How to settle credit card debt with a judgment?

How to settle credit card debt with a judgment?

One of my credit cards I fell behind with sued me and has a judgment.

Can you settle credit card judgements like other debts

—Stressed

The short answer to your question is – YES! CRN does assist in settling debts like credit cards where there was a lawsuit and then a judgment entered against you. Settlements can be negotiated at all stages of the collection cycle.

There are challenges to settling credit card debts that have reached the lawsuit and judgment stage. Before I address the challenges, I want to point out that the best time to settle credit card debts is before a lawsuit is filed, and even before the account is placed with a debt collection attorney.

Watch my brief video about some of the differences between settling credit card debts with your bank and debt collectors compared to negotiating with collection attorneys whether they have a judgment or not.

While this may not be instructive to your judgment debt, you may have additional credit card debts that have gone unpaid and I want you to be aware of the following:

  • Settling a debt with your original creditor (the bank you had the credit card with) after having missed a few payments is not only possible, but in your best interest. In fact, reaching settlement early will often achieve the best savings result when negotiating is done correctly.
  • You may end up with credit cards that are charged off and placed with outside collection companies. This is the next best (sometimes the best) opportunity to settle a credit card account you could no longer afford to keep payments current.
  • If your overdue credit card account lands in a collection attorney’s office, you can still settle the debt before any court action is filed, or at a minimum, negotiate favorable payment terms.

There is a science to navigating the collection stages I briefly outlined above. Timing, balances, who your credit card debts are owed to, and your ability to come up with the money needed to settle the debts – all will affect the strategic design of which account to settle with first, second, third etc…. It is important to have a plan to follow if you want to systematically and successfully settle debts and save the most money in the process. CRN is excellent in assisting people in this regard.

If you want to learn about how to settle your debts no matter what stage of collection you are in, we have a ton of resource pages to help you. I recommend starting at the beginning of my debt settlement section.

If you are floating out there with several unpaid credit card accounts with no real financial resources to handle the situation, or a plan for doing so, you owe it to yourself to learn if you would be better off filing for chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy before a lawsuit is filed, or now that a judgment exists. You can consult with a bankruptcy attorney for free. I recommend talking with more than one.

Collecting on credit card judgments can be challenging too.

The primary ingredient found in any debt settlement recipe, whether there is a judgment or not is… money. If you have enough of this ingredient you need to be aware of a few things.

Can I settle a judgment?

A judgment is just a piece of paper. It’s the court sponsored enforcement of that piece of paper that is the problem. You could end up with liens placed against your real property, your bank account levied and wages garnished directly from your employer. There are even instances where a sheriff can show up to take a look around at your “stuff” and inventory personal items that can be taken to satisfy a judgment (this happens, but relatively rarely).

Judgment debt, whether past due credit card bills, personal loans, medical bills and other debts, are easier to negotiate and settle while maximizing your percentage of savings results if:

  • A bank account to levy cannot be found because one in your name does not exist, or does exist but is maintained with little money in it;
  • If a w-2 wage source cannot be located to garnish and;
  • Where there is no real property to lien, or where the lien is filed, but has been in place for some time and remains unpaid.

The one thing you can control is whether you have a bank account with your name attached. If you do keep a bank account open, realize most bank levies are attempted at the beginning, middle and end of the month – when you are most likely to have deposited a pay check, or other money to cover bills.

If you have sources of funds electronically deposited, you may want to elect to have paper checks issued to you until the credit card judgment debt is resolved.

The lien on property will generally not involve forcing the sale of the property in order to satisfy the judgment. You should look to resolve the judgment prior to selling the home (negotiate a settlement before listing if possible), or refinancing (settling before a lender does a hard credit pull is often best).

Wage garnishment is a major concern. Once your wages are attached the creditor has little reason to work with you at resolving the debt for less because they will continue to get paid unless:

  • You prove you meet garnishment exemptions in your state
  • You leave that job
  • You satisfy the judgment

 

Warning: Your credit card judgment debt grows from interest and can often be renewed!

Interest is accumulated at the rate set by the court, or the maximum allowed by law in your state for judgment debt. While you may be able to be creative in how you avoid paying the judgment you must realize that the balance of the judgment is likely increasing.

If you are struggling with overdue bills and other expenses and are unable to come up with a plan to get rid of the judgment or lawsuit through a negotiated settlement or payment terms you can afford, the fact that the debt is increasing should concern you. Stop and consider what your options to resolve the credit card judgment will look like next year. The year after that.

Judgments do have a “best collected by” date, but can be renewed. Judgments have a shelf life with a time frame specific to your state. Most states allow for a judgment to be renewed prior to expiration. For many, this is a ten year time line and renewal allows for an additional 10 years. That’s a 20 year shelf life!

Identify all resources you can tap to fund a settlement offer or payment plan successfully. If you cannot reasonably come up with the money to settle the debt, or make payments after reaching agreeable terms, look to bankruptcy to stop a bank levy, wage garnishment or lien on property.

Those are the unfortunate realities.

I highly recommend anyone with a judgment, that needs to be resolved in order to buy or refinance your home, to watch this video interview I had with a former debt collector: https://youtube/QpdDks73QUw

It is always best to put a plan together to address delinquent debts before a judgment becomes the concern and you are forced into crisis mode. If you have other debts, you can still put a plan together that includes resolving the judgment too, but it is important to not waste any time in doing so.

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About Michael Bovee

Michael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry, and is a regular contributor to several personal finance websites.

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  1. I received a summons from an attorney suing for a credit card bill…My credit report shows paid (settled less the amount)…Zero balance…It was so long ago…I can’t remember when…Iam getting ready to wright my response letter..What should I say about what’s on my report? Should I attach that information? Please advise…Time sensitive..Thank you!

  2. 12 years ago we had to default on a credit card. They got a judgement and lien on house. Nothing was heard of from collector in 10 years. Letter came yesterday, they sent a subpoena to bank -who holds mortgage- for loan application and the name of bank that last 6 payments came from. Credit card was under my name. Mortgage payments made solely from my husbands account. One quick note. We did try to settle for a 50% of debt about 8 or 9 years ago. They refused. Advice at this point?

    • Fill out the questions using the bot you see on screen. It is designed to get me details I need and give you the opportunity to schedule a free consult.

  4. I have a judgement against me by portfolio recovery associates. its been a title maybe four years. The amount is 5300.00 I want to negotiate a settlement but can’t afford to pay it all. should i call them or write a letter. do i need a lawyer to get in tough with them.

    • I like negotiating over the phone to reach an agreement and then get that in writing before paying.

      You do not necessarily need a lawyer to get your PRA account negotiated for less. But if you do not feel confident with doing this yourself, it would help to have a pro. You will have to budget money for the settlement and your attorney.

      I can email you a list of experienced consumer law attorneys that deal with PRA regularly if you like? What state are you in?

  5. I live in Colorado. In September of 2011 there was a lien placed on my commercial property. It is from a Credit Card. I had been making payments on this credit card. Not every month, but I would make payments when I could. I never knew about a court date or a judgement against me until this week when we are looking into putting the property on the market. I also have other property in the area and those do not have a lien. I am a little confused as to how they could file a judgement without me even being aware of a court date or notification of any type. It is for $15,000. Obviously I can not pay that in full. I am still making payments with this company which has bought out the debt. I am looking to remove this lien on the property. The judgement does not show up on my credit report. In September it will be 6 years that this judgement has been in place.

    • Who is the named plaintiff in the lawsuit? What collection law firm handled the case? What state are you in? Who are you making payments to right now (I read your comment that your payments are regarding the judgment at issue)?

        • If you are currently making payments it can be difficult to get a good settlement worked out with Scott Lowery office. If you stop paying you have a good shot at the better outcome, but that too has risks.

          Call in for a consult and I will dig into more details and sketch out a map for you to follow to get this expedited. You can reach me at 800-939-8357 ext 2.

  6. First, let me give you some info. My husband & I married about a year & half ago. I would like to handle the negotiation to settle a judgement in his name. Amount of judgement when entered into court in 2012, $12,200 owed to Discover Bank. As of today, amount owed over $17,800. I spoke to the lawyer’s office a couple months ago (1st communication since default in 2010). They told me in order to discuss/negotiate they would need to speak with him. Is this true or could he give verbal permission on the phone for me to discuss the matter? We live in NC. The only other debt owed is a mortgage which has been paid on time for about 15 years, so there’s equity. No other credit cards, auto loans, etc. We would like to refinance, (but not an urgent matter). Over the past summer I was able to have a couple liens cleared from his credit report & would like to take care of this judgement. When you mentioned the possibility of 50% negotiation would that be from the original amount owed or current amount? We would be able to make payment in lump sum, up to 40-45%, but would like it reduced as much as possible. Any feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

    • It is normal to give verbal authorization while standing next to him and have him pass the phone over, but I have seen a few limited situations where a signed POA was still requested. You can fax those in usually.

      You are nearly always negotiating from the balance owed at the moment. Check to make sure what the judge granted as a judgment amount in the order, and what was set for interest in that same order. DO the math and make sure it adds up to what they are quoting you now.

    • How late are the bills that are in collection? How late are the bills that you are referring to as derogatory? Depending on the answers, they may be one in the same. In which case I would focus on settling with:

      1. Who I can get the most debt resolved with the least amount of money.
      2. Who is the most likely to get aggressive and sue me in court.

  8. I live in Kansas and had a civil judgement in Circuit Court for medical costs awarded in 2012. I just found out about this situation. Do I have any recourse if I was not served with notice? What if another person not named in the suit signs for the court notice?

  9. My fiance just signed for a certified letter from a debt collection attorney for a judgement on a credit card he had from over ten years ago. He has not responded to the letter yet. I do believe that this is a time barred debt and the statue of limitations has expired. He has contacted them two years ago when he received a letter in the mail and did not claim this was his debt was just trying to get info on the letter we really need help as to what we need to do next before he responds to the judgement there is no court date on this paper but it is stamped from a clerk of superior court can you please tell us what we need to do next!

    • What state are you in? When did he last pay on the account? It is not clear whether this is already a judgment or not. Can you clarify the heading of the papers he received?

  10. I defaulted on a credit card w/ Bank of America and am being sued for $3,500 (DUMB on my part of course). My question is if I am being sued by a law firm representing BOA should I contact the law firm or BOA in attempt to settle? I’d like to settle before the pre-trial phase if possible. Just in general experience will these firms/banks be willing to settle for less than the total owed. Thanks in advance!

    • Once your bank send the account to a collection law firm they will instruct you to call the attorney office to resolve the debt, even more so when they already filed suit.

      You can settle for less once sued, but you will want to be realistic about what you can save in the process. Check out this post and the many comments for more settling out of court.

  11. my question doesn’t have to do with credit cards but medical bills.. I met with a collection agency attorney last year at my local court house to set up a payment plan.. I set up what I can afford at the time with the understanding that I would pay it off at tax time.. well my ex claimed my kids this year ( we don’t have a legal agreement yet) so im not getting enough back to cover it and they said if I don’t give them all my refund then I will be held in contempt of court and possible throw in jail.. im freaking out because I have 2 small kids and don’t need to go to jail.. is this possible? I did speak with a bankrucpty attorney and she said I can do a chapter 13 but will that stop all this from happening

    • What state are you in? I want to email you a list of consumer law attorneys that focus on debt collection violations. They often take cases at no cost to you when the violations are clear. And I believe you may have one.

  13. I have a jugdment of $6,400 to pay Portfolio Revovery. Who should I contact the try to settle with a lum sum payment? And do u think $1,500 would be a reasonable amount to offer?

    • Judgment debts are really hard to settle for 50%, so no, I do not think you have a shot at $1500.

      You typically have to negotiate the settlement with the attorney PRA used, but the older the judgment, you can sometimes Call PRA direct and get the deal done.

  14. I have a judgment entered against me from back in 2009 for $5000 with Bank of America. Today, this debt is handled by LVNV Funding, LLC with a total of $11,400. I tried to settle with them over the phone, but they were requesting my bank account information, and I was not comfortable providing that information, thus I sent them a letter offering to pay 50% of this amount in a lump sum. It has been over a month now, I haven’t heard back from them. At this point, do I have any other choices other than bankruptcy to avoid a wage garnishment?

    • Have they noticed your employer to garnish?

      I am not a fan of sending offers out in the mail. My experience is that calling to negotiate provides the outcome we want, and to get the deal negotiated verbally first, then get it in writing from them before paying anything.

      If you have 50-ish percent at the ready, and they do not have a wage or bank levy out currently, I like your chances. If you want help call in for a consult at 800-939-8357 ext 2.

  15. Hi Michael,

    A collection attorney just filed on the 23rd for a ~3,500 amount. It is not from the original creditor, it is on behalf of SVP. The law firm is Schrier, Tolin & Wagman, LLC. I could probably get half together to pay a lump sum before court. BUT I have 4 other cards out there in collections 🙁 If I settle this one, what is the likelihood I will get sued for the others? I am currently a full time student with no additional income outside of student loans. I am in Maryland.

  16. If a judgment was enter 10 years ago with the court and an agreement payment was enter and when the first payment was made the creditor send a letter saying that they were not going to accept the payment because it wasn’t enough, now after all that time they me to pay them double the amount of the original settlement, what can I do?

    • Judgment interest can accumulate to the point the amount owed is double, or even worse.

      Can you pull together a lump sum of, say half, in order to settle the judgment and be done with it?

  17. My original judgement was in 2000 ,it renewed without my knowledge in 2014 at 3 times original amount ,you said 10 years is limit that is possible,my state is arkansas and my question is how is this possible when statute of limitations on contracts is 10 years and that has been well exceeded

  18. Hello Michael;

    I really like your site and info- here goes- I defaulted on a Capital One credit card after the crash in 2008. I live in Florida. Portfolio Recovery Associates bought my dept of about $15,000 and used Hayt, Hayt& Landau as attorneys to take me to court, I had an attorney, but lost the case. In Oct 2013 they filed a judgement against me and won for garnishment of my wages. I filed a Claim of exemption due to income, and a dependent living with me at the time, with no attorney for my defense, and lost.

    I own my own company, an incorporated Real Estate office where I am the president, and don’t really write myself a check. I have never up to this point made any payments on the garnishment to these attorneys. I recall a phone call at one point that the attorney said he could no force me to pay?
    I don’t really know why he said that?

    I am now also on SS, but still working in my company making the min. allowed under the social security laws. They put this judgement on my credit report back on Oct 2016, before it had not been
    on there. I am a veteran and have been approved for a VA loan, but have to make a payment, or get this judgement removed, to go forward. The judgement is now up to about $21,000 with attorney fees, interest ect. I have no way to pay this at this time, or in the future

    What in your opinion is my best course of action – I can maybe come up with $2000 or so for a lump
    sum settle – would they likely talk to me due to the situation or is this a loss cause?

    • You could file chapter 7 and wait 2 to 3 years and get your home loan through. Otherwise you are likely looking at settling for half-ish of the balance owed now. I do not see any way PRA will accept a 10 percent offer.

  19. I have a credit card debt of $19,000 (unsecured). I recently had a catastrophic event (hurricane damage to my home) and I used my savings to repair and make habitable. I also was recently diagnosed with Rheumotoid Arthritis and under doctor care. My spouse and I are retired and receive only SS. Both now disabled so we can never work again to add to our income. We have a mortgage, a car payment and our SS just covers our food, utilities and necessities. I haven’t paid on my credit card for 4 months and now collection agency wants to negotiate a payoff of $7,500. Should I try to get help from family member and pay it. If I pay it and it’s charged off will I ever have to pay the charged off amount

  20. Hi,
    I have a judgment on my credit from 6 years ago. It was an unpaid electric bill in Wisconsin. We are trying to get a mortgage, and the lender already did a hard pull. So when I talked to the collection agency, they said they can’t come down at all. The original judgment was for $800, now $1,924 with the interest.
    Is it worth a try to send the collection agency a certified check for half the amount, stating that accepting payment means that the entire debt is settled?

    • No, using a limited endorsement, or accord and satisfaction on a judgment debt like this, has proven over and over to be a waste of energy in most scenarios I know of.

  21. My husband received a letter from a debt collection attorney. It included a foreign judgment from California to where we reside in Nevada. He was sued in 2010 by a credit card, but never received the original papers in 2010. Can we call the debt collection attorney ourselves and try to arrange a payment plan? We consulted with an attorney and Ch 7 was “favorable” at the moment. But after further discussion, since this is the only debt that my husband has, is it worth it to file for Ch 7? Or can we arrange a payment plan without hiring an attorney ourselves? I know with a settlement, they would want a lump sum payment, but we cannot afford that since we only have 1 income as I am a SAHM.

        • You can call the attorney for American Express and try to set up a monthly payment that you can afford, but be ready for them to push back on what they will accept. Sometimes it is better to save up to settle in a lump sum, and given the circumstances, you may end up paying 50% or more of today’s balance.

