Most agreements allow creditors to add charges and interest. If you feel that the charges are unfair or too high, you should first make a complaint to the creditor.

Creditors can add charges, but the Office of Fair Trading guidelines state these should be “based on actual and necessary costs” and should not be too high compared with the debt itself.

If you do not get a satisfactory response, you could contact the Financial Ombudsman Service who can investigate the matter further.

Some creditors may claim that a charging order means they can begin adding interest again. This is not correct.

If a debt is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, no further interest should be added after a county court judgment. A charging order does not change this.

Statutory interest of 8% per annum may be added to debts over £5,000 which are not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.

If a creditor appears to be adding interest after a county court judgment, please call us for advice.

When a debt is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, a creditor generally can not add any further interest after a county court judgment (CCJ). There may be extra charges added as a result of further court action.

In rare cases, a regulated creditor may request ongoing interest on the claim form (N1). If this happens, please contact us for advice.

If the debt is not regulated, statutory interest of 8% per annum may be requested by the creditor. This must be requested on the claim form (N1). Most non-regulated judgments over £5,000 will have statutory interest.