Dealing with a Judgement

Contact the creditor right away! You can make payment arrangements and avoid a garnishment. You'll really have to move quickly, though, because your payroll dept will be giving you a copy of it very soon, and once that happens it's 99% of the time too late to do anything but bite a garnishment.

As far as not being properly served..Call the court and find out about that. Don't put off making payment arrangements until you get that sorted out, though. You really don't have the time for that.

Definitely contact them right away and nip it in the bud. (is that how that saying goes or is it butt?) Anyway, they've got the wheels are in motion and you need to resolve it sooner rather than later. Even a payment plan if you have to. Be sure to get a receipt after you pay it so you can get the information updated to a zero balance on your credit report. I can't tell you how many credit reports I've seen where someone paid a collection/judgement years ago but the creditor never reported it to the cr bureau.

I'm in Texas, they can't garnish my wages for a debt owed, even by judgement.

I am going to try contacting the CA who sent it, as they are the ones reporting right now, not the OC. By the way, the OC is Aspire VISA, and the CA is Midland Funding, LLC, if that helps anyone respond...

thanks!

So did Aspire Visa sell it to the CA, or are they collecting for them?

I am with the others, call and see if you can get this taken care of quickly, then you can contact the courts and find out what happened.

If the CA bought it and you pay them off, be sure and get it in writing that it is paid in full, so they won't come after you again.

Good Luck, let us know what happens..karen

Yes, I'm assuming Aspire sold it to Midland (the CA) and now Midland is filing the Judgement, through a law firm named "Hosto & Buchan" which I didn't find out until I looked up the Public Record of the Judgement.

I want to send some type of validation letter or something to Hosto & Buchan. I actually found their website, and have an email address, but I'm unsure what I should say/ask for? Any advice?

UGHHHHHH I hate midland credit management! If the judgement is already reported, call them and make arrangements to pay. Once you pay it, get them to send or fax you a letter saying it is paid. Next dispute it with the Big 3 in your own handwriting using a colored ink, not blue or black, even pencil would work. This tactic sounds very dumb, I know, but trust me, it works!

I've seen you post this before... about the colored ink. Why exactly do you claim this works? What is the reasoning behind it?

Here is the short and sweet version for you Seeing the Light. I was a member of another credit forum and numerous people posted they had gotten bk's, judgements and other big-ticket items deleted by writing their disputes in colored ink, not blue or black. The reasoning is that when the courts receive this dispute, they cannot scan the handwritten document into their system, and because they are not going to waste time doing this, by the time the Big 3 contact them to verify, the 30 days has expired. So, the items essentially get deleted that way. Now, you can chose to do this or not, I'm just offering little secrets and tricks of the trade. I actually tried this for a judgement I had and it worked. Also, I have a co-worker who used to work at one of the Bug 3 and she told me herself that if they have to waste time and man-power going through all of this, they won't do it. That is why almost all of the time, when you dispute something to the Big 3 using their on-line disputes on their website, it almost always comes back as verified. That is why they "suggest" you do it their way.

Well, when you fax something, no matter what color you write in, it's going to print out black at their end. So, I guess you are suggesting mailing it in colored ink?

I suppose I can try this for a few inaccuracies I'm seeing, such as an authorized account that belongs to my mother, whom I no longer live with, and an account I paid off that is still showing on my CR. If the judgment is legit though, I don't want to delete it... I just want to find out from the CA if they reported inside SOL or not first.

Thanks.

Midland Credit, huh? These guys are the worst! Check out Bud Hibbs website. Midland is notorius for deceitful actions - if you were not properly served, you may be able to vacate the judgment on those grounds. How long ago was the judgment granted by the court?

Well... my CR's say it was filed on May 14, 2007. The Public Records report I pulled up on my own says there was an abstract of judgment filed on April 22, 2008. I've still heard nothing from anyone about this. I didn't even know about the judgment until I saw it on my CR back in August 2007, which would have been a few months since it was filed.

No, I was never served.

What are the steps I could take in this regard? Can I just send a letter to the court stating I was never served, and therefore move to vacate? Or is the CA the only one who can move to vacate, since they were the ones who filed it?

There are a few places to start: 1) call the courthouse, tell them you were never served. They might be able to tell you what the next steps are to try to vacate the judgment.
2) Spend a little time on the internet searching for this topic. Try Bud Hibbs website - specifically for Midland(btw - he's located in Texas so he has some pertinent info specifically to Texas). Google Midland to see what others have said/done. (I did this a few weeks ago and I that's where I remember reading that some were able to get their judgments vacated.
3)Go to the naca website (.net)and find a lawyer to talk to. Usually you can do a phone inquiry and it doesn't cost anything for the initial consult.

CONFIRM WHEN the SOL ran out. If it DID run out Jan 2007, and they FILED May 2007, then this is another item you can use to have the judgment vacated. MIDLAND IS SCUM AND THEY ARE NOTORIUS FOR DOING THINGS OUTSIDE THE LINES! You need to have your ducks in a row so that you can beat them! If the SOL has passed and they did not properly serve you, then you have 2 grounds in your favor.

In addition, I would send a validation request to Midland. If they can't provide you the required information, then how could they substantiate their claim in court. (They probably got the judgment by default [they didn't serve you properly, therefore, you didn't show in court and they automatically won.]) If you were properly served, during discovery, you would have asked for proof of claim and if Midland couldn't provide it, then you would have grounds for dismissal.

Hope this helps! Good luck in your quest!

Thank you! I've just looked/read the Budd Hibbs report, and am well on my way.

I actually sent a validation letter to the "attorneys" who filed the judgment, according to the file I saw on the Public Records... their name/address was on there, so I sent the validation letter to them. Should I also have sent it to Midland?

Could I fax this to expedite it?

The problem with faxing is they can say they didn't recieve it. Even tho you may have the confirmation from the fax machine, what's to prevent them from saying they didn't get it (fax problem, someone else picked it up and didn't properly route it, etc.) Send it certified mail, return receipt requested. This way you have proof AND a signature on that little green card!

Yes, I would send it to Midland too. This way, if you do go to court, you can show the judge that you tried to get either of them to provide you proof of debt.

Great. Will do today.

Thanks "desperatelyseekingsanity"! :)

Your Very Welcome!!!

Let us know how it goes.