          If AMEX pushes the collection issue hard they may try to garnish and levy your bank account. If you meet Nevada exemptions you can prevent that, but I would not want his name on the bank account until this is resolved if it were me.

  22. Michael,

    Hello, hope the new year started off well. I wish I could say the same for myself. I recently received a judgement that was filed in Dec,2011 in NC at my old address, delivered by the Sheriff. It came to my new address and is listing the court of my old address. It is a notice of right to have exemptions designated.
    What should I do? I had received something 4 or 5 years ago and ignored it. I have since then married in the last 2 years and have one joint account. I have my own business, but since the move I am not making much. I am in the process of retraining for another job, and don’t want my wife to get stuck with this. Should I call the person listed as clerk or court or the law firm listed on the paper work, should I get a lawyer.

    Thanks,
    Ken

    • Is the judgment from 2011, or did the whole court thing go down after you moved and without any notice to you until now?

      What is the amount of the judgment?
      What collection law firm is handling this?
      Who is the law firm working for (named plaintiff in the lawsuit)?

  23. Hi, I currently live in Texas but recently discovered I have 2 cc judgements against me in WI. These are from now months shy of 10 yrs ago from when I was young and stupid. I had been considering purchasing a home in the future but I know these will be a problem. What is my best course of action? One is under $2000 and the other under $6000 per the court record.

    • How prepared are you to pay a settlement you negotiate? What if the balances are double (legal interest can be charged on judgment debts)? Did you already have your credit run for a home loan, and if so, when was that done?

    • Yes, depending on the situation. It is your name and social that gives the debt collector a match for a bank account levy. If, for example, you are on the account of your under age child, there can be a risk. The same thing can be said for a joint account with your spouse, or an elderly parent.

      When in doubt contact an experienced debt collection defense attorney in your state.

  25. Hi I live in SC and I got married 3 years ago . Before I got married I had defaulted on 5 credit cards. My husband does not know about these. Everything we have is in his name and I am a SAHM . We do have a joint checking account. I know this is going to catch up with me.. Can they take my car or house? Belongings?

    • Were you ever sued for the debts?

      You would have to be sued and a judgment entered before your bank account or property would be at risk. With the SOL in South Carolina being 3 years for credit cards, it sounds like you are passed that point.

      I would come clean with my spouse about this stuff though. Debt collectors writing to you or calling you would spill the beans anyway. And if there are judgments, you will definitely want to address this.

  26. I just got sued by capital one 7 days ago in california. At this stage can a reduced settlement happen? And if so would they accept payment plan or would it be a lump sum?

    • Settling an active lawsuit is best with a lump sum of money. Offering payments means signing a consent or stipulation to judgment. Not the end of the world, but avoid it if you can.

  27. Good Morning Michael,

    Long story short, I need to go to court tomorrow for my credit card debt (State of Illinois). I can’t afford an attorney and I’ve been working with the debt collector (agent) on a payment plan; but, we are waiting to hear back from the CC company on my appeal for lower payments . The debt collector’s attorney insists that we need to go to court. What do I do in this case?

  28. Hello Michael. I have a judgement against me from Ford Motor in FL (in 2012) for $8700. They were not able to get anything from me because I did not have job and any assets. I moved to SC, and just recently they hired another firm Smith Debnam and suing me for same debt/judgement for $11500. Letter before that, they said they would settle for $6900. I still do not have a job, bank, or assets. I do not have such amount. I would like to know what are my options? what should I do? please I need an URGENT advice.

    • You can stop all collection and get rid of the debt with a chapter 7 bankruptcy.
      You can put your head down, and when things turn around financially, negotiate a settlement for less than the full balance.

  29. Hello. I have a few questions concerning a judgement. I went to court in September for a summons from Finkelstein Kern Steinberg and Cunningham on a debt that was originally for Capital One but was bought by Portfolio Recovery. I made a payment plan with the attorney for what I can afford right now, SAHM and student, for $10/month on an $1100 debt. They wouldn’t take less than this. I have paid every month with the payment starting in October. I received a notice from the law office saying they were filing a property line with the court. First off, I don’t have any property. House, car, all assets are in my husbands name. I have a bank account that only holds enough money to buy groceries every two weeks. So, is this the normal process? Why are they doing this since we have a payment plan? What’s happens since I don’t have property? Is my bank account exempt? I live in TN.
    Many Thanks!

    • The judgment collection exemption in Tennessee that applies to your bank account is a shared one. It is a $10,000 wild card that can apply to household goods, your car, and bank account.

      I am not sure why they are going for the property lien if you are not attached to it in any way.

      When you are in shape to do so, you are likely going to want to negotiate a lump sum settlement.

  30. Michael,

    Great site and I enjoy the comments a lot. My father and mother declared bankcruptcy but prior to discharge one of the creditors sold the debt to Portfolio Recovery Services and filed a lien against the house in just my fathers name. The house was in both my fathers and mothers name and the attorney that handled the bankcruptcy feels he has a good shot at getting the lien removed. That said If he can’t get it removed can I negotiate the lien down a bit for a settlement with Portfolio Recovery Services? In Utah , the judgement liens can be renewed every 8 years.. If my mother is still alive and still owner of the home can they renew the lien against my father and the property?? Do collectors like portfolio recovery renew judgement liens?

    • All judgment creditor renew the judgment liens in this situation. But if I understand what you shared, the original debt was included in the bankruptcy. This should not be a problem for the attorney. Let me know if it is.

      If push came to shove you would be able to settle for less, both now and later.

  31. Hi Michael. The question that I have s I had a judgment filed against me in California and actually today is the 30th day I had to respond. I’m currently unemployed although I do receive income because I rent rooms out of my home. I still have yet to respond just because I’m very nervous and scared and I don’t have the money for an attorney and do you have any suggestions any way that I could handle this I don’t want to default but unfortunately I just realize today was the 30th day to respond. Should I call the attorney representing the credit card company and try and settle some things at this point before the day ends ? Any last minute advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated thank you so much. This anxiety is going to kill me. 🙁

    • If it were me I would file a general denial. Just the filing fee in California is going to set you back though.

      As far as calling to settle, you can do that, but the deck is stacked against a favorable outcome.

  32. Hi Michael,

    I am going through The process of building a house, but recently found out that I have a Judgment against me from Capital One (from 2011). This was a card that an ex opened bc she didn’t have any credit to open one herself. I was told monthly that she was up to date on the payments. Which I guess she wasn’t.

    This happened in AZ. I am currently in TN.

    I have the case number and court where the Judgment is filed, but when I call the court house, they tell me they can’t locate my case number or name.

    I need to get this settled, but I have no information to contact the attorney who filed the judgment.

    Any thoughts on what to do?

    • You may want to get help from an experienced debt collection defense attorney in Arizona. I can email you a list of attorneys with the experience you need if you like?

  33. Hi Michael, , I just received a notice of writ of execution for a capital one credit card debt of US$4299 (includes courts costs, court officer fee, etc), it says to contact the court officer to make payment arrangements, right now I have no money to pay them, I would like to know what are my options? what should I do? please I need an URGENT advice.

    • Run your situation by an experienced debt collection defense attorney in your state. You may have something that you have to comply with the court on, and you do not want to ignore that. I know you have no money to pay them, but you still will want to respond to some of these things. What state are you in? I can email you a list of experienced attorneys.

  34. Question, I received a letter saying I had a hearing for a debt amount owed. I do owe it. I called the place to make a payment plan. They agreed to the payment plan but said due to where I live they still want to get the judgement but any post judgement interest will be waived.

    I did receive a letter from them stating that I owe X amount. And that this is my start date for the payment plan and this is my end date on this day of every month. And they even said in the letter we agreed to these terms.

    But they still want to go get the judgement. Is that because they already paid the court cost? And want the judgement in place in case I do not pay. “Which I will Pay.” And I agreed to the full amount not a smaller pay off.

    Can they take this back ? And try to attach to my bank account? I can truly afford to now pay the monthly payment plan but if they went in and just empty my bank account that could make me late on other payments for CAR, RENT ETC. which then we all know is a bankruptcy issue.

    They did say no action on the judgement will happen as the payment plan is the course of action.

    I will say they have been nice to deal with on the phone and it is a debt collecting company.

    • What they want you to sign off on is a consent to judgment, or stipulation. It is normal when you need a monthly payment plan in your situation. They want it so they can secure their clients interest, which is the job, but also so that if you do miss payments, they can move forward with what you fear, wage garnishment or bank levy.

      My experiences is that nothing will happen as long as you are making your payments on time.

      Who is the collection law firm and creditor you are dealing with?

  35. I am trying to vacate a judgement that was entered against me. I have a hearing for my motion to vacate the summary judgement on Monday on the grounds that I was paying for a service called Crédit Defense and Wells Fargo failed to uphold the contract.

    The debt is mine, I just want to avoid this hitting my credit report…

    I have evidence i was aying for credit defense. I also have a contract the debt collector is supposed to sending out for a settlement of this debt of about 60% the full amount.

    During my hearing for my motion to vacate the judgement, should I tell the court that I have an agreement with the Plaintiffs attorney in place?

    If the plaintiff and I have agreed on a settlement, should I tell the court that this judgement should be vacated because 1) Wells Fargo failed to uphold the full extent of the contract I signed and 2) Wells Fargo has already agreed to a settlement with me so we no longer need to waste the court’s time with this?

    Im so confused trying to fight this on my own, but I just donot have the money for an attorney

  36. Received notice today Discover is turning over account to attorney for $5100.00. I have not been employed in over a year, no bank accounts or property in my name. What is my next step? There is nothing they can take from me, i have nothing. Should i even waste my time calling I dont have a chunk of money to give to them.

  37. Hi I need help! My husband own on a credit card and there a judgment for a bank levy which was taken out of my account with him on there as a signer. Which they have taken some money out . I have since taken the rest of the money out and going to close that account. I have also open another account with my name only. I just got a notice address to me as a third party. Can they levy my account? I live in California

  38. Hi Michael,

    I would like some advice on settling a judgment against my ex-husband that has resulted in a lien against the home I was awarded in the divorce. Should I do this in a letter to the attorney of record (in writing) or a phone call. My ex will never pay, but I want this gone so I can move on with my life.

    • You will typically want to negotiate with the law firm on the phone, then get everything in writing before you pay.

      Who is the plaintiff that sued your ex? Who is the collection law firm involved?

      • The plaintiff is a credit union. The law firm is Pressler and Pressler

        I’m nervous to call…I don’t want to say the wrong thing.

        Thanks for the reaponse

        • If you want help, set up a consult with me. You can fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column. When I see that I will email you to set up a time to talk.

  39. I enjoyed your video of information. I am 77.5 years old, lost my supplemental income and survive on Social Security and once in a while if I can sell a little something on the internet. Discover Card, thru Winn Law Group, recently obtained a money judgment against me. I had two checking accounts with my credit union that requires me to have $5 in savings on each to have the account. Winn emptied the second account, including the $5 savings and obtained close to $300. The other account is SS so they only obtained the $5 since it is protected, and also obtained a lien on my property. Read below someone didn’t have a homestead but mine is (so can they put one on a homestead house?).

    With the writ fee and interest to date of $1.53/day, I calculate I owe them approx $5597.27. If I could get a personal loan from my credit union, what amount would you recommend I try to get to offer to the collection legal firm to settle this? When I get ready to sell my home in approx a year, it will have to be a Short Sale as value to debt is not yet there where I live. It will be difficult to come up with this money so I definitely don’t have money for an attorney as I’ve read that is recommended to do this.

    I am in California btw

      • Thank you so much Michael. When you negotiate with them, do you request a breakdown of charges? Do you get some written agreement from them as to the agreed to amount? How do you get them to notify court if it gets satisfied?

        • When I am negotiating a debt I am typically looking for a steep discount. Unless there is something seriously amiss with charges and payments, I am not looking for an accounting.

          You will want to get your settlement agreement in writing. It is normal for them to provide to you, but read that article for what to look for.

          Most collection attorneys are going to update the court that yours is a paid or satisfied judgment within 60 to 90 days of payment being processed. It can happen quicker. It is just part of their work flow. But be sure to ask about that when you lock in all the details. I do see some instances of the motion being send to the consumer to file after the settlement is all done, but I do not think that has ever happened with Winn Law Group.

  40. Hi Michael,

    I stumbled on this page and thought I’d run my situation by you. I had a default judgment entered against me in Chicago (I live in TN now) just over six years ago for $7300. AmEx is the creditor. My credit score has mostly recovered and likely will even more so when this falls off at the 7 year mark, but I would still like to settle this. About two years ago, they tried to collect and failed because I had no assets or income to garnish. That is still the case today. I’m making about 30k, but the income is freelance and hence not garnishable, and my combined assets including the money in my bank account do not surpass the exempted amount (as far as I can tell, this is $4000 in IL and $10,000 in TN–I’m not sure which applies).

    So my question: how do you think I should go about settling? Given that they have tried and failed to collect once two years ago and that they would fail if they tried again (I will respectfully make this point clear), it would seem that I have some leverage. Do you think it would be possible to settle for under 50%? Reading some message boards like the one on myfico.com, many have claimed to accomplish this. With another month of saving, I could do 50%, but naturally I’d like to settle for as little as possible. Should I call AmEx or write them? Or do I need to find out who the lawyer was when the judgment was entered and contact them? Thank you so much in advance for your advice.

    • You generally have to negotiate with the attorney of record, unless AMEX has sent it to a different law firm, or sometimes to a collection agency.

      It is not common at all to settle judgment debt for less than 50%. That goes for American Express and other creditors too. But when it does happen, it is in no asset situations like you may be able to qualify for.

      If you are ready to pay half you are ready to negotiate. You will certainly want to start low and hold your ground every inch of the way. If you are not in a hurry you will be even better off.

      Post who you learn you are going to have to deal with once you talk to AMEX. I can offer more feedback then.

  41. Hi Micheal,
    My husband has a court for a judgment coming in two days.
    I am going to try to help him call the company to try to settle it.
    But my concern is that can they come after my bank account or my wages if my husband doesn’t have any? and if it is his card

    • Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column to set up a phone consult if you see this in time before court today. I will see that and reach out to you.

  42. I recently agreed to a settlement to pay around $300/mo for the next 3 years to settle an old credit card debt that was purchased by a collection agency. I’ve already made a payment and setup automatic drafts from a bank account I setup just for this purpose (I only deposit the amount that’s being drafted each month so extra money cannot be taken by ‘mistake’).

    I sent a signed copy of the debt settlement agreement back to the law firm representing the company that owns the debt last week however they have not received it yet.

    In the past week and a half, I received a notice for a ‘Civil Case Questionnaire’ that said specifically this on the one page questionnaire:

    “This form must be completed and filed by the Plaintiff after conferring with all counsel and pro se parties. The completed questionnaire must be filed with the court within fourteen (14) days of the above date or the case will be DISMISSED FOR WANT OF PROSECUTION. If you do have any questions, contact the Court Administrator/Coordinator of the Court. This form does not constitute a discovery request, response or supplementation, and is not admissible at trial.’

    It had about 15+ questions on it asking about various things such as if it will be a jury trial, largest monetary damages, counterclaims, estimated time needed for discovery, total time needed for trial, etc. As far as I understand what the first sentence says, it’s the Plaintiff’s responsibility to fill this form out after conferring with all counsel and pro se parties and I was under the impression I was receiving this so I had a copy for my files so I didn’t fill out the form. I was served a summons almost two months ago and provided a written answer to the judge within the allocated time period. I didn’t know how I should answer it and I cannot afford to hire a lawyer to review/fill it out for me. I called the courthouse asking to confirm my understanding of the questionnaire and they were not helpful at all. I called the lawfirm that filed the suit on behalf of the company that purchased the debt from the original creditor and they could not confirm for me either (although they have been more helpful and courteous than the courthouse has ever been). The lawfirm did indicate that they would honor the agreement regardless but couldn’t say what the court would do. I hand delivered a signed typed letter to the courthouse for the judge explaining all of this and why I did not complete the form as I was under the impression it was just a copy for my records as I’m not the Plaintiff in the case however it was on the last day that it would be accepted. I also included a copy of the signed debt settlement agreement I have with the lawfirm that filed the suit and let him know that it was in the mail but they haven’t received it yet so they could file it with the court and forgo a trial if I ensured to meet the conditions of the agreement which I have every intention of doing.

    I would like to know if I’m correct in my understanding that the Plaintiff (the lawfirm that filed the suit) should be the one completing this form and conferring with me as it doesn’t say that the Plaintiff and the pro se parties need to complete the form, they should be ‘conferring’ with me. If my understanding is incorrect, what kind of impact is this going to have on my case.

