8% of UK adults say they have had a County Court Judgement (CCJ) (in England or Wales) or Court Decree (in Scotland) granted against them in the last five years.

The record of a CCJ remains on the recipient’s credit file for six years, unless they are able to repay in full the debts listed within one month. In Scotland, lenders can make a claim through the sheriff court for a decree to be granted against the individual.

New research conducted on behalf of Debt Advisory Centre has found that the equivalent of more than four million people in the UK say they have had one of these court judgements passed against them during the last five years. Of these, one in 10 (9.4%) have debts of just £250 or less listed in their CCJ/Court Decree.

On the other end of the scale, around one in seven (15.7%) reveal they have debts of £5,000 or more included. And nearly one in 10 (8.8%) have debts of over £10,000 listed.

Men are more likely than women to say they have received a CCJ or Court Decree in the last five years (10.1% of men compared to 6.1% of women). Meanwhile, young people are more likely to have one of the judgements to their name than the older generations. 14.1% of 18 to 24-year-olds have had a CCJ or Court Decree granted against them since March 2009, compared to just 2.1% over-55 year olds.

More Londoners reveal they have received a CCJ in the past five years that residents of any other region. 19.5% people in the capital say they have had a judgement granted against them during this time, while in East Anglia just 3.9% of people have.

Ian Williams, spokesman for Debt Advisory Centre, said: “It’s worrying to hear so many people say they have had a CCJ granted against them in the last few years, and to discover that young people are the most likely to have received such a judgement.

“CCJs are kept in place for six years, which makes it harder to borrow from a mainstream lender during that time. To learn that one in 10 people with CCJs will be affected in this way as a result of a debt totalling £250 or less is troubling.

“If someone is struggling to keep up with their repayments for any type of credit, it’s important they seek help right away so that a solution can be found before their creditor takes legal action against them. However, if they have already received a CCJ, it’s not too late to get advice and support with their debts – whether they total £250 or £25,000.”