Zombie judgment...?

Dispute it in writing!!! Make them prove that they do in fact have a judgment against you. Have you checked your credit for any recent activity? Dont think you stated what state you live in but is probably out of SOL. If no judgment has been filed, they are dealing with some major FDCPA violations.

I live in Georgia currently. If this account even existed, it would have been from over a decade ago in Massachusetts.

Last night I checked all three credit reports and there's nothing on there about any of this (I've got an average 760). I've been checking my credit report religiously for YEARS and have never seen any judgments from Amex. There is a judgment against me from a small oil company from 2000 (which was later paid and settled). That's not at all what this debt collector was claiming.

In a fit of paranoia I even paid $50 for a background check on myself today. The only judgment that shows up is the one that I know about (and have settled). Like I said above, there is no judgment from Amex. This debt collector really scared me trying to claim that they have a judgment and it lasts twenty years... what should I do? I thought they were violating something with this.

since there is no judgement,and this is past SOL i mean way past.forget disputing the debt send this piece of garbage an FOAD letter.if you are felling frisky check your state laws regarding recording calls.get their illegal verbage on tape and then go to www.naca.net and find a contingency lawyer.they sue them.they pay his fees and court costs.you pocket 1,000.00.do either one,but you checked and there is no judgement from this.either tell them to FOAD in letter form,or gather your proof and sue them a good one.

Hang on, you have a judgment from 2000 showing on your credit report? You need to dispute that with the credit bureaus ASAP because the reporting time is 10 years for court records. It's been more than that now if it took place in 2000.

But do not use your credit report as a reliable source for judgment proof. A court judgment does not always get reported--I had one from years ago that was later vacated because they were looking for someone else with my name, but it never hit my reports. it would be a good idea to DV them and request that they provide a copy of the judgment. Call their bluff and force their hand. If they do not have a judgment then they are in violation of federal law.

Hang on, something else...they said the judgment was good for 20 years, that means if there is a judgment it was obtained in Massachusetts. The SOL there is 20 years, but it is only 5 years for a domestic judgment and 7 years for a judgment from another state in Georgia.

You should check in the county in MA where you used to live--contact that court clerk's office and check for a judgment against you. Once you find out if there is one, you will want two specific pieces of information--first, you want to know the date that the judgment was granted. Second, you want to review the docket and see what they claimed for service of summons.

If they claimed that you were properly served, hopefully there is an address on record where they claim to have served you. If there is a judgment, my bet is that they obtained it after you didnt live there anymore....in which case, it should be rather simple to get the judgment vacated. If there is a judgment, you need to know that MA's statute of limitations does not apply to you at this time because you do not live there....so, if there is a judgment against you that is more than 7 years old, then they are simply out of luck as the SOL that applies to you has expired in that case. Let me know what you find, I will be more than happy to help you get this mess put down once and for all.

skydivr7673 -- thanks for the response; private message sent!