    I really don’t want this to have huge implications and I’m worried now as I couldn’t get a straight answer. The lady that ‘helped’ me at the courthouse was one of the rudest people I’ve ever encountered in my life right off the bat and I was extremely respectful to her, it’s a shame our tax dollars pay her salary for her to act that way. It’s as if she expects every person that walks through the door to be a lawyer…

    Any insight would be appreciated!

    • Is the agreement you signed with the debt collection law firm a stipulation or consent to judgment? If it is, and I were in your situation, I would simply follow through with my payment commitments.

      • Hi Michael,
        Thanks for the reply. The agreement is a consent to judgement outlining what the judgement is (full amount and per monthly payments) and that is absolves me of all responsibility of the debt once I fulfill all payments in the payment plan.

  43. Hi Michael- my husband and I have two judgements with portfolio recovery associates in Texas. Admittedly we have not been the best at paying on these and now they have requested a receivership? What is this and what is my best course of action.

    • When were the judgments entered into the court record?
      What are the balances?
      Do you have assets that you are concerned about them being able to take?

      Your wages are exempt from garnishment in Texas, and your home is protected in most situations. Your car is often exempt given the high household goods exemption in Texas. You have to be careful with money in your bank account in Texas.

  44. My Discover & Capital One debt were discharged through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that was converted to a Chapter 7 for the purpose of having them permanently discharged. Problem is that at the time I had no homestead exemption in place, so they were able to attach a lien to my home, which I now cannot sell because of these liens. What would you suggest? For lack of a better idea, I have a local bankruptcy attorney on retainer and attempting to negotiate a settlement for less.

    • If the debts were discharged in the bankruptcy, why did any judgment not go with them? The judgment is why a lien can exist. Was the judgment not discharged?

  45. I live in South Carolina and I have received an Execution of Judgement letter for consumer debt. What happens next? Can they garnish my wages. Can a lien be place on our property?
    How do I contact the party that sued me to negotiate a settlement?

    • What is the name of the plaintiff in the lawsuit?
      Who is the collection law firm handling the case?
      Wages are protected in South Carolina, but a property lien is a given.

      What is your goal for resolving the debt?

      • Thank you for your help and for your quick response.

        I haven’t yet found out who the law firm is but the credit card company is Discover.
        How can I find out who the law firm is?
        In a property lien, can the plaintiff force a sale?

        We owe around $6500, so I would like to save up to half and negotiate. Is that a probable solution?

        • The law firm is likely the same one that is listed in the court documents. That can change over time, so call Discover and they will tell you who the account is with.

          I do not see forced sales on the property liens.

          Settling judgment debts for half is optimistic, but still realistic. You may need to be prepared with a little more cash than that in the end, but I would start negotiating at the point I have 50% of the amount owed. Remember that interest is likely accumulating on the judgment.

  46. Today i got served papers saying i have been sued by bank of America for $22.111.57. I don’t have the money to pay it back at all. I was told that I have 20 days to go and write a answer to the court. What should i do? I am on ssi, and I live in Texas. I don’t have a house, but do have a car. Can they take my car? I don’t know what to do please help!

      • hello yes i want to go back to work. i fell bad about my debt. i did talk to a bankruptcy lawyer,and i want to file for bankruptcy. i just fell bad about doing it. i want to pay back the debt, i just cant do it at this time. and at this time i dont have the money for the lawyer.

        • If you file bankruptcy now, and get a legal solution to the debt so that you do not have to stress, or worry about bank account levies or wage garnishments, you can always circle back and donate money to a BofA charity, or one of your choosing, when you are better off.

  48. I got a phone call today and was told that I had a judgement against me for about $5500. This was for a default on a credit card in the mid 1990’s. I was never served a summons or notified about this by mail. I was not there to point out the statute of limitations. I’m assuming that 20 years would qualify. I have lived in Oregon since 2002. This all took place when I was living in Colorado and Nevada in the early 1990s. I acquired the cards while living in California if that matters. What to do?

    • What is the date of the judgment entry in the court record? What court was the lawsuit filed in? Who is the named plaintiff? Who is the collection law firm that handled the case. What is the name of the collection company contacting you now?

  49. Hi
    My husband and I got sued for a $1900.00 by Machol and Johannes and Barclays bank. They got a judgment against us and now we have to go to a supplemental hearing. My husband is a retired disabled veteran and the debt occurred when he had retired. The judgement was made only a week ago when we could not go to the hearing due to illness. My question is can we settle for a lower amount with these people and will they let us do a payment plan? Only one of us currently works and we cannot borrow the full amount. I am afraid of wage garnishment as we live paycheck to paycheck. Do you have any experience with them settling wise. We are prepared to pay 60% of the debt on a payment plan? Help! We live in WA state.

    • My experience with Machol and Johannes is not good. I mean really bad. So bad, that yours will probably be better.

      They cannot get back with people. Do not give a rip about injured vets on disability raising children on state assistance.

      Generally speaking, and this is not just with Machol and Johannes, but most collection attorneys, the more months you need to pay, the less likely you are settling for a savings.

      • It turns out the previous hearing had been cancelled by M&J as they also failed to turn up. We went to the hearing and put ourselves at the mercy of the judge without whining etc, and the judge basically told the lawyer to have a discussion with us before while he took care of a few other cases before he ruled. After verbally discussing the possibility of a payment plan the lawyer asked for the hearing to be stricken. Will they have to file another lawsui if we refuse their payment plan?. We have not recieved a settlement plan from them yet?

  50. Hello. My husband is being sued by an attorney for portfolio recovery for an old credit debt sold to them. We have been showing up to the court dates and they kept asking for extensions to get the paperwork. We just got paperwork In the mail from them validating the debt of 3000$ so we are trying to settle. They are trying to get a summary judgement based on the evidence. We negotiated a settlement for 2000$ and I’m working on getting a loan from family to pay it so it doesn’t get put into a judgment. If the court date is the 9th but they gave a due date to pay by the 18th should I strive hard to pay it by the 9th or what will happen in court if we have agreed on a settlement? I have it in writing from them also. Can they still issue a judgement after a settlement has been agreed upon? We are in Hawaii.

  51. I’m not sure what is the best coarse of action to take. I am being sued for 3500 from midland funding over a old credit card. I have a court date for garnishment this week so should I try to negotiate a deal prior or go to the court date? I haven’t been able to get much info from midland on the credit card. They said I owed around 1700 in 2011 when it went delinquent

    • Are you saying you have a court date as a result of them trying to garnish your wages, but you are contesting that because you qualify for exemptions? Are you being called in for an asset discovery hearing?

      • Yeah it’s a court date for the wage garnishment. I assume it’s for asset discovery. I doubt I qualify for any exemptions but I can’t afford the 25% with all my other bills. Including house, utilities, daycare and a lot of medical bills. So I’m wondering if I’m better off just trying to negotiate a deal with them or going and explaining it to the court?Could I possibly negotiate it down to 50%. I’m not even sure this is my actual debt. I have asked for paperwork on this but haven’t received much except for a balance I supposedly owed of 1700 as of 2011. Thanks

        • The time to request proof of the claim was prior to the judgment. You are typically not entitled to much of that at this point.

          I would show up to the hearing and answer all of their questions truthfully. If I can qualify for exemptions I would use that as leverage to get them to settle for half-ish of the balance owed on the judgment today.

  52. My daughter is not sure how to go about resolving this debt with American Express. My daughter, had an agreement with them, but when she lost her job, she was not able to continue payments. They now have their lawyer coming after her for the full amount of $5000.00. She would like to go back to the original agreement of just over $2000.00. Which is the best way to handle this situation.
    Thank you.
    Sincerely,
    Sylvia

    • Can you provide more details about the status of the debt? Was she sued and a judgment entered? Did she catch it before being sued? Who did she do the settlement agreement with? If not American Express, what is the name of the collection agency?

  53. I have a judgement against me for a credit card $1800.00. It’s a request and writ for a garnishment from a old account I had with a Credit Union. The Credit Union sent this to me in the mai. The Judgement creditor did not get any funds because I no longer have a account with Credit Union. I do have an account with a bank for direct deposit but the Judgement Creditor did not garnish that account yet. What should I do before they find this bank account? Can I make payment arrangements some how? They are trying to garnish my wages but have not garnished from my current bank yet.

    • You can negotiate at any time. How you go about it can impact the amount you save. Who is the named plaintiff and the law firm handling it? How much are you being sued for?

  55. I have a judgement against me and a lien for a credit card that was used fraudulently. It’s only about 1,600. But right now I don’t have it. As I have a small business barely hanging on. When I was served, the summons wasn’t for me, it was literally someone else’s summons. I finally figured that out but the 20 day response time had expired. Now what?

        • I can email you attorney contact info in California for a free consult about what to do from here if you like? You may be able to unwind the lawsuit due to the errors. And that could give you a better negotiating position, or the ability to defend the suit.

  56. I have a judgment against me for around 4,000.00 from a credit card. I just received a letter my wages will be garnished. I think I can fight that because I receive food benefits for my son and I. My question is – can I still call the original creditor and negotiate? Or once it has gone to court it’s too late? I would love to get it off my credit report. Is the creditor the only one who can remove the judgment and either way is it still possible for it to be removed?

    I also have another card that has gone to collections – I received a letter to settle for 800 or so. Should I contact the 3rd party to make payment arrangements? Or can I still talk to the original credit card company? Sorry if these are dumb questions. I just want to deal with these issues and move on. Done trying to ignore them.

    • You typically have to work out the settlement with the attorney that sued, or that is pushing the collection now.

      The creditor cannot just remove the judgment from the court record. But once you settle the court record should reflect a paid or satisfied judgment. You can improve your credit situation from there.

      Who is the collector and creditor on the other account? When did you last hear from the debt collector? Was there an expiration on the settlement offer letter?

      • The other account is Capital One. The collector is Client Services – and yes there is a due date of 11-06-2016. They want to settle for 740 and I owe 2400. I cannot pay the settlement amount in full at this time. But I have done some more reading and it sounds like I can’t contact the credit card company so I will have to deal with the collection agency.

        • That is a great settlement on a Capital One account. I would try to take advantage of it if at all possible. If not, keep saving up and settle it as soon as possible.

          You may be able to talk Client Services into agreeing the that amount spread out over a couple of payments. If they go for it, be sure to get the deal re-lettered.

  57. Hi,
    My name is B.R., I live in Casper, Wy. Yesterday I had a phone call at work, from a debt collector for a loan that I had with US Bank. I called him back when I got home from work introduced myself he immediately became abrupt with me and told me that they needed to have the debt cleared at 100% I explained to him that there was no way I could pay the entire $2336 debt in one lump sum I told him I could do 100 per month. I explained I had a lot of medical bills and I’m a single mother. He basically told me that’s not his problem (recorded the convo). I asked for him to speak to my mother as she is better at negotiating things like this! He informed me that he would not allow that.

    He said he could divide the debt up to three payments of over $700. I again explained to him, that there was no way I could afford that much money because of my medical bills . I asked if I could speak to his manager and his manager came on the phone and again was a little rude to me but not as condescending as the previous gentleman. We agreed to $100 a month for three months after three months I would pay $500 a month. I called him back today to set up a payment schedule and they would not except it because I wanted to wait for two weeks when I get paid again!

    They told me that they were marking this file as a refusal to pay and that I was going to get sued! I am very stressed out I did not refuse to pay I just cannot pay as much as they want at this time. As my medical bills decrease, I can pay a little bit more per month!

    Should I let this go to court? I have A recording of our conversation and he was very rude and very very insistent that I pay the entire balance like that was my basically only choice !!!

    Help!!

    Thank you!

      • Good morning!
        MS Services is the collection agency! I believe that last payment was a year ago… I went to a recovery treatment center.. (clean and sober) for 13 months! I have paid 2 other medical collection accounts off that were over $9000.00.. I have approximately 3000.00 left on medical bills. I had another judgement that I’ve negotiated 6 payments of 325.00 to satisfy that debt! That will be paid off in February 2017!!

        I’m a single mother and I’m not trying to dodge this account but I have had some struggles the last 3 years! I am getting back to normal and want to get everything taken care of! I work in a high profile dental office and would be extremely embarrassed if I were to have my wages garnished!

        Before my personal set back 3 years ago, my credit score was 810! I’m ashamed and embarrassed and want to get this rectified!!m

        Thank you, so much!

        • MS Service is a contingency debt collector and not going to sue. US bank does sell debt to debt buyers that would sue.

          If you can raise 30-ish percent of the US bank balance you have a shot at settling for that. If you cannot settle this with MS Services you can resolve it with the next agency that gets it.

          Your doing great bouncing back and taking care of all the debts. Keep it up. Don’t let this debt collector slow you down. All bark and no bite.

          • Thank you!, so much for the information! It had been a tough 3 years but I’m better everyday!

            MS Services, refused my payment on 10-16-09! Because I wanted the payment posted on the 9th of November, with 3, 100 dollar payments to follow. I then agreed to 500.00 for 3 months!
            They told me that was not acceptable and marked it as refused!

            I don’t think I can call to attempt anything else at this point.

            Should I just wait for it to be referred to either an attorney or another collection agency!

            Again, thank you for such amazing help! I’m feeling a little relieved!

  58. Hi , I receive a notice of defendant of rights of garnishment for a dept of 2010.

    Can i negotiate with them over phone to work out a payment plan rathern go to court or am i to late?

    • If your wages are about to be garnished, I would wither file with the court to contest the garnishment as causing a hardship (but only if it does). And if I qualify for full or partial exemption from the wage garnishment, I would then look to negotiate a lower settlement.

      Debt collectors with a judgment, who are successfully garnishing wages, are not all that flexible when offering a lower lump sum settlement.

  59. Hi Michael,

    My fiance recently had to go to court for a debt settlement with Capital One Bank. During the hearing, the attorney for the bank offered him a settlement of 70% of the debt to be paid off in 36 months. We would like to be able to respond with a letter to offer 50% of the debt to be paid off in 24 months. Do you think this is feasible? How should we word such a letter? Is it even worth making a counter offer?

    I have read through everyone else’s questions and there isn’t quite the same scenario. Any help is extremely appreciated!

    Thank you.

  60. I have 3 judgments from 2009. I got a letter in the mail of the total which is 13000 but there willing to settle for 5200. My questions are these:
    1. If I pay the 5200 will it come off my credit?
    2. Will it show up as a charge off or something else, if so am I still able to buy a house if it says charge off?
    3. When I call the creditors to settle this, what should I say to make sure it comes off my credit the correct way so I can buy a house?
    My credit it about 700 and I’ve been current on all my bill for the last 3 years. Please help thank you

    • Judgments from 2009 have a 7 year shelf life on your credit reports. They may already be off.

      You are still able to buy a home with charge off on your credit. But those would not be on your credit any longer, only the judgments might be. But it does not matter if the judgments fell off your credit already. Unpaid judgments prevent you from buying a home. Lenders see them because they are part of the public record, and not just because one appears on your credit report.

      I would not say anything about your credit reports. They are only going to do what is legally required of them, and that is what you want anyway. Talking about credit reporting serves next to no purpose.

  61. My husband has two judgments from 2009.
    One judgement was for about 10.5K originally. It is from BB&T bank for a car loan. I’m not sure if they or someone else owns the debt. I also have no idea how much the current amount is. And we haven’t heard from them since the judgement took place.
    The second judgement is from a Capital One credit card, originally for $1,400 and now owe $2,500. We received a letter from an attorney about 6 months ago and a sheriff deputy came to our house to see if we had any assets that could settle this debt. We didn’t have anything they could take. And we live in NC where wage garnishment is illegal. Portfolio Recovery Associates owns this debt now.
    So we have about 9K we can use to try and satisfy these judgements before we pursue buying a home. Do you think we will be able to settle both for 9K or less? What’s the best way to do this?

    • It is possible. The key is going to be getting the best deal on the old BB&T account. Call me for a consult so I can dig into the details and offer better feedback. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, ext 2, or fill in the talk to Michael consult request in the right column of this page.

  62. Hello! I’m in CT and I’m wondering if there is any chance of settling with a Judgement Attourney that has, as of yesterday, began Wage garnishment on a debt I owed to a Capitol One credit card. I received a letter and paperwork from my job less than a month ago that this process would begin, and I thought there was nothing I could do and let the process begin. Upon further researching, I’m wondering if there is still an option for one-lump sum payment and if its worth me reaching out to this attorney’s office on my own and how I could go about achieving a settlement, Does that in itself require an attourney? Any help is GREATLY appreciated! Thanks for your time.

      • Thank you for your response. I’m at 25 % of my check every 2 weeks until I reach about $4300. I understand that I can file with the court for a better dollar amount, but I’m in a position where I can get this cleared up in less than a year at this rate. I was never notified of this happening until my job sent the letter announcing the garnishment to start 20 days later. Has been a real shock actually, this debt is very very old. Attorney worthy? I have no idea.

