Judgement Question

Possibly, if your lease stated that they could add court cost and attorneys fees.

Hi Nanna5451,

Welcome to the Community!

I'd say send a notice to the court stating that the creditor is not abiding by the terms of the judgment, and send a copy of your proof of payment.

As far as I am aware, the judgment would supersede the original lease. And a judgment contains the whole amount to be paid, no?

Also send (by Certified Mail) a Debt Validation letter to the complex. You should always do that by mail and not by phone.

chrys

Once a debt is reduced to judgment, the original contract/lease that created such debt is not valid anymore (ie they can't create "new" charges after-the-fact).

When a debt is reduced to judgment, they can charge interest at the statutory rate on the judgment balance. Actual court costs are usually allowed on top of the judgment balance. Attorney fees, if awarded, would be part of the judgment amount.

If the judgment amount was $824.10, you need to figure interest is probably 9-12%. (824.10 X .09 = $74.17/year X 5 years = $370.85). Also court costs were probably in the range of $150-300.

824.10 (judgment amount) + 370.85 (interest) + 200 (court costs) = $1394.95 .... Them telling you that you owe $1400 is probably about right.

Ah, thank you for that clarification.

I still think that Nana should have gotten that in writing and shouldn't pay on it until she does get it in writing.

chrys

Yes, they should be able to provide a copy of the judgment order and an accounting of the balance due. Any court costs they tacked on should be evidenced by receipts/transcripts from the court clerk.

I'm not sure what they meant by "It is in your best interst that we not go record digging" -- it's not like they can do anything else to her.

Yeah, I thought that comment was quite uncalled for, too.

Yes, the court clerk receipts - of course [slaps forehead]!