Tuesday, 22nd July 2025
We have submitted our response to the UK Government’s Phase 1 consultation on the reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 - an opportunity to modernise consumer credit regulation for today's economy and society.
As the non-profit organisation responsible for maintaining the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, our role is to ensure public access to the trusted data that underpins millions of credit and lending decisions every year across the UK and Ireland. This data is a key part of a functioning credit system - but it’s also a critical public good with the potential to promote financial inclusion and rehabilitation.
Our Key Recommendations
In our submission, we focused on where public judgment data can support fairer, more accurate and more inclusive credit outcomes - especially for people experiencing financial difficulty or systemic disadvantage.
- Mandatory reporting of satisfied judgments
Only around 12% of live England & Wales judgments are marked as satisfied. The onus currently falls on the defendant. We’re calling for creditors to be required to notify the courts when a CCJ has been satisfied or partially settled. This would be a small, manageable change for firms, but a potentially life-changing one for consumers. - Better use of partial settlement data
Judgments marked ‘settled’ could reflect a meaningful effort to repay debt. We urge exploration of how this data could be more transparently and consistently recorded on the public register. - A cross-sectoral effort on data fairness
We’re urging government to encourage regulators and industry codes of practice (including for utilities and parking companies) to adopt a consistent approach to reporting satisfied debts - with Credit Reference Agencies updating their scoring models accordingly. - Recognition of economic abuse
Coerced debt and economic abuse affect millions of UK adults - mostly women. Judgments resulting from this abuse can unjustly damage victims' financial futures. CCA reform presents an opportunity to ensure such judgments are identified and excluded from the Register or unwound where possible.
Looking Ahead
We also called for better data collection (e.g. inclusion of date of birth in submissions) to support targeted policy interventions and urged care in the transition of legislative protections into the FCA rulebook - to avoid any dilution of consumer safeguards.
As we celebrate 40 years of maintaining the Register, RTL remains committed to using our position to drive improvements in credit information, fairness, and inclusion. We're proud to contribute to this important consultation and continue working closely with regulators, policymakers and the credit industry to help build a more equitable credit system that works for all.
👉 Read the consultation here