        • When in doubt, run your situation by an experienced debt collection defense attorney. I sent you an email with contact details to some I know have experience in Connecticut.

  63. I live in Texas and have a judgement from Lvnv from an old sears bill. It was filed around 8-9 years ago but now they are going to renew it. I just received a letter from lvnv telling me I have 30 days to validate the debt. It came off my credit after the 7 year window. Do you think they would take a 50 percent settlement. The first judgement was by default. The judgement is around 5k with interest and fees.

    • It was originally sears. Then currently lvnv but the letter is from first national collection bureau. And it’s 30 days to dispute the validity of debt.

      • You have a shot at 50% settlement.

        Don’t be fooled by the reference to disputing or requesting validation. They already have a judgment and would just send you a copy of it. If your goal is to negotiate and settle, focus on that.

  64. I have received a notice of judgment filed from Midland Funding, LLC. The amount was for $2219. I do not know what the original amount was. I do not know when the last payment was made on this account but it was charged off Dec.2012. I contacted the attorney office that filed this suit and they are saying I owe 2421.27 plus $75 court fees. I did not make an agreement to pay and told them I would like to appeal this judgment. Do I have a leg to stand on? I cannot pay 50% of what is owed.

  67. I receive a Writ of Summons last night and it is new to me. I know I owned the money to this specific creditor, but it was out my radar as I haven’t received any mail or telephone calls asking for payment. I lost my job early 2013, besides being out of job for almost a year and half I found jobs that was temporary or with a low salary compared with the salary I used to have before 3/2013. I just found a full time job and I know I can settle this with a payment plan. I called the attorney office (the one that is handle this case, and referrer as a plaintiff) left couple messages already, but have heard from them as yet. Please any suggestion in how should I handle it, I will appreciate.

    • You may want to consider filing an answer to the complaint, or general denial, so you do not end up with a default judgment, and give yourself more time to deal with the attorney to settle this.

  68. Hello,
    My judgment was just removed from my credit report on September 21st, and my question is can it be renewed after it has fallen off of my credit report? Also, if I call and try to pay this debt since of course I still owe it, will it show on my credit report again. They were never able to garnish my wages because I haven’t been working and been in school and don’t have a bank account on my name. If i try to get a bank account now since the judgment is gone can they still take money from my bank account? If I get a job soon, can they still garnish my wages. Please advice me on how to settle and pay off this debt now that it is off my credit without it showing on my credit again. Basically, what happens now that the judgment has fallen after the 7 years?Thank you for your time.

    • An unpaid judgment can be renewed after it is too old to stay on your credit reports. Judgment renewal depends on state law.

      When you pay or settle a judgment it does not get to reappear on your credit when it already was removed from age.

      The judgment is not gone because it does not appear on your credit. It is still enforceable through garnishment and bank levy.

      You should still look to resolve the debt. How much is owed now? What is the name of the plaintiff?

  69. I need your advise desperately. I had a credit card a while ago with Chase (Original balance was around $3500 or so. I can’t recall exactly) and stopped making payments on it because of my husband’s job loss after the recession. Years later (about 2 years ago) I got served to go to court for this debt that Midland Funding had purchased. They had an attorney named Mark Johnson and they said that they money owed now was like $5500. I thought that the statute of limitations had already passed so I got a lawyer so he could fight that for me, however, he somehow screwed up and couldn’t prove the statute of limitations had passed and I ended up being responsible for the debt. I agreed to pay $100/month and made like 8 or 9 payments. Then I got miscarriage, had to have surgery, my husband got appendicitis and had surgery, and I was also paying tuition for my school. Basically, we had all these bills and I could not afford the payments so I stopped making payments since I didn’t really have any assets (house or cars or much money in my bank account) that they could take away. About 1 year ago my husband got into a really bad financial situation and we were left with a debt of about $27,000 so now it is even more impossible for us to pay this judgement because we are trying to pay off this bigger debt that we have. Trying to pay off a family member that loaned us some money to pay this.

    Now (just yesterday) about 2 years after I stopped making those payments, all of a sudden I find out that my joint bank account was wiped clean. They took $1500 which is all the money I have to make payments for rent, food, and bills, and other debts that I have. I really want to find a solution for this. Want to settle but I don’t know how to work a deal with them since they already have a judgement against me and I can’t really pay a big lump sum. They already have the $1500 they took from the bank account and around $900 that I paid to them during previous months. Is there a way to settle with them if I pay just a little bit more in cash or with a credit card?

    I am working as a contractor so I don’t have wages, however, I am scared that they will take this away too since it is the only income we have. I am also scared that they will take away my tax refund since we are barely surviving financially and every little bit helps.

    Please, I need your help!

    • Call in for a consult Loida. Mondays are tough to reach me without an appointment, so leave a message if you have to. I can be reached at 800-939-8357, ext 2.

  70. I have two judgement 8 years ago. I lost my job due to disability. I no longer work. The judgments were on my credit report but now they fall out. I did try to settle with them but they took to court to get judgement on me. After that they never contacted me for collection, not by phone nor by mail. They were Chase and Discover. They know that I am disabled. I have no assets. Were they forgiven since they bailed out by government, or they are still looking for my income? I don’t work, and I live with my family.

    • The judgments are likely still valid. They do not go away, though depending on when your Chase judgment is from, they will not pursue it or renew it.

      When did Chase get the judgment?

      What are your goals for resolving them? Have you looked into chapter 7 bankruptcy?

      • These from 2008 and 2009. I did try to settle with them before court but they would not one their attorney suggested file bankruptcy . Which I am not in favor. Because of health situation there lot of run around and I have trouble walking . The attornies had seen me on wheelchair.

        • If the judgment is in Chase bank’s name, I am not sure they will renew it. They abandoned collection on a ton of judgments, but you have to wait for them to fail to renew.

          If you are judgment proof and on disability, I am not sure there is any reason to fret over this. But if you wanted for some reason to resolve the Discover judgment, you are likely looking at having to come up with half or more of the balance owed.

  71. Hello Micheal,
    I have a judgment against me in Washington state from an old BOA credit card it was filed in king county superior court on 08/15 2011 and is scheduled to come of 07/2018. my credit report says it is for 7,372.00 the plaintiff is FIA card services NA. I am wondering if it is possible to settle for a lesser amount before they renew the judgement against me and add an additional 10 years of a negative mark on my credit report. If so what would be the best way to go about this? Thanks for reading

    • You will likely have to negotiate with the collection law office FIA sent the account to. Can you pull together half of today’s balance? It may take more than that.

      The judgment renewal does not mean it can stay on your credit reports longer than the 2018 date. But you can still be garnished, bank levied, or have a property lien without it on your credit. And you will typically not be able to get or refinance a home loan with an unresolved judgment, even after it drops off your credit.

      • Hello Micheal,
        Thanks for the reply. How would I find out who the law firm is that FIA used for the judgment? Would I need to call them or should I write a letter? Will contacting reset the clock on SOL. This is the last ding on my credit report that I am trying to fix and I am not even sure how to go about starting to try to to settle it. Thanks for reading.

        • The SOL for a judgment does not work like the SOL if you were never sued. There is no reset of the clock to sue because they already did.

          You can call FIA and they will tell you if they still have your account with the attorney they hired to sue you. If they don’t, they will tell you who they have your account with, or you may be able to deal with them directly.

          If you want help call in for a quick consult at 800-939-8357, ext 2 rings to me.

  72. Hi. Am hoping you could help us out with a question. Today my husband attempted to pay for gas with his debit card. To his surprised the payment didn’t go through. After a phone call to his bank he found out his bank account has a negative $100 and over $2,000 taken out. The bank explained to him that his wages are being garnished. Many years ago he had a credit card with Compass Bank, they have serve him a judgment. So we are out of money with checks being bounced and $0 in our pockets. Please advice. The judgment was served in Phoenix Az but we have reside in Pensylvania for a year now. He never closed his bank account in Az since is the account we use to pay bills etc. he gets his paycheck deposited electronically every 2 weeks. We don’t know what to do. It looks like the debt is for over $20,000. We don’t have the money to pay at the moment. Please advice

  73. I have a judgement from my business-against me personally. i entered a payment plan 5 years after they filed the judgement. the original judgement has interest and fees, i entered a settlement agreement for just the principle, and have been making payments for the past 3 years-no late payments in that time
    should they redo the judgment reflecting the agreed to settlement amount? .
    i just recently applied for a loan and they found the judgement. the bank wants it satisfied before they go ahead with the loan. i am prepared to settle for 50 cents on the dollar–what i am going to say is it will take me 12 years to pay this off at the current payment plan– or you can settle with me now. do you think this will work.? original debt $36658.00 down to $28600.00 50C on the dollar would be $14.300.00
    do you think i can get them to settle for $10.000? that would be 35C on the dollar
    also could they remove the lien because i have a payment plan and have not been late for 3 years?

      • at the current payment plan it will take me 12 yr to pay this off. so i was going to make an offer at 1st of $8000.00 then see what they come back with. i am hoping that i can settle for no more then $10.000 if you include the $7200.00 i will have paid in payments the amount paid on debt would be $17.200.00

        • I would have a better sense of things if I knew what the original debt was about, and the name of the plaintiff. In other words, the back story.

          How soon you are trying to reach your goal matters too. If you are trying to get something closed in a hurry, it can be more difficult to hit your percentage of savings goals.

  74. I have an old unpaid judgement from 2003 that i ignored (young and dumb). It no longer show on any credit reports. Recently the collectors revived the judgement and now have me up to $10, 357 being owed with interest and attorney fees. They mailed me a letter stating their intent to start ganishment unless i pay in 15 days. I have $5200 i can pay right now on this. The told me I can only settle for $7800. Is that not negotiable? Is there a correct way to go about doing this?? Would they entertain settling for what I have right now to avoid me paying for the next 2 years using the garnishment calculation? thanks in advance for your input. I’m so stressed over this and want to figure out how to prevent garnishment.

    • Has your employer already received the notice of garnishment?

      Unless you have a shot at full or partial exemptions applying to you, this late stage of collection puts them in the drivers seat. They know they will get paid the full amount (often with interest) as long as you have the job.

      It may be possible to settle for lower than that 7800, but in my experience, it likely won’t be by much if your employer has already been notified, and you cannot contest the garnishment and meet some of the exemption guidelines.

  75. I live in PA, was hoping to buy a house in the next six months. I checked my credit report and see there’s a judgement from 2011 for 5400 from an old credit card back in 2006. I was never served because they had an old address, I have no idea what to do. I started doing some research and it seems i could try to negotiate a settlement or payment plan, but should i have an attorney represent me? Could you direct me to a company or program that could help me with this so that i don’t have to give up my dream of owning a home?

    • Who is the judgment creditor (name of plaintiff)?
      Can you raise about half the amount of money owed on the judgment? If so, how long will that take?

  76. i have an expired debt (there is nothing bad on my credit report infact i have a 725 credit score) so this expired debt all of the sudden showed up as a garnishment at my employer. i’m so embarrassed and i would like to try and settle it. do you think that that is possible? the debt is for $1170. with all of the taxes and interest included. how much do you think they will settle for and will they even do it, with the garnishment filed. like 30% or something? – they have yet to take any out of my paycheck, as i just got the letter today from my boss. please help, i don’t even have parents around to ask for advise. i called 2 hotlines on my break but was left on hold and never even spoke to a real person. 🙁

    • It sounds like you have a judgment. Judgments may fall off your credit reports, but they can still be collected. You can contest the garnishment through the court. If you are determined to be fully, or partially exempt, you can prevent some or all of your wages being taken.

      Did you not know about the judgment at all until now, or was it something you thought had expired off your credit reports and was over with?

      • i got a loan for a vehicle last month and the receptionist at my work said that someone had called to verify my employment. i thought that it was my credit union, verifying i was indeed employed but when i looked up the number on the internet and saw that it was a collections firm. i haven’t gotten anything in the mail in years.

        • also, if they agree to a settlement price can i have them email me the agreement. i don’t want to have to wait for the actual mail to come to get this paid off.

          • Some debt collectors will email the settlement agreement, but not all do. Faxing is standard, so do that and you will not have the mail lag time.

        • New credit inquiries and loans showing on your credit reports will often alert debt collectors. They set alerts to be notified of those types of changes.

  77. Hello micheal, I have recently been served for a debt to discover for 1,700+. This is from a debt lawyer in raliegh They’ve offered to settle for 1,450 but there’s no way for me to come up with that much money. I’ve been in and out of work and falling farther behind in bills so can’t put up much money at all. They’ve also presented me with a consent to judgment, but I don’t want all of the negative affect from that. And don’t have much money for a lawyer. Any suggestions?

    • You can look to negotiate a better outcome, but how much can you pull together?

      You can defend the lawsuit in order to get yourself some additional time to pull money together. Probably a few months as busy as the Raleigh courts can be.

      • Anything I’m able to pull together would impede catching up with bills. In a few weeks I should be in a comfortable place to pay a retainer fee but I can’t be sure of a date.

        • You have to file an answer by a certain time or they move to default judgment. Ask the court clerk if they have a basic over the counter form you can use as a “general denial”. You are being sued, and it is best to speak with an experienced debt collection defense attorney (even if you cannot hire one) in order to get your bearings.

  78. Hi Michael. I went to court a year ago on collections with Capital One and agreed to pay $50.00 per month to pay it off. The Balance at the time was about $6,400. After paying $500 over the year they tell me the balance is 6,700. Of course I was shocked that after paying all of that money that my balance is now higher. The collector said it’s a 12% interest for the client. I told them I was not informed of such tactics and felt I was being mistreated. I also told them there is nothing on the judgement paper stating anything about interest. What can I do? I live in Massachusetts. Thank you.

    • They should not be able to charge interest if the court did not set it. Look over all of the filings and make certain the court did not include what they are allowing for interest. Call a court clerk and ask for help locating the judges reference to interest. Let me know if no interest was referenced and lets go from there.

      • I have the agreement for judgment that is signed by me and the other party and it definitely does not say anything about adding interest. There is one line that has a a box unchecked saying postjudgment interest is waived by the plaintiff. I can still call the clerk on this matter though. Where to go from here?Thank you.

        • Double check this with the clerk. After that, if they are trying to force payment for more than they should, I would talk to an experienced debt collection defense/FDCPA attorney. I cam email you contact in yours state if you like? Where do you live?

          It is also important to file complaints with the CFPB about this kind of thing. They are currently engaged in rule making that will greatly impact all areas of debt collection and would like to hear from you.

  79. Hello Michael. I am being sued for unpaid credit card debt of $3,066 in the state of Texas. I do not live in Texas, but my mailing address was in Texas 6 months ago at my parent’s residents as I was traveling for work. My parents received information on their door and in the mail saying I was being sued. They unfortunately did not tell me about the papers until after the 14 day window to reply with an answer. I was served on July 19. A lawyer friend told me to just wait for the next letter but I am concerned it will go into a default judgement against me. I do not have any assets.. no car, no house, under $500 in my account and currently unemployed. I am an independent contractor in the entertainment business. Currently my boyfriend is supporting me. I can borrow about $1000 to negotiate. Should I call the law firm and attempt to settle this debt before they officially take me to court even though I have not responded to the papers?

    • It will be hard to negotiate a 3k court case down to 1k.

      I would look at filing an answer late and getting the court to say that is okay, and your defense would be they sued you in the wrong jurisdiction. I am going to email you a list of Texas attorneys you can call and talk to about this. The city they are located in is to the right in the email. Match that up and click their name which will launch a page with the email and phone number for each.

      I think you can get this tossed… at least for now.

  80. I was served papers last night from a Kohn Law Firm in WI regarding a Discover debt. I was stupid, maxed out my card at $6500 (over time) and now they are seeking $7952 and change. I am wondering if I can negotiate a lower payoff and pay it before my Aug 22 court date. I could come up with the $6500 but $8000 is more difficult. I have student loan debt and according to what they served me with, my FICO is 540. I am married and want to spare my husband as much as possible from my own stupid, frivolous actions. Any advice you can provide is appreciated.

    • Call in for a consult Kris. You may be able to get your settlement done prior to the 22nd, but it could be more beneficial to use a delay strategy in order to get a better deal, or save up to pay.

      You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2, or fill in the talk to Michael form in the right rail of this page. I will be out of the office Sunday and Monday.

      • Hi Michael,
        As a follow-up: On the advice of a local consumer counseling type place, I offered Discover an amount of money to settle. I was told that the law firm would most likely counter based on the 70% rule. I did offer less than that 70% on their advice because they suggested that they would counter. Well, they did not outwardly counter, rather the law firm is now requesting my financial information for what I assume is to establish my “worth” for a payment plan and or garnishment. I am not interested in either and would just like to agree to a settlement and move on! What are your thoughts now? Please help!

        • That complicates things a bit. Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column of this page. I will email you to set up a time to talk on the phone about some strategy from here.

