When can I apply for a Tomlin order

You can only apply for a Tomlin Order once a county court claim has been issued but this must be before a judgment is entered. You need to contact your lender as soon as possible and explain your situation to them. You need to act quickly and might need the help of a debt specialist.

How to apply for a Tomlin Order

You need to contact your lender first and explain why you believe you need a Tomlin Order. Your lender will probably want to see evidence of this before they consider this option. You might be asked for a copy of your employment contract to prove the impact of a CCJ on your future earnings.

If the lender agrees, you and the lender will need to draw up and sign an agreement. This includes a ‘schedule’ which sets out the payments and other conditions you are agreeing to. As long as you meet the terms of this agreement, the claim will be put on hold and you won’t get a CCJ.

There is an application of £100 payable to the County Court. Visit our web page 'Help with Court Fees' to see if you qualify to have the fees waived.

The Court's will only accept properly worded Tomlin Orders. You must carefully check the terms in the Tomlin order schedule to make sure you understand exactly what you are agreeing to. It is a good idea to get the paperwork checked by a solicitor or a specialist debt adviser before signing it, getting advice from a solicitor might cost you unless you can have a free diagnostic interview. For example, you should make sure there is clause included that prevents the Tomlin Order from being made public.

What if the lender refuses?

A lender might refuse to consider a Tomlin order, or only agree to it at an amount of repayment you can’t afford. Even f you make a complaint about this it is very unlikely a regulator or ombudsman would decide the lender had acted unfairly due to the previous attempts to come to an arrangement before going to court.

If you are not able to agree a Tomlin order the CCJ will  go ahead. You can still avoid the CCJ appearing on your credit file and on the public Register of Judgments by paying it off in full within one month of the judgment. 

You can then apply to the court for a certificate of cancellation which will stop the CCJ being added to the Register. This means your employer will not be able to find out about the CCJ from the Register or from your credit file.

If you are not able to pay the full amount within a month of the judgment, unfortunately the CCJ will be visible on the public register and your credit file, and you will need to deal with any consequences of this with your employer.