Thanks to rising interest rates, increased personal debt and banks cutting their losses and being less lenient with customers, it is estimated that a million people court face going to court over their debts. This is the highest this figure has reached in the last decade.

In the first 3 months of 2007, almost 250,000 County Court Judgements (CCJs) were issued. If the rest of the year continues at this pace, then 1 million could easily be reached by the year’s end.

CCJs usually come about as a result of unpaid debts whether they be from credit cards, mortgages, car loans, personal loans or other types of retail finance.

Bailiffs back up these CCJs and carry the threat of seizing personal effects with a view to auctioning them off until the amount to clear all outstanding debts has been reached.

The figure for CCJs has nearly doubled  in the last 3 years. In the first quarter in 2004, there were 124,842 and for the same time frame in 2007 it was 247,187.

Having a CCJ against your name is the equivalent of a black mark on your credit rating and this will seriously affect your ability to obtain credit at a future date, whether it be in the form of a credit card, a mortgage or a loan.

Financial institutions are far more strict with those who fail to pay and are far less hesitant than in previous years to turn to the court route in order to retrieve their money. One reason for this is that those in debt are turning to bankruptcy or Individual Voluntary Arrangements (which are 1 step away from bankruptcy) quicker than ever before and once they have done this, it is far more difficult for the bank to get their money back. The latest figures are showing approximately 330 people going bust each day, with a record breaking 30,075 becoming insolvent between January and March this year.

Credit reference agency Experian have noticed a geographical pattern with the highest number of IVAs per household being situated in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire-all of which run along the M4.