  81. I have a 5,900.00 judgement from Capital One that was granted in 2009. With interest, I’m sure it has grown. What would be a reasonable amount to offer them as a cash settlement?

  82. Hi Michael,

    We recently pulled my wife’s credit and saw that there was a judgement from 2012 in the amount of $3500 +/-. The company was Asset Acceptance and was in the state of Texas. My wife states that she was never informed or received notice of any lawsuit and I contacted the court clerk to get more information as was told there was a “process of service” within the file (or something like that). My question is what options should we pursue in order to get this taken care of? Is it possible to have this vacated and if so is it worth the cost of doing so vs trying to settle with Asset Acceptance? We have never received anything from Asset Acceptance in the last 3-5 yrs regarding payment or settlement of this judgement. Thank you in advance for any guidance with this matter.

    • It is difficult to undo a judgment that is several years old in most states. You can talk to an experienced debt collection defense attorney about your options and what their fees would be, then compare that to settling for roughly half of today’s balance.

      The cost comparison is one thing, but if it is a close call I would go with settling (assuming the debt is yours) as the settlement is a know outcome, where trying to vacate a judgment has a cost with no known outcome.

  83. i have a judgement against me from old cc debt. judgement was filed in 2014 and i was just served with wage garnishment papers. I’m self employed and don’t pay myself a salary, i just pay my bills as needed and there is never much left over. the debt is 11k and I was just served with continuing writ of garnishment last week. i don’t have $ for an attorney and feel like this law firm will not try and work things out. i had initiated a call before it went into a judgement but they did not seem to care one way or the other….

    • Who is the collection law firm handling this, and who do they work for (name of plaintiff that sued you)?

      Do you have other unsecured debts that you are paying or in collection with? If so, how much does all that add up to?

      Over what amount of time can you pull together roughly half of what you owe on the judgment?

  84. I have a collection attorney unwilling to settle a debt with Barclay. The attorney entered a judgment and I’m not sure what to do. I tried to settle but they will only take payments on the entire amount. Should I go ahead and take my chances in court for them to be willing to settle?

    • How old is the judgment?
      Who is the collection law firm you are negotiating with?
      What is the balance owed as of today, and what are you offering as a pay off?

  85. Also there is no money but the house as a minor child had lost a signifigant amount of financial support are thier any protections for widowed single moms is CA from having to be responsible for his personal credit card debt

    • You will want to connect with an attorney in California that has experience dealing with probate and wills. Look for someone with a decade or more experience.

  86. Hi Michael
    My husband died intestate. My attorneys have filed a valid creditors claim for the monies my husband owed to me prior to and during our marriage. There is a minor involved he is 6 the claim is valid backed by documents but the executor does not want to pay. The house already has to be sold. I want to place a lien on my husbands house as it was only in his name. To insure I receive the funds I am entitled to for me and my child. How do I place a lien on the house of my late husband estate with no judgement

  87. Hi, I have a judgement against me from capital one filed in the state of Texas. It was filed in 2012 and I desperately want to rectify this before they re file the judgment. My question is after I settle with them or pay in full, can I request this judgement be removed from my credit report in its entirety or will it only showed paid. The legal item was filed for 4,806.00
    I have one other item on my credit report from Midland funding(original creditor was HSBC) for 1,056.00. I have no idea how to find out when this item will be at its 7 year mark or how to go about finding out. It was opened according to my credit report(I am assuming this date is from the collection agency) in Dec. 2011, but I do not think this was the actual date of last payment made to original creditor. What is your advice in handling this item.
    Thanks for your advice

    • You will likely only be able to get the credit report to reflect what the court will show, which is a paid or satisfied judgment. That will allow your credit to heal, so not a huge problem.

      Do you have access to the same bank account you used to pay that HSBA account with?
      Any old credit reports that show HSBC on them?
      Is HSBC on there now?

  88. I am attempting to settle a credit card judgment of $2300 with Citibank. The judgment was granted in Dec. 2009. The county court clerk gave me the law firm contact information that is listed on the judgment. When I called to seek a settlement, the law firm informed me that Citibank recalled the debt so they no longer had the case. I have called Citibank 4 times and every time I have been routed to their Recovery Dept but they cannot find any records of the debt, using my social security number and my old account number. I read in one of the postings that Citibank no longer owns your debt after 5 years because they charge it off. With this information, is there a way that this judgment can be cancelled?

    • No, the judgment cannot be cancelled with the information you gave. And wherever you read about Citi not owning your debt because 5 years went by is not a credible place to get information.

      I would consider filing a debt collection complaint with the CFPB at this point. My reasoning is that you have made every effort to get in touch with Citibank to resolve the judgment, and they are not putting in the time to help you. They took the time to sue and cause that issue, and did that in order to secure their interest and get paid, now that you are trying to help that process along they are unable to finish what they started.

      Filing a complaint through the CFPB will put your issue in front of better trained and resourceful people at Citibank. It will take a couple of weeks to hear back. This would be the way I would proceed if it were me.

  89. I just received a letter in the mail yesterday that came to my parents home that said a judgement had been made against me for Midland Funding. It was a credit card that was for 3622.34 & with court fees is now 3622.34. The dispostion date is 6/27/11 & now it has been renewed I guess on 6/2/16 & is now up w/ interest to 4162.29. I do not have this kind of money. I only work part time my husband is on disability. What advice would you give me on this. My credit rating is not the greatest. I have one payment & I do pay it on time as it is my vehicle.
    Do you think they will come after me for this? I have read where sometimes it means nothing more than putting it on your credit. I don’t know. What advice would you give to me…

    • It is typically never “nothing” when there is a judgment in the court record. You are at risk of extra collection effort until you resolve the judgment. Can you raise half the amount owed to offer a lump sum one time pay off?

        • Monthly payments will often mean no lower balance settlement to save money, or not as good a deal as can often be had when offering a single one time settlement pay off.

          We are a debt company. If you would like a consult click the request at the top of the page and submit that form. We can talk with you about your options and how to proceed. If you want help, we do that too.

  90. I live in Pa,am married and I alone have been sued by Discover for over $8,000. They have a judgment now against me. We have suffered major financial hardship over 4 years time. We nearly lost our home 3 times and thank god were able to modify all 3 times. It has been very hard to get back on to of things. Our bank account(joint) was levied and emptied…. I recieved a writ of execution that was processed on the 16th, we didn’t get it till after the 24th. I am paralyzed… I am living in fear that the sheriff will come through my home and take everything to sell…. I make no real income, I am in direct sales. Average around $500/ month check but it comes out to less than $300 becuase of the product autoship and website payment. My husband is really the sole provider for our family of 8!! We have no investments, nothing of real value, No retirement or 401K….. Due to the Modification we owe more on our home than what it is worth. What can I do at this poiunt to keep them from coming through my home and taking things that my husband’s income has provided our family!?

    • Is the judgment only against you? You can take your name off the bank account for now until you get this resolved.

      You will want to resolve this. The judgment is going to grow with interest and will continue to allow them to try to collect from you.

      I do not see too many instances of a sheriff showing up to inventory your stuff, so do not let that fear slow you down.

      Try to come up with roughly half the Discover judgment balance and when you are there, use all of the details in this post to help you negotiate a settlement.

      You could also consider wiping out this judgement, and any other unsecured debts, through a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Have you consulted an attorney about this?

      • Yes this judgment is only against me. Discover has a judgment against my husband as well for $4,500, it is not as far along as mine however. Pretty sure we can handle settling his before mine. We have 3 years of tax returns coming, if we negotiate a settlement, will they wait for the $ to get here? It will take a few months. I really just want to be able to come to some agreement. We just got a notice from the bank with the cost super inflated! over $13,000 now! There is nooooo way we will be able to pull together $6,500, and $2225 that fast! It will take some time….I do not understand how they can in a weeks time have the price jump from $8.000 to over $13,000. We just want to move past this. No lawyer as of yet, really do not have extra $ at all. They just yanked over $1,000 out of our budget & we are barely making it this month. Bankruptcy is what we really want to avoid at all costs. I was hoping to be able to settle mine for $4,500… is that out now that they have this new super inflated number?

        • I would focus on his settlement first too. You typically cannot negotiate an agreement to settle for less today, with a payment set more than a month out. I would wait to have the money in hand before negotiating his Discover balance.

          When you said his account is not that far along, is it even a judgment yet?

          Is it Zwicker and Associates suing? If not, who is the law firm collecting for Discover?

          I have a problem with 8k going to 13k too! When did you stop paying your Discover account? What was the amount listed in the original lawsuit paperwork? When was the judgment entered in the court?

          I understand wanting to avoid bankruptcy, but sometimes it just makes a ton of sense. Are there more debts than these Discover balances? If so, what does it all add up to?

          • Yes the judgment just was finalized in June on his account.

            No not Zwicker firm it is Weltman Weinberg & Reis.

            I am concerned they are trying to lump both cases together. The $8,000 added to the $4,500 comes out to be around $13,000 with court fees….. I didn’t think that was even possible, or legal to do!! They were 2 different accounts and suits.I honestly don’t remeber when I stopped paying. We have been in and out of foreclosure as I said & that was the last thing I was going to pay vs saving our home or feeding our kids….I will try to find when the last payment was made,

            I have a citibank that I believe is past the statute of limitations for $4,500
            and a Lawyer bill for $4,500 but that is it.

            As I said the tax refund should be fairly big & I would think it will take care of the twi cards & make headway into paying the lawyer off..

            • The last payment I made was in 2014 I believe…we were in VERY dire financial distress with our home.

              I just got a letter from Calvalry today that bought my citibank charge off of $4370.42.. 98% sure this is at the 4 year mark. This is asking for verification of debt in the next 30 days.

              • Make certain that the debt has not been paid on for 4 years. With it passed the SOL in Pennsylvania to use the courts to collect, you will be in a better position to negotiate this debt on your terms.

            • I would look to settle your husbands now so that you have at least one person on a bank account. Call me to go over some options on the phone. You can reach me at 800-939-8357 ext 2, or fill out the “Talk to Michael” form in the right rail.

  91. Hello, I incorrectly filed an answer to a complaint from Midland Funding on an old paypal credit account which led to a default judgment against Pressler and Pressler who is representing Midland Funding. They put a levy on my account this past week which I had lifted because the funds were exempted because I have under $1000 in all personal property. I am currently a full time student and only temporarily working over summer and cannot afford to pay the judgement in full but I cannot afford to go through another levy. I’ve been unemployed the past eight months which why I was unable to make payment arrangements and after I contacted the lawyer I received no response and later found out the default judgement was placed and the levy was ordered. The debt including judgment court fees is $1800which I am able to settle for half by sending in two payments or one if I’m able to. What would be the best way to settle as I have no stable income at this time besides this summer job. Should I send in any school information or bank statements to help my situation because any incoming money I receive is used for rent and all other basic nescessities to live. Thank You

    • Give me a call to go over some options for settling with Midland Funding. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, ext 2. You can also fill out the “Talk to Michael” form in the right rail of this page and submit that. Those all come directly to me.

  92. My son has a judgement against him for over $5000. The original amount was a credit card bill for approx. $2000. I would like to help him settle this so that he can move forward with a clean slate. Unfortunately, $5000. is a bit steep for me. Can you tell me what I should offer and what you think I should expect to pay? Hopefully they will be willing to work with me to accept an offer.

    • How old is the judgment?
      Who is the judgment creditor (name of plaintiff)?
      Who is the collection law firm handling it?

      Does your son have other unpaid debts or is this the only one? It can matter what a debt collector sees on his credit report, as to whether they will negotiating a better outcome. The more positive the credit, typically the harder hill to climb when seeking the best savings.

      • The judgement is probably 2 years old. The debt is about 6 years old. The creditor is Best Buy and the attorney is Singletary & Thrash – Jackson P.A.
        He has been working very hard to improve his credit. He was working with Lexington Law to help him remove other negative reports. This one however is still there. He has been paying everything else on time so I guess that will hurt him. Any suggestions?

        • I would target 50% as an optimistic, but still realistic settlement amount. Given all of the obvious signs of someone motivated to improve their credit, this may not settle all that favorably.

          • I went back and looked at the original papers and it looks like Midland Funding LLC is the plaintiff. The original balance was listed as 2886.65 but they have added attorney fees of 962.22 plus 8% interest per annum. The date of this is April of 2013. I know the original Best Buy bill was not that much and from what I have been reading, the buyer of the loan does not pay the full amount. I am just not really sure what I should expect to pay. You said 50% is optimistic. Does that mean I start with 50% of the original balance or 50% of all of the fees that they have added to the original balance. I am sorry to ask so many questions but I do really appreciate your advice. Thank you!

            • It would be 50% of today’s balance after those legal costs and fees and the interest the court set.

              It does not matter what Midland Funding paid for the debt. Try not to get hung up on any of that.

              If it were me I would start lower than 50% and see them come down a ways. They will likely not come down much at first, but that is okay. You should not try to get this all done in one phone call. It is normal for it to take several.

  93. Capital One also hired lawyers to garnish my wages at my job. I know I need to pay them back but I’ve been trying to get back on track since I got this new job and paying off debts here and there. I did not get to this one yet, but I didn’t even know that they could do something like this without any notice. The total amount due is $1830 plus all the fees. Can they really do this?

    • Yes, they can garnish your paycheck. They are not going to be all that flexible in working something out with you (payment plan or settling for less) while they have the garnishment. You may qualify for full or partial exemption from the garnishment. You will want to formally contest the garnishment with the court. If you are exempt you will get them to work with you better than if you are not.

  94. Hi Michael–stumbled on your site—my situation–credit card debt from 1999+./- rec’d a judgment against me 2007 for 4100$..They froze my bank account and took $1000+/- (of which was never reflected to my knowledge in the amount due) I called them to try to settle–I was told no settlement-need to pay in full–I wrote (certified letter) told them I was sales person with no w-2 but i was willing to pay $50 a week towards the balance- I never heard from them. I was going through a contentious separation/divorce and it fell thru the cracks as I never heard anything from them again. Last week mail arrived at my ex-wifes apartment (I have never lived there ever) indicated they got another judgment against me including wage garnishment, -this time the amount was for 8,000 with interest. I have 20 days to respond —I have a bankruptcy attorney friend who said I should file—I would prefer not to—another attorney friend told me I would be paying them “forever” as they likely won’t settle now its been so long—he adivised me to go to the county clerk and get a copy of my file—if there are anomalies we may be able to open the judgement again but it is a longshot…….should I file 7? thx

    • I would look for a way to avoid the chapter 7 over an 8k debt if I could avoid it. Who is the judgment in favor of, and who is the collection law firm handling it?

      If they would settle, can you raise half the amount of the judgment quickly?

      • Thanks Michael- Attorneys Kirschenbaum % Phillips PC, Farmingdale NY Judgment in favor of Velocity Investments LLC, Wall NJ apparently they are a well known “machine” in buying non performing debt for pennies…… Yes, I would find a way tp raise the 4,000$
        thanks again

            • Thanks Michael—-What I meant is I wasnt sure how the reply response turnaround went here–if the threads stayed together–no worries— would obviously like to get it behind me and if you can help that may the way to go.

              • Give me a call tomorrow to go over things. You can reach me through the hotline at extension 2, or reply to the email notifications you get from the site and I will reply to the email in order to coordinate a time to connect on the phone.

                • Thanks Michael– I am going to the courthouse this morning (est time)…just to locate any information on how I was served—As I did not get personally served either time.
                  Ken

                • went to the courthouse and discovered that all the addresses they used were not mine—they “affixed” a letter to the door of my ex in-laws – never lived there—they did the same at my ex wifes apartment—I never rec’d any of the letters until this last one June 8 when my daughter -who lives with her mother gave it to me— I realized it was a Discover CC – there may be some question as to how much time passed between my last payment and when they decided to collect (2007) I believ the cc was from 1999

                  • I would take this whole scenario to an experienced debt collection defense attorney and look to get the judgment vacated. I will send you an email with a list of New York attorneys with the experience you need. They are listed by location. Calling for a consult is free with most of them. Let me know how those discussions pan out for you.

            • sorry–forgot to mention—i did watch your video—very informative thx—-
              -funny going from unemployed 4 years ago to getting a job with a not for profit company and trying to clean up my credit—i would now fall into the “targeted collection” as you mention…..irony i guess….thx

  95. Hi Michael!

    A few months ago, I had a judgement filed against me by Couch, Conville, & Blitt LLC on behalf of Portfolio Recovery Associates for an old store credit card. Upon receiving my copy of the judgement I attempted to contact their office via phone to discuss a possible settlement. I never got an answer or received a call back and due to my job I can’t sit around trying to call them all day. So I took another route. I sent a certified letter to offer a debt settlement and to also inquire about my payment options. This was 2 months ago and I never received a response until today, I receive a “Post Judgement Questionnaire” requesting information such as my current employer, bank account information, and monthly expenses. Filling out and signing this questionnaire gives the Couch, Conville, & Blitt the authorization to retrieve any of my personal information from my employer as well as my financial institution. I really do not want them calling my job and I definitely want to prevent wage garnishment, I am willing to settle for a lesser amount that can be paid within a month, Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do with this questionnaire? I have never gone through anything like this before and am honestly afraid of what will happen if not taken care of immediately, Thanks in advance for any advice you may offer. My current balance is $1,5668.00.

