltd [2005] 1 WLR 2871.
The team at Debt-Claims always encourage our clients to review any old CCJs that remain unpaid and consider attempting to enforce them now. A debtor’s circumstances may have changed since the order was originally made, meaning that the likelihood of payment materialising has now increased with the passage of time.
Contact us today to discuss any requirements or queries that you have.
