Judgements?

How did the judgements get there? Was he sued and not show up for court? what type of debt is the judgements on? If there was a court date on something and he did not show up, he will automatically loose due to default, you should always show up and at least represent yourself if you can't afford a lawyer there a consumer advocates out there in every state. Go to naca.net and read the information on that page they may be able to help you. goodluck

pinkhandbells -

Welcome to the forums! Did you move anytime in the last few years? It's possible the warrant in debt was served to your old address and they weren't able to locate you if you moved.

The thing you need to do now is find out where the judgements came from, if they are accurate, and if they are, tackle the payoff.

They will stay on your credit report for a very long time - even after you pay them, they will show up as a "satisfied judgement". Any potential creditor will see those judgements and look at it as a debt you didn't pay, so the creditor took you to court to get their money. The judgement will indicate to them that you didn't show up for court, and the judge awarded the judgement to the creditor. But, when it shows up as a satisfied judgement, it will look somewhat positive in a potential creditor's eyes, because it will mean to them that you had some money problems, had a judgement placed against you, but you realized it and paid it off. So, you can see where it's kind of a catch-22.

Look over the credit report, and on the last page or two of the report, there should be a list of addresses and contact information for all the creditors listed on the report. Within that list, will be the address of the court where the judgements were filed. Contact them right away and find out the details of the judgement, and contact the creditor that the judgement was awarded to. If you feel the judgement is invalid, request a validation of debt in writing from the creditor. By law, they have to provide it.

If the debts are indeed valid, then contact the creditor to work out a payment plan to get these paid off. Get the payment plan in writing, with a statement from the creditor that indicates the judgement will be marked satisfied once you pay the debt in full. Once they are paid off, keep an eye on your credit report to be sure the creditor followed through and had the judgement marked "satisfied" on your report.

You can pay the judgment in either ways.

• Pay directly to the court.
  
• Pay directly to the person you owe.
  
• Arrange to make monthly payments.
  

• Go to the court and get the form called "Request to Pay Judgment to Court."
  
  
• Fill the form and include any interest you owe. See for the collection costs and interests added on your judgment.
  
  
• File the form with the court clerk at the courthouse where the case was heard.
  
  
• Pay the filing fee and the full amount of the judgment to the court.
  

• Write one letter to the judgment creditor asking him to file papers of Satisfaction of Judgment within 15 days of receiving payment. If he is not doing this, you are going to sue him for $50 plus damages.
  
  
• There is one form called Notice of Motion. State that you want to have the court "Enter Satisfaction of judgment"
  
  
• Fill it with the clerk and pay the fees. The clerk will schedule a hearing date and notify the creditor. At the hearing, if the court is convinced by your story that the debt is paid, the court will enter the satisfaction of judgment.
  

Get a complete copy of file from court.If he was not served properly,hire a lawyer to vacate due to improper service. If judgement is valid and proper,it will need to be paid as they have long shelf lives.

If you own a home there could also possibly be a lien against your home your not aware of.If they havent tried to collect on the judgment yet it is very possible they are using it as a lien.When checking on these judgments I would also check and see if they did get a lien on your property if you own any.

Everyone has posted great replies.I just want to add a little to it. If this judgement is valid and has been properly recorded and executed,they can seize assets at will. Wages,bank accounts,extra car,and lien on propery if your state allows. Remember what I said about shelf life.Judgements can hang around for a long time.

Warning!!Opinion folows!
If a debt collector has a valid judgement,he needs very little to validate debt. In this case,all he needs to do is send you a copy of judgement. After that he is free to collect on it by any legal means necessary.

Don't they have to notify you with a court date. I got a summons with no court date, should I file something with the courthouse?

Go to courthouse and inquire about procedure for vacating a improper judgement. If it is too technical for you get a lawyer. The legal fees will be cheap compared to what a judgement can cost. If you win and it is vacated,have attorney send certified copy to all 3
credit bureaus to remove record.

Where can I find more information on this cajun? They served the paperwork through the local sheriff. They sent me a revision from there office, seems like they can just change what they originally filed at their office. Of course the revised one said, judgment by consent, with a payment arrangement in it. I did not sign it or send it back.

If you were served by sheriff,look at summons.It should have your court information on it. At the least,that court should have a complaint with motions to serve you and sheriff's return of service showing that you were legally served.

Hello everyone. I dont mean to jump in here but about 7years ago we recieved a summons for a hospital bill that was to of been done and over with and we couldn't appear for court. We were in Seattle Wa. and the summons to go to court in Florida. We couldnt afford to make a trip to Florida and back. The last we heard at that time was that it was being investigated because they didnt know we had an insurance company and that they were going to go after them and contact us but, no one ever did. To make a long story short..when we found out that we had a judgment we contacted them and tried to fix it, but what they were asking to pay was only going to pay the intrest that accumulates every month. In order for us to pay the intrest and the debt it would be like adding another car payment and we couldnt afford even just the minimum payment. The debt owed had doubled and is still increasing every month. It seams a bit outragious that they can do that. Its like they dont want you to pay it off, instead they want to screw you. They were not helpfull over the phone and we tried to make a payment agreement but they were fixed on an outragious payment that we cannot afford. We thought about seeing if bankrupcty was a possible route but what other options are there?

Most states have laws defining venue. I don't think that judgement was legal being that it was prosecuted in florida and you were not living there at the time. You would have to hire an attorney in florida to vacate the judgement by challenging the legality of it.

What if a judgement was satisfied and you have a court ordered document that states "Release of Judgement" and declares it fully paid, satisfied, and release the defendent of said judgment? Don't the credit bureaus have to remove the judgement with that information?

Jaxon,unfortunately they do not have to remove it.It must be updated to show proper status. You could dispute with the bureaus and if they cannot verify it,they must remove it by law.

Ok, this week I sent copies of the release to Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax. Do you think that will be sufficient? Will I need to contact the judge to get some leverage?

Those documents should be sufficient for them to update the tradeline.

Well, I received a letter from Experian yesterday on my disputes. They determined they were not able to use the court documents I sent them and were contacting the source of information for more investigation. They will send the results in another 30-45 days. GEEZ!

do judgements fall of your credit after so many years?

A judgment will stay on the credit report for seven years. But if the creditor renews it as per their state laws, it can mostly stay for another 20 years. Check with your state for the specific laws on garnishment.

Each state has specific law on this, you would need to check out your state law on the subject to see how they handle it.

I have a letter stating owe debt to MRC Receivables but no details of what those debts are. The Marshall who sent the letter stated to make check payable to him (his name)..

This does not sound correct I have heard of some scam going on.

I have a question. I had judgement filed in 5/2007. I paid it in full 9/2007. I recently checked my credit report and under the Date resolved heading it lists "NA". The way I am reading that is that they are reporting this judgement as not resolved when it has been. Is that a correct way to read the lissting on my report? If so how can I go about getting this judgement updated correctly or better removed?