    • The post judgment questionnaire is not in response to the settlement offer that you mailed them. It is just part of the collection process now that Portfolio Recovery has a judgment.

      Mailing in to negotiate is not effective in most situations. You should call to negotiate; get what you agreed to verbally in writing, and then pay.

      It will be harder to negotiate a decent savings if that questionnaire goes unanswered. It would tend to cause them to think there is something to hide, or they may already have assigned a high collection score to you as it is.

      Hoe much money can you pull together in a week or two?

        • And is the balance you provided above $1568? The amount you have, $700, is not quite half. I am not all that optimistic that you will get that deal put together.

          What do you look like on paper to a debt collector? Are there other collections and unpaid debts showing on your credit reports? How about positive accounts that are being kept current (mortgage, car, student loan, other credit cards), how many of those do you have on your credit?

  96. HI Michael,

    I really need your help and advise on what I/we can do, I am have just remarried last year and had a baby the previous year. We are purchasing a home together did everything we needed to do got prequalified and approved, now we are in the midst of closing and upon signing title we find out my husband has a judgment against him in California it’s a discover debt that was from 2008. we put all the money we have into the purchase and are financing via fha and down payment assistance as we are starting over.. we have 5 children between us and cannot live in a 2 bedroom apartment. the original amount he owed was 8200.00 now after all these years its ballooned into 18000.00. we found out as a demand was sent via Title company.. what can we do? we don’t have this kind of money .. please help

    • Hi Maria – I saw where you posted that the exact balance and that you are in California. I deleted that post on the other page so we can focus the discussion here.

      You are likely going to have a very difficult time resolving this for a significant savings. You will want to review this video about the problem with negotiating after you applied for a home loan.

      Let’s assume you can negotiate still. How much money can you pull together to fund the settlement?

  97. My wife owns on a credit card and the collection company but a lean on my home.
    I live in PA. Now the title on the home is in both mine and wife’s name but the mortgage is in my name what can i do to remove the lean

    • You will more than likely want to negotiate a settlement and get the court and county updated so the lien can be removed.

      How much is the lien, and who is the money owed to?

  98. Hi Michael,
    Please help me! Recently, I found out that there are two old judgements against my husband. #1 in the amount of ~$2.5K and #2 in the amount of ~$1k.

    Getting a hold of $3.5K total will already hard enough, but when we approached the collector for the first judgement, they told me that the judgement now is over $14K!!! ($10K is in interest) This was an old judgement from 2007/2008. We have not contacted the collector #2, but can only imagine how inflated that amount will be. (We live in Oregon)

    I don’t understand how a judgement can be entered, let alone 2 judgements, without our knowledge. They said they “tried” to contact us several times and have “proof” that we were served the notice. This is not true. What is our recourse at this stage? I’ve read several articles that says to settle before the judgement was entered. Obviously, for this situation, it is too late. We don’t want to file for bankruptcy, and most likely will not pass the means test for chapter 7 anyway; chapter 13 does not appeal to us. We really want to settle the judgement but cannot afford $14K, we can’t even afford half of that amount.

    Do you have any other suggestions or guidance?

    My husband was unemployed for over a year, and just last week started working again. We are just getting back on our feet.

    • Who are the judgment plaintiffs?
      What kinds of debts were these, and who were the original creditors?

      You are going to want copies of the court records. You want to see where it is they say they served you. Look at the address, the description of the person served, does all of the coincide with you? If not, there are some angles to use.

      It looks like there is a cap at 9% simple interest on judgments in Oregon, but there appears to be a contractual provision too. That would potentially allow the debt to grow much more dramatically. That said, I have also seen balances balloon way out of line too.

  99. I am trying to apply for a mortgage and have a judgement on my equifax report for $1425 (from 2010!) That has now turned into $2400 due to interest. When I called the creditor (Citibank South Dakota / Sears) they gave me a number for the attorney who is handling the case. I called the attorney and explained that we did not know what the debt was for and never remembered getting documentation or being served for this and wanted to know how to remedy it. They said that the initial judgement was done through an attorney who transfered the case to their office. They said that when they got the case they sent us a letter but it was returned to them. She said that since I was calling in they had to read me the “rights” to dispute the charge since we never got their letter. I disputed it and she made note. She said that they’d send me a letter basically showing that the court has a judgement against me and that would be the “proof”. I told her that we don’t know what it is for and we need to get it taken care of so she transfered me to the attorney. It went to voicemail and I’m supposed to get a call back.

    When I called the courthouse to verify they told me that my husband was served papers in 2010 but he doesn’t remember ever getting them. The claim he signed. Honestly, it was such a difficult time for us then that it could be.

    My question is, how do I get this taken care of so that we can get a home? I have a little money that I could settle, but I’m afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and am not sure how to go about this all so that we can get it cleared up.

    As a side note, this judgement was in NC and we now live in WY.

    Thanks in advance for your help!

    • Get a copy of what they say he signed for service. Is it his signature? What is the address they list as where they served him? Did you live there at the time?

      You have to look at these things because, unfortunately, many debt collection law firms and the support services they use, are some of the worst actors in the debt collection industry. And while the system has been cleaned up some in the last few years, we are talking about 6 years ago. Let me know what you find. If there are inconsistencies I can help you look at ways to remedy this.

      If all you want to do is settle there is a ton of feedback to this article. Read through it all and also watch the video interview I did with a former debt collector a couple weeks ago about settling old debt when looking to buy a home.

  100. Hi Michael,
    I am hoping you can help me. In 2010 I had two judgements filed against me for medical bills I owed.
    Debt 1 –
    Judgement filed Nov 2010 for $6,201. With Outsource Receivables. This was filed jointly (also against my husband).
    Debt 2 –
    Judgement filed May 2010 for $782. With Express Recovery Services. This was filed only on me.
    We are trying to purchase a home and need to settle this quickly. These judgements were incurred in Utah and we now live in Texas.
    Is it possible to settle these debts for a lower cost? What do you think I should be willing to offer each one?

    • Have you already had your credit run for the home loan? If so, watch this video I put up last week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpdDks73QUw

      If you have not tipped the debt collector off that you are trying to reach a financial goal than 50% settlements on judgments are optimistic, yet still realistic. How prepared are you to fund a settlement of 50% or higher?

  101. hi michael

    i have been sued relative to two old credit card debts from 2011 bought by collection agencies. My lawyer did not file the appearances. I have no notice yet of judgment. ( both appearance dates were within the last 3 weeks) Each amount is approximately 8k. I was out of work in 2011 when i got into this trouble and had to start completely over when i found a good job in 2012. I now make a good income, have improved my credit rating/score from below 500 to 653 and have recently bought my home. I would rather use my small existing savings and pending bonus to settle these debts, avoid litigation and avoid bankruptcy. Lawyers seem only interested in persuading me to file bankruptcy. i live in chicago illinois cook county. .
    My questions:should i call the two law firms and try to settle? it will be about 3 weeks before i have the funds.
    thank you in advance for some objective, sound advice.!
    holly

    • Ideally you want to negotiate the settlements prior to judgment being entered. You can still settle, but the dynamics of the process have shifted.

      Who are the two different judgment creditors and who is the collection law firm that handles the cases?

        • Hi Holly – I do not see a consult request submission with the name Holly. If you used that name when you submitted it you may want to try again, or call 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me. I am on the phone a ton so be sure to leave a message if you get my voice mail.

          • Hi Michael, not sure what i did incorrectly with the request for consultation submission but I’ve just left you a message with my call back number. In the meantime:

            One of the creditors is Midland Funding and the Law firm is Blitt and Gaines. Appearance date was 4/26.
            The other one is CACH, LLC and the Law Firm is Mandarich Law Group. Appearance date was 5/5.
            I haven’t received anything relative to a judgement being entered as yet. Look forward to hearing from you.
            holly

  102. I am attempting to settle an old judgment with remit corp. When I offered less than the full amount owed since I am currently unemoyed, they asked me to provide proof of unemployment, tax documents, and a bank statement. I feel that I shouldn’t be providing any of this personal information, any advice?

  103. Hi, I have lived in NY for 6 years. I had a credit card debt before I’ve left the country and I made transfers to my bf then to make the monthly payments , however he’s never paid them. So the total debt came up to 6000 USD I guess and I found out 2 years ago but didn’t really do anything about it. Last year on one of my trips to the US, I’ve opened a checking account and deposited 2000 USD. Now that I’m back home and when I’ve checked my online bank statement, there was a COAL item on it which I had no clue about. I read the blogs and saw that it was a court order. Is it the case? Can I settle my debt and pay 50% of it? Can I do it myself? I have no papers or what so ever and don’t know who to reach. Who do I need to call to settle it? I have no info about the system. Thank you for your help

    • It sounds like you were sued, but knew nothing about it until now. Call your bank and get the information about the underlying judgment they were served notice of in the effort to levy your bank account. When you have those details you can often go to that courts website and access public records. If that court does not have free online access you may need to work with someone local to get the information you need.

      Post an update with who sued, when they say they served you the summons and complaint (and at what address), the name of the law firm handling the case, and in what court. I can offer you the feedback you need after I know those details.

      Yes, you can negotiate judgment debt yourself. It can also be beneficial to allow someone else to do that. And you may share something that suggest you take a totally different path to resolve this.

  104. Velocity Investments won a judgement for just over $1000 in 2013. Frankly I do not remember this, nor do I know what it’s for. How to I find out what it was for(what debts) and then is their any negotiating that can be done to lower the amount owed or not?

    • Get a copy of the original lawsuit filed in the court. while you are at it, find out the address and description of the person served (if any). Also get a copy of the final judgment.

      Once you have that information post more about the original lender, when you last paid on the account, and what state you are in.

  105. HI Michael, I read through most of the comments. Thanks, I learned a lot. Here is my deal:

    I have a judgement from Pressler and Pressler representing Midland funding, for a Providian Credit card from 2000 (what I recall), though they claim its from 2008. The amount is up to $2700 with interest and court fees. I went to court looking for proof submitted when I got served, and found one paper submitted by lawyers that gave the bank name and the account number. No other evidence that the account was still open, or that it was mine in the first place. I had settled on a credit card about 10 years ago, all paperwork proving the settlement is in storage in Canada, I can’t really remember whether that was the Providian debt. Now I live in NJ and at this time I can’t attest that this debt is valid. It seems my window to ask for further proof is gone. Now I have this judgment as well as the threat of levying bank accounts, and even an arrest.

    An attorney I was able to consult with for free advised me to take my name off the bank account until a settlement was reached. I have a shared bank account with my husband, I am a stay at home mother of 3, homeschool, and have no income of my own. The attorney thought he could reach a settlement at 50% of total balance. However, with his fee, that would only save me a few of hundred dollars.

    I am prepared to settle, I just need to know how to go about it at this juncture of the judgement. Would you also recommend I remove my name from the bank account? We don’t own property. I have a used car in my name. And our son is currently undergoing treatments for a life threatening disease. I am frustrated that I might settle a debt I don’t owe. I have no proof and I can’t remember. REally appreciate your insight.

  106. Hi MIchael,

    I used some of your strategies since last fall, and am just looking for some advice on two remaining cards:

    1. Chase Marriott ($9k) – Settled for $4k and paying over three months (2 months left to pay)
    2. Synchrony Bank ($6700) – Settled for $1875 and paying over six months (4 months left to pay)
    3. US Bank ($15k) – In a 60 month hardship program for $253/month.

    Problems:
    4. Chase Sapphire ($27k) – Going unpaid currently. Offered me a hardship program for $460/month. 180th day past due is July 1.
    5. Bank of America ($32k) – Offered me 25% settlement ($8k) or 60 month hardship at $560/month. Currently 175 days past due.

    I currently am able to get into the Chase hardship program at $480 a month, but that means I cannot pay the BoA at all. By the end of this year I should have about $8k that I can use towards a settlement with BoA. My biggest fear is that between now and then BoA will ultimately sue since I doubt a collection agency will keep my account open for >6 months. What do you think I should do?

    • If it were me in your shoes I would settle with BofA and let the Chase account go to an agency and settle that one later, after having saved up for the lump sum,and not the long term hardship plan.

  107. I had a judgement filed against me in the amount of $1516.22. I called the debt attorney last year to see about a possible settlement but they would not budge at $1516.22. Called recently to see about a possible settlement but was told the amount is now $1947.10 and they would not take anything less because the garnishment process has begun. What should my next step be?

        • Louisiana allows for up to 25% of wages to be garnished. If you meet full or partial exemptions you can often negotiate a lower settlement. If you do not, they are often not inclined to settle for less because an active garnishment means they will get all their money (unless you leave that job).

          Is your check being garnished right now?
          Have you looked into any exemptions you may qualify for?

            • If they have a garnishment order in motion, the collection attorney will often wait to see the outcome of that before engaging in discussions about settling for less. Given the players involved and the size of the judgment being relatively small, if the garnishment is not successful, the settlement may not be optimized for savings (but you should be able to get them down some).

              Exemptions to garnishment are state specific, and you contest the garnishment formally through the court once you receive notice. That may not happen at all if you are not a w-2 wage earner. Post an update on how this progresses and let’s go from there.

                  • Well we found out that they tried to garnish back in October last year and they received the letter back in November showing that I no longer had a job. They told me it was in garnishment status, so i decided to call the courts in my area to see how long the process can take and none of the courts had any record of a current garnishment. Called them back to ask them what court they filed the garnishment with and to tell them I called each one and none had any records-then they agree to settle. Apparently they wanted to prevent a settlement agreement and thought they’d scare me into paying the full amount. Long story short…theyve agreed to settle. What advise do you have prior to me paying?

  108. My 75 yr old father was served a warrant in debt (civil claim for money) last week, for $5400. owed to Walmart/Synchrony originally and now sold to Midland Credit Management. My parents are poor money managers and terrible judges of character and age and early dementia has only worsened it. I took over their finances last summer when I discovered they were not able to pay their rent. I/they have paid off over 4 credit cards but some things were already charged off when I took over and frankly they cannot afford the payments. Both my parents are retired from the federal government and my mother draws SSI and my father draws VA disability. I do not believe they are candidates for bankruptcy because I believe they have filed it before. They currently live in Virginia, do you think it would wise to fight it? This company, to my knowledge, did not offer a partial payment one time and your done forever deal, Could you recommend and experienced debt attorney in Yorktown VA? The attorneys for the plaintiff are Reiss F. Wilks, Nancy Loftus, and Peter Heindel out of Richmond VA.

    • Do your folks have any assets? The situation sounds like one where Midland Funding may stop all collection activity if you are able to communicate a hardship that meets their guidelines. Read Article 2 on that page and tell me what you think.

      You can call the attorney for Midland Funding and help your parents consideration for hardship. Do you have a POA for your folks?

      If they are not suited for the hardship scenario let me know and we can go from there.

      • They have home in GA that they are upside down in and a friend (dirt bag) is currently living in and paying the mortgage as far as they know, a van that is handicap accessible (for my mother) that I purchased for them in 2007 and put in my dads name probably worth about $5000. and a truck that is worth about $1200. I do have a POA but I have not added my name to their bank accounts because I fear liability. I absolutely think they qualify for the hardship scenario, I called MIDLAND corporate today and they did not give me the hardship option after I explained the scenario including nothing garnish-able the upside down house but they offered me a one time $3700 payment which I thought was reasonable but not possible for them.. I will call the MIDLAND attorney tomorrow. Any other recommendations?

      • Question?? If I move to NC, can a garnishment issued from Chesapeake General District court still be able to make my company garnish my check? This creditor had an original judgement in Richmond, VA; went to court in Chesapeake City, to get my company based in Falls Church, VA garnish me…

          • Can I now get a judgement garnishment issued in Chesapeake, VA vacated since I moved to NC. My company is still in Falls Church, VA but my new residence will be in Raleigh, NC

            • The garnishment would be impacted by your state of residency, but the judgment would not. There are still methods for creditors to collect on judgments even if they cannot garnish wages.

                  • Talked to Glasser and Glasser Attorneys and they received the notice from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for response. Per Matt Groves, Attorney at Glasser, he said they will move to vacate the judgement and send something to stop the garnishment. He also asked me to send him something with my address from 2008.to speed up stopping the garnishment… Is that normal and should I? I’m sending the motion to set aside the judgement and vacate the judgement in Richmond certified tomorrow because I was never properly served. Should I send him something or wait for the courts???

                    • I would provide Groves and the Glasser law firm what they need to expedite things if it were me. I would not file with the courts if it is not necessary. You will likely get further faster by working with the law firm to unwind this.

                      Keep me posted.

              • Well, Glasser and Glasser faxed the request and the Garnishment is stopped 😉 Mr Groves is also going to court in Richmond today to request the judgement be vacated,…Wow… Your information helped has helped me to resolved this very quickly…. I do Thank You

  110. I have a judgement from CapitalOne Bank entered 2008 and just received a garnishment letter to my company from Glasser and Glasser in Norfolk saying I owe over $3000 from a hearing 3/2016 . First, the address they show I was served is incorrect and I was never served; and second, this debt is over 7 years old. Do I have a chance of stopping this garnishment?

    • Give me a call on Monday to go over some of the strategies that you may be able to use. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me.

  113. i successfully negotiated a HELOC with Wells Fargo and ignored the other two credit card debts, a Wells card (about 15k) and a Discover card ( about 6.5k). both of those debts were within 2-3 months of the 6 year SOL when both received judgements. Now one of the Attorneys has taken over both debts. I have enough equity to satisfy both so I’m leery of foreclosure.
    Of course both debts now have grown larger because of fees and interest.
    the interesting part is that my mortgage is with the USDA rural housoing service, who consider my house as government property until the house is paid off. So i may have some leverage to settle.

    • Settling judgment debt is mostly about providing an opportunity to get paid that may not otherwise exist. And if someone is viewed as a high collection target (should be able to get paid all of what is owed), looking at the real time value of money (a lump sum can be viewed as a better outcome than being paid over a long period).

      How much are each of the judgments?

  114. I have not actually been served yet but I have received numerous mailings from attorneys saying that I am being sued by Calvary SPV I, LLC. Original creditor was Citibank. The amount is over $16,000. I am not employed. I stay at home with my 3 young children. I lost my job over 5 years ago and was no longer able to pay this credit card. My husband is the only one working. In the mailings they have stated that they state that a lawsuit/ or wage garnishment has been filed against me. I am in Georgia. We are barely making ends meet as it is so I don’t think I can afford an attorney and I definitely can not afford to pay the amount due. Any advice?

  115. Hi Michael,
    I just received a Original Notice and Petition for a Money Judgement. I live in Iowa and this was just delivered by a gentleman to my front door. It asks for me to electronically file an Appearance and Answer within 20 days. My question is, is this the actual judgement or notice that one will be made depending on my answer – choices are: The claim is denied, The claim is admitted, The claim is admitted in part in the amount of $______ – and I have to check only one.. My question is, can I settle this and pay in full the requested amount at this point to the Plaintiff or is past that point and I have to settle within the courts? We have been enrolled with a Debt Settlement Company for 2 years and recently found out last month they were keeping almost 40% of what we were paying them as “fees”. We just enrolled with a DMP with a local company, but I am guessing this particular creditor we received court documents for are too far to be enrolled in the DMP and it is something we would like to take care of without a Judgement filed if possible. Any advice/answers would be greatly appreciated.

    • You have just been served notice and that is the beginning of the lawsuit for you.

      You can typically call the attorney for plaintiff and negotiate a pay off at this early stage. Be sure you are negotiating that the case is dropped so that no judgment is entered in the record.

      Who is the debt settlement company you were using?

      Who is the DMP provider you just signed up with? Most DMP’s do not take litigation files.

      • We just signed up with our DMP last week. We didn’t have litigation files at that time. I am sure they will not work with this case as we were unaware it had gone this far. The Debt Settlement Company had us change mailings when we enrolled to an address they gave us. So we were not receiving any information that Synchrony had turned this over to an attorney until we were served papers last night. So our DMP thought they would be working with Synchrony or Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, not an their attorney who this account was turned over to. The Debt Settlement company we had enrolled with originally was Superior Debt Services.

        • Okay, thanks. If you are going to be paying in full it should not be too problematic to get PRA’s collection law firm to drop the case, just be clear that is what is happening, and get it in writing.

          Are all of the accounts you are enrolling in the DMP charge off, or part of the debt settlement program with Superior Debt?

          • We cancelled our Enrollment with Superior Debt. At this point none of them are part of it anymore. So now the accounts enrolled in the Debt Management Plan with CCCS are varied. Some are the original credit card company, some are charge offs that were cancelled by the creditor (but CCCS still enrolled them to be paid) and 3 more accounts that are written as a charge off but purchased by another lender (one is the one mentioned above – Synchrony/Walmart/PRA) (another of which was purchased by PRA was owned by GEMB/Floor Trader). Thanks for all your advice and help, I really appreciate this, we made bad choices and lost a lot of money with our farming business and trying to get back on our feet.

            • Thanks for the additional detail. I typically look to negotiate a lower lump sum pay off on charged off accounts when ever possible. The benefits to using a DMP for the collection and purchased accounts are slim to none. If you do have an express agreement for the payments, you do keep them from suing (if they have not already), but that is about it.

              Is there any way you can raise some more cash to settle more than just the one PRA account in court? If so, how much?

              Are any of the accounts you set up in the DMP not yet considered 180 days late?

              Which DMP provider are you working with? Is it a small local agency?

  116. I have a judgement for cc debt of $3000 from 2010. I am looking to buy a house in about 6 months, and want to get it taken care of but wanted to entertain the possibility of settling. I sent an offer letter to the attorney on the judgement about 6 weeks ago and have heard nothing back. Should I deal directly with the creditor instead? Would a letter or phone call work better? It is March now and I will have about 60% of the $3000 by mid April, should I wait until I have the money to try and approach?

    Thanks.

    • I am not a fan of letters making offers to settle. I prefer negotiating the settlement on the phone, and then get the agreement in writing before paying.

      Be prepared for that 3k amount to be higher with interest the court set.

      Who is the judgment creditor? With the account being as old as it is, you may want to start by calling the plaintiff and find out if you can deal with them directly, or who they have the account placed with if not the same attorney that sued you.

      • The creditor is Best Buy (Houston Funding) in TX. One thing I forgot to mention was this was issued in FL and I have been in VA the last 5 years. Would this have any effect – I’m trying to take care of without them garnishing etc but will not have the full amount for a couple of months.

        Thanks for your advice.

        • I would wait to start communicating until you have 2k to work with (assuming the debt has grown from 3k to 4k).

          It would be best to have this settled 2 to 3 months prior to applying for the home loan.

            • Hello Michael, Just an update. I tried to contact the OC but the phone numbers were invalid. Searches on the net also mentioned the place went out of business. If you recall I had sent a letter of settlement to the attorney on the judgement, but had never heard back. I called the attorney’s office and a representative said that the case had been “closed” – not sure if that means internally in their office or what, but also that he would contact someone for me and acknowledged that he did receive my settlement offer letter and that it was in their “system”.

              That same day (2nd) call he said he spoke with “someone” – presumably at the OC, and they (OC) would review the settlement offer and said I would hear back from him in “a day or two”. After four days I called and left a VM, inquiring on what had happened, on the fifth day I called and spoke to another person, who couldn’t help be but said they would leave a message for the first rep to call me back.

              Day 7 is now here and I called this morning and spoke with the original rep, he couldn’t remember my name, but after looking it up he said he had not heard back from the OC, but would call them again today to see what is going on and call me right back whether he could get a hold of them or not. It’s been 4 hours and I’ve heard nothing. I fear this may be going nowhere.

              Any advice for how I could expedite this?

              Thanks!

              Tim

                • Sorry for the delay. Actually I had several calls (negotiating) after my post yesterday. They won this one. You were correct in being prepared for the amount to settle to be more.

                  The total amount had ballooned from $3034 to $4700 with interest and fees, but I was able to settle for $3300 – lump sum. Just about 70% of the inflated amount. The original amount was $3034, so in reality, they got their original amount, plus the attorney filing costs which were $300. They will be emailing me the document for the settlement hopefully today. I would suggest to your readers to follow your advice – don’t try to settle via letter, I waited over a month to hear back from the attorney’s office (and they HAD received the letter and it was in their system), but it took a call to get everything rolling – and even that took over a week to get everything resolved.

                  Thanks again for your help!

  117. Hello,
    My husband and live in New York City and he has a judgment on him for the past 11 years and they are now trying to garnish his wages. He had received letters from the collection agency thru the years but he did not take them seriously since he never received anything from court and was
    never served to go to court. Of course they claim they did serve someone at our address back in 2005. Now 11 years later a legal document stating they are going to garnish his wages.
    My husband is planning on retiring by the end of next year due to health issues. We live in an apartment the is provided by the job so when he retires we need to leave. We purchase a fixer upper in MD 3 years ago to fix up and live in when he retires. The house is deeded in its entirety in both ours names. The home as it stands is worth approximately 34000. according to the last tax assessment. What we would like to know is can they go after the house and in what way?
    Would they sell his part of the equity or would they put a lien on it and what will it all mean?
    Could they force us to sell the house? Sell it themselves?
    His has not retired yet because the house is uninhabitable, but the the plan was as soon as it is,
    he would retire and we would move there. Please respond as we are truly worried that we will end up penniless and homeless.
    Thank you

    • You have options to consider. First, who is the named plaintiff in the lawsuit? Who is the collection firm that handled the case originally, and who is it that is trying to collect now?

  118. I have a cc judgement against me from 2008. They have not garnished wages at all and I haven’t had a bank account. I just got a letter to settle the debt for 50% $5,800. Is this my best option? I don’t want to push my luck and talk to them. I feel like if I try to negotiate lower than what they are offering the may look into me more and start to garnish my wages. I’m in Florida if that makes any difference. Thank you for your time.

    • Getting judgments settled for under 50% is not all that common. Calling to try to negotiate a better outcome is likely not going to be productive anyway.

      Who is the judgment debt owed to? That could change my feedback. I could be more encouraging if you are on a fixed income and not going to likely work again, no assets, etc.

  119. Hi Michael,

    I appreciate any help you can provide to me. I was served for credit card debt. I reached out to the attorney’s office that is handling the case and attempted to set up a payment plan. I stressed to the representative that I am wanting to pay for my obligation but wanted to be sure there would be NO judgement against me in any form. The phone rep advised I could pay the debt in full in 5months time and no judgement would be placed. I outlined the dates and payments and asked for our agreement to be in writing. That call was on 2/17/16 and I haven’t received anything via mail or email. I made a payment on their website since then.

    I have received new information from a 3rd party debt negotiator/ collector. I think this person pulls the docket and mails postcards to the people being sued in attempt to gain their business. She advises that I should not have to pay 100% of debt and that more than likely although I informed the phone rep that I don’t want a judgement and want to pay that the attorney’s office will indeed be filing some type of judgement with the courts to prevent the lawsuit from going through while I make payments.

    I am past the date to file an answer. At this point I’d like to call and make offer for PIF. Amount owed is $2650. I’d like to offer them a $1300 payment with no judgment. How do I make this happen?

    Thanks again,
    Jessica

    • Who is the collection law firm involved? Who are they suing on behalf of (who is the named plaintiff)?

      I can offer better feedback if I know that information.

  120. About 20 years ago, I did have a credit card and it was a mess. It was a bait and switch, then a holding of the checks so that I would be charged a late fee, and an over the limit fee. And then the interest was changed to an enormous amount, and I was told the company changed and I could do nothing, just deal with it. I did quit paying. Fast forward, my joint bank account was levied, but since I no longer work and have been ill for years it is only my husband who has direct deposit, and he is not the debtor, so the levy had to be lifted. The judge told my husband during a hearing that a judgement against me was served in 2006. I went back to see where I was in 2006 that particular month, because I don’t recall ever receiving such, and I have always maintained that this debt has expired, or reached the SOL, but I never knew a judgement was entered. So, long story short, I found out that the judgement was done on a day, and month, that I was not in the country, and during a time I was not in the state, weeks after that. I live in NJ. I keep reading that the judgement does not have to be served, but I think it is wrong if it is not properly served, particularly if I was not present. I want to now file a motion to vacate the defaulted judgement, based on what I just found out, ten years later. Do I have a case here, as the debt is 20 years old.

    • It is extremely difficult to vacate a judgment that old. I would look for advice from an experienced debt defense attorney in New Jersey. Find out if there is any history of a case like yours getting vacated in your state. I can send you a list of attorneys with the experience you need if you like?

  121. Hi Michael,

    I wanted to start off by saying thank you for providing an open forum allowing those dealing with debt to seek honest feedback in resolving their issues through shared experiences.

    I currently have 2 past judgments (that I know of) against me which was a past result of being a young adult, having poor judgment and financial difficulties. The snowball effect of late and over-limit charges combined with high interest rates that left me unable to make payments and default.

    Recently, I have been working on building my credit back-up and was making progress by acquiring several credit cards in good standing. I retrieved a copy of my credit report and it currently does not show any judgments or derogatory remarks, but will still need some time to rebuild.

    Unfortunately my bank account was recently levied which has caused a lot of stress and concern about my current situation. I know Judgment Creditors can submit a writ of execution any time and continue to levy my bank account until the balances are paid off.

    I am not gainfully employed and am paid as a private contractor which negates their ability to garnish my wages.

    With that said, I wanted to know how to address the questions I have below:

    1.) Who would be best to contact to discuss a possible settlement, the Judgment Creditors or their lawyers?
    2.) Would it be better to start negotiations by phone or only contact through written correspondence (email or hard mail)?
    3.) Would initiating contact with the Judgment Creditors reinstate the records to show up on my credit report?
    4.) My only asset is a car I own outright worth 10k-12k. I know Judgment Creditors have the ability to obtain a writ of execution to levy my car and have it sold. This is extremely concerning since I live in California and having a car is essential for progress. If I didn’t have this asset in my name, would it help with negotiations? What is the likelihood of my car being levied given the Judgment Creditors information I have detailed below?

    Judgment Creditor: Cach, LLC
    Original Creditor: Bank of America
    Lawyers: Mandarich Law Group, LLP
    Judgment Amount 5/25/10: $5983
    Balance as of 12/10/15: $9177.72
    Levy 1/27/16: $604.62
    Daily Interest: $1.63
    Current Balance 2/26/16: ~$8.7k
    _________________________________________________

    Judgment Creditor: Asset Acceptance, LLC
    Original Creditor: CitiBank
    Judgment Amount 2/27/12: $2,759.17
    Daily Interest: $0.76
    Current Balance: ~3.8k

    I look forward to hearing from you with any advice or help that can be provided through this forum.

    Thank you.

    • You typically need to contact the attorney for the creditor/plaintiff in order to negotiate a settlement. Really old judgments with now collection activity on them can be an exception, but in your case, there is an attorney actively collecting, so that is where you start.

      I prefer negotiations over the phone until an agreement is reached. Then you get stuff in writing.

      I would focus on building up cash flow to settle both judgments. They aren’t going anywhere, and they are likely growing with judgment interest (capped at 10% in California). You may want to set up an entity and get an EIN number and do your consulting/contacting through it until you resolve the judgments.

      Yours is a situation where I might target 50% settlements.

      Nothing can legitimately cause an aged off item on your credit reports to reappear. That applies to 7 plus year old judgments too.

      I do not think your car is at risk from Asset Acceptance or Cach LLC.

  123. Good Morning Michael,

    I have filing against me for a credit card debt, my case is scheduled for March 14th however i have already entered into a payment plan with the company and made a payment in February. Do i still need to appear in court? The company wont provide me an answer?

    Thanks

      • Thanks for the quick response, Midland Funding LLC, claims the mailed out a copy of the agreement on March 1st, its 4 payments over the next 4 months with February being the first payment. I also didnt return my notice to defend to the court because i had entered into the payment agreement prior to being served

        • Midland is pretty good at providing documentation. Some of the contract attorneys for Midland could improve in this area. You should have the documentation well before the hearing date though.

          Post an update if you don’t by the 10th.

  124. I had a levy placed on my joint account with my husband from the attorneys of American General Finance. The debt was from September 2007, but I was never served or summoned. I’m waiting to confirm through civil records if they had the correct address on file to consider vacating the judgement. I heard it was too old for that. Also, doesn’t statute of limitations apply? Nevertheless, do I still have a chance to settle this judgement considering there’s already a levy on our account? This is also a debt previous to my marriage, so is my husband responsible for this debt too? I filed a claim of exemption stating those funds are for life necessities and that it consisted of our wages. The attorney replied with the same writ and addressed it to my husband as the 3rd party. Can I file a motion to make payments or even to settle for less than the total judgement which is about $8000. We just had some major expenses these last few months, including a medical surgery and a new mortgage that is taking up our reserves. Would that be considered a hardship? I have about 9 days to reply before the sheriff releases the funds to the creditor.

    Do I have a better chance of settling for less or offering a lump sum which would be less than the total judgement? Is the option of vacating the judgement possible under bad service or statue of limitations considering how old this judgement is (Sept 2007)?

    • Let me know what you learn about the address for where service supposedly took place and who the law firm and attorney was that sued.

      It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to vacate a judgment this old. What state are you in?

      There is a separate SOL for court judgments, and they can often be renewed.

      You can work out payments after the smoke clears from the bank levy. You can remove your name from the joint bank account too. I would look to come up with a lump sum to offer as a settlement if it were me (and if I could gather the money). This would mean getting this behind me quickly and for whatever savings off the balance I could negotiate. If you qualify for some or all of that money that was levied to be returned to you, your ability to negotiate a better settlement, or payments, will often improve.

      • They sent me the first service & 30 day summons of the judgement to an old address July 2007. I know this for a fact because I was already at my current address at that time, living with my husband. Then they sent another notice in September 2015 to where I currently live, which we never saw. I verified with records that it was just sent normal mail so it may have got lost in the junk mail. Don’t we have to sign for these things? If I was aware of this at the time, I would have addressed it then.

        The judgement was entered on Sept 2007. I thought there was a SOL for the original debt prior to it getting to judgement status?

        I’m in California and LVNV Funding is the assignee and the Robert Colclough is the attorney that had filed this judgement. They also opposed the claim of exemption I submitted and set a court date March 29, stating my exemptions are not applicable. I stated that per the specific civil code, that the levy consisted our wages and affirmed that in the declaration that our reserves have been tapped into after this levy, along with our medical expenses of a c-section and a new mortgage we acquired this Feb 2016. I did provide a financial worksheet disclosing my income and my husband’s. He’s the bread winner. Is that not sufficient for a claim of exemption based on the the codes covering wages and earnings.

        Also, it stated that the creditor would not need to appear at the hearing and submits the issue on the papers filed with the court. So how would I settle the amount, provided that we get back some of the money levied after the hearing?

        We would much rather offer a lump sum, being the original balance was $4787 but with fees and interest the judgement is for $8700. What have you seen as a good target # to settle at?

        Also, with the 3rd party addressed to my husband, does he need to also file a claim of exemption as well stating that was his $? The sheriff stated it was just to inform him because he was on the account.

        • If you are up to it, I want to send you contact details to an attorney in California that has had success vacating older judgments. Let me know and I will email you that. I would want you to start with exploring that, and then work backward to settling if need be.

          • I would be absolutely open to that. I appreciate you helping people out such as myself. We need more individuals such as yourself out in this world. 🙂

            Meanwhile, should my husband still file a 3rd party claim of exemption considering it was mailed out to us on February 24th? However, I stopped by the self help legal services people at the courthouse and they weren’t certain themselves of why the 3rd party notice was sent out and gave me a 3rd party claim of exemption if we wanted to file one just in case.

            Thank you so much again for your help!

            P.S. You have my email since I submitted it below this comment correct?

        • If your husband is not the debtor, and you can prove the direct deposits all belong to him, this is on a bank levy, then they have to release the levy. But you have to prove that he is a non-debtor, and that all the money in the bank account belongs to him. He would have to file a motion to vacate the levy, as an injured party to a debt that is not in his name Each state varies, but you should do your research on the internet to see what rights your spouse has as a non-debtor, keeping in mind that you are, usually, given only 10 days to file the motion to vacate the levy.

  125. I have a judgement against me that has been renewed. I live in CA and the already renewed judgement will reach the 10 year mark in 3 years. The debt is from a credit card that I used during a medical emergency. I was on SSDI for 14 years and am now off of it for 1 1/2 years. Since then I have a job with earnings just above minimum wage, $11.40 hr. and use Medi-Cal (Medicaid) as my health care provider and am 56 yrs old. In this last year I have received several credit card offers and am using them again and do not own a home.
    Since this judgement has already been renewed once and I am able to live somewhat comfortably with little debt, I also owe SSDI an overpayment amount of $30,000, however they have not been pursuing payment for about a year. My credit score is in the mid-600s and I will probably be needing a new car in the near future.
    I was just contacted by phone from the creditor with the judgement and they are beginning to negotiate for payment. Any advice is very much appreciated.

    • Who is the judgment debt in favor of, and what is the balance now?

      50% is an optimistic and still realistic target for a lump sum settlement when dealing with some judgments. The more of a collection target you are viewed as, the less likely it is to save half.

      There are files I have negotiated and/or coached people to settle for less than half. Your recent fixed income situation is one of the better scenarios to be in where judgment creditors have been more flexible.

      You are able to come up with half the amount owed today in a lump sum?

  126. Hey there!
    If I’m being sued in Georgia (where I lived when I had th credit card) and have a judgement against me and now live in Florida
    Should I be going by the rules of Georgia or Florida as far as fighting the judgment and how they can garnish me get liens etc.

    • You should connect with an experienced debt collection defense attorney in both areas.

      Generally speaking, you would fight the legitimacy of the judgment in Georgia and/or Florida if the foreign judgment has been recognized in a Florida court.

      Your exemptions from garnishment and liens would typically be drawn from Florida consumer protection laws.

  127. Good afternoon, Michael: I had an old credit card that was never resolved due to an inability to pay after a rough divorce with lack of finances with being a middle school educator and $875 child support payments. Judgement was set against me in Illinois (I live in Florida), but I did submit an “answer” informing I did not receive the court paperwork. What options do I have?

    • Give me a call to go over this in more detail Mike. I want to understand more about what happened and when. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me. I am going to be out of the office tomorrow, but in on Saturday. You can also email me to set up a time to talk. My email address is the same one you get comment notifications from.

  128. Hi Michael,
    Thanks for putting this blog together. My situation is I live in Colorado and have 3 judgements on my credit report. One is for HSBC Bank for $958 filed 09/2013, one for Chase Bank for $2,094 filed 11/2010 and the last one for Capital Bank for $1,175 filed 07/2010. These numbers include alot of interest and fees above the original debt. My question is, is my course of best action to call the original credit card companies and try to settle for lump sum payment of maybe 50% of original balance or what the judgement called for? What is my best course of action at this point?

    • With judgments you are typically negotiating the balance of the judgment plus the interest that the judge set in his/her final order.

      With judgments this old I would certainly start by contacting the original creditors. If they have the debts in house they will be able to negotiate a pay off with you. If the account is still with the original collection firm that sued you, the bank will tell you, or let you know where the account is placed now.

      Judgment debts do get sold, so you could be dealing with someone other than the original plaintiff.

  129. Hi Michael,

    I was served summons papers today for a defaulted credit card debt from 2011. Here are the specifics:

    What is the total balance owed?
    $8200

    Who is the original creditor?
    US Bank

    Is that who is named as the plaintiff?
    No

    If not, who is the named plaintiff?
    Portfolio Recovery Associates

    Who is the collection law firm?
    Portfolio Recovery Associates

    When was the last payment made on this account?
    2011

    What state are you in?
    NV

    I’m recently married and self-employed with no assets.

    Just trying to understand my options with little to no taxable income, and make sure my wife’s assets, income, etc. cannot be levied.

    Thanks for the reply.

    • Your options in this situation will often boil down to defending against the debt buyer PRA with an eye on getting it dismissed, or settling for a favorable lump sum amount (half or less is often realistic if done correctly).

      You can look to negotiate a lump sum pay off now, but the savings is often better when your initial posture is that you are defending the case.

      There are options for payment plans in these situations, but I prefer avoiding that.

      What are you inclined to do?

  130. Hi there, I have a judgment that I just found out about, while in the midst of an escrow. It is with LRLO right now. They will not make a settlement with me. On the phone I discussed a settlement after speaking with Cap 1 to find out what this was actually about. it was from 2004. The original amount was for $5000. and then when I checked with the court where the judgment was filed, it was 7,500. when I spoke with a rep at LRLO they then raised the amount to 10,000. and said that the atty will not settle for anything les. I have a couple weeks to get his cleared for my escrow to close. Knowing what you know what do you think my chances are? And knowing what you know how fast can they garnish wages or levy a bank account? If they will make a settlement with me. What should the wording be so that I can assure that this is reported as settled but not settled with an additional amount owing. Does the court have the correct amount? I never had any idea of this, no letters, or request of payments. Cap 1 said that they would put pressure n them to setle but that they could do anything that they want. Thanks!

    • Your chances of settling a judgment for less with Legal Recovery Law Offices if they know about your need to close on a loan quickly are not good. Even if you did not speak to the loan and urgency yourself, your credit reports show the mortgage loan inquiries.

      You can get this all pushed through with full payment. You do want everything documented, whether settling for paying the full judgment amount. You want Legal Recovery Law to file the notice of satisfaction with the court. All of that will take some time on their end, and then some more time for the court clerks to update the public record. You will want to keep your loan officer copied and informed all along the way.

      There really isn’t specific wording you are looking for in an agreement letter. You are looking for the court record to show a paid or satisfied judgment. There really is no way to show a “partially satisfied” status on a judgment. It’s either considered paid or not.

      The court record should show the judgment balance granted in the final order. That judgment order should also reflect the interest the judge set. California caps judgment interest at 10%, but that is not automatic. The judge could have set this at 5% for example. Pull a copy and see what it says and then do the math. If Legal Recovery Law is asserting a larger amount owed than could be possible file a complaint against them with the CFPB.

      The fact that you had no idea about this all this time is troubling. If you were not pressed for time you might want to explore this issue in much greater detail. But with the home loan you want to get approved, you would have to give that up, or be declined, for most people to want to peer down that rabbit hole.

      Capital One is not going to put any pressure on Legal Recovery Law Offices to settle with you… at least not in my experience. That is likely just someone who is somewhat sympathetic to your situation saying that.

      Can you tell me who the law firm of record was when you were originally sued?
      Can you look up in the court record the address a process server filed as having served you at, or if there was alternative service listed?
      Did you ever live at the address they say they served?

    • You would typically want to contact the attorney collection firm Midland Funding hired. If you can negotiate a settlement and avoid going to court that is great. If you cannot reach a deal, you may not want to miss court. Small claims is sometimes a better place to negotiate a lump sum pay off in these situations.

      Talk to an attorney about what happens if you do not show for court. Usually missing court in these situations results in a default judgment. Negotiating after that is not always as successful as dealing with it now, though that can vary.

  132. hi. I’m from Maryland and someone is trying to serve me for a debt that I owe for $950 do I have to show up at court. can this be settled outside of court. do you think they would settle for $500

    • It is possible to negotiate a settlement with significant savings even when you have been sued, or a if a judgment is already in the court. Getting them to 50% is not a gimme, and can depend on the circumstances.

      I have found it a bit more challenging to get smaller balances like this (under 1500) negotiated with a 50% discount.

  133. In Early 2000’s I dated a guy for 3 years and apparently lost my mind during the process! He ran up several credit cards of mine, then left…and I had to figure out what to do w/ all that debt. I had several credit cards- 2 Bank of America accounts, Chase, AmEx, and Citibank. I consolidated the debt and went thru some agency that advised me to stop paying them and finally they settled for less than what was owed… All but Citibank. I paid off the others years ago, and since have reestablished my credit… Except for the judgement from Citibank.
    I got letters from an Attorney in Charlotte, NC and then a judgement was filed on me in May of 2010. the Alexander County court served me papers, and i’m guessing the judgement has gone as far as it can go… i filled out the paper stating i don’t own any land/property/recreational vehicles etc… nothing for them to take as payment. On my credit report the judgement says $9.700 and from the court the total is over $15,000. i haven’t heard anything from the court or attorney since November 2014.
    What would be the best way to attempt to settle this now? I’m searching for advice, thanks!

    • Much of what you have read on this page will apply to your situation. You will want to be ready with a lump sum of money to pay the settlement. How much money are you able to pull together to settle the judgment?

      • Thank you for answering!
        Would i need to call the attorney’s office (which i don’t remember) or Citibank?
        Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of money set aside…. i only have 2,000 and I’m not sure for how little they would settle for. I’ve read that sometimes they settle for 30%?
        thank you!

        • Citibank accounts can be targeted for 30% settlements in some cases. But it is unusual to settle judgment debts for 30% (no unheard of though). The longer a judgment debt has gone without collection, and if you can be viewed as a solid hardship scenario, you have a shot at a better than 50% outcome. That 2k in hand now is not all that likely though.

          How long to save up more?

          • Who do i need to call to negotiate? and am i negotiating the $15,000 amount? It could take me a while to save up to 50% (7500) for the judgement. : (
            thank you

            • Because it has been 2 years since you heard anything from the collection attorney’s office, I would start by contacting Citibank. Citi may end up referring you out to the same, or a different law firm, but if the account is not currently placed, you can work directly with them to resolve the debt.

  134. Hi Michael,
    I have a judgement from July 2010 from Chase (i like so many others embarrassed and ashamed that i couldn’t make payment as i had always made, basically ignored the summons) . Now that i would like to repair my credit and would even be willing to settle with Chase not sure what would be the right steps. Even though i haven’t heard from any agency, chase, and i have no collections on my report, i would still like to resolve the judgement. I am in Florida and really have no assets besides the cash under my pillow. The amount of my Judgement i $4800.00. I would be more than happy to pay them $2500 if they would make it go away. What would be my best course of action to make that offer without me getting more in the hole.
    Thanks,
    Nick

    • Call me for a consult Nick. There are some challenges that come with settling Chase judgment debts (from when yours was filed), that do not exist with other banks and lenders. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2. If I cannot answer be sure to leave a message so I know to return the call.

  135. I am being sued by a credit card company for garnishment of wages. The letter says the date of the judgement was in July 2007. I received the process of garnishment today at my current address. It was filed in the county that I used to live in. Last year I received a letter from my job that my check was garnished for this same debt. I barely make any money due to being a full time student and they already take from every check. This garnishment is for the same debt and it says it was filed on January 8 of this year. Is there anything I can do about this? I live in Alabama

    • Alabama protects 75% of your wages from garnishment. There are scenarios where the court will find you exempt from garnishing. You have to contest the garnishment with the court to get the determination. If you are able to qualify for exemption I find it easier to negotiate a settlement for a lower balance payoff, or more affordable repayment plan.

      How much is the total amount owed?

      It is worth talking to an experienced debt collection defense attorney about whether you were sued in the wrong county. If that is something worth pursuing it could put an end to all of this.

        • Without something documented about what was agreed to I suggest going to any scheduled hearing. I have seen far too many cases where collection attorneys and law firms say they will accept payments on the phone; you make a payment or two as agreed; there is a hearing and a judgment is entered without you there; they move to garnish wages or freeze money in your bank account, all the while you thought you had a payment agreement.

          You just cannot trust collection law firms without documentation. I wish it were different, but it’s not, so people end up having to take a day off work, and lose money they cannot afford to, etc.

  137. I am currently trying to settle my father’s estate. He passed in 2012, and had a judgement against him for a credit card debt. The judgement was for $30k at %15 in 2010 in Vermont. We’ve spent the past three years paying off his other debts and this is the last one remaining. There has been no contact with the creditor, but they do have a lien on his house, which was appraised at $53K. This is the only real property in his estate with his name directly on it, but there are also buildings held in trust that he was beneficiary of. We have about $15K remaining in liquid assets and were hoping to be able to settle the debt and close the estate. Our estate lawers didn’t really think they could help us and even suggested waiting till 2018 to see if they would refile the lien. That idea stresses me out with such a high interest rate. Is it wise for me to now contact the collection agency on my own to negotiate? If so, where should I start, and where should expect them to meet me if I could raise lump sum.

  138. My total credit card debt is somewhere around $30-$35k.

    Some of the cards I am still paying on or at least have not fully cycled off. I am being sued by one card company for ~$8k. So far we have been through first answers and I am about to file a response to production request and interrogatories (pro se).

    At this point I’m really unsure how to proceed. I don’t know if an earnest attempt to settle the debt is the smartest long term approach.

    I have very little incoming, so large settlement offers really aren’t realistic. But I am concerned over many of the long term consequences for bankruptcy (for career, loan, credit options).

    • It was good to talk to you on the phone Will. Let me know how your consult with a bankruptcy attorney goes. It will help later readers to know the decisions you reach about your next steps, and why you made them.

  140. In 2004 my life blew up and as much as I wanted to stay current on credit card debt, it was literally impossible. Aside from family challenges with my son’s health issues, my own health crashed and so did my business. I was self employed at the time. I literally went underground for many years dealing with life issues. Slowly but surely, I have dug out of the cesspool and am re-building my life/credit almost 13 years later. I checked on Credit Karma and was shocked that my score was 771., no collections or other derogatory comments posted. Especially given that I’ve paid cash for everything for over 15 years I was amazed at the 771 score.

    As a result of being approved for a few credit cards, I guess I am now on the radar of old credit card debt. I’ve received two letters and one debt has refiled a lien this year. The original was filed in CA in 2005 (which is 10 years or so).. The majority of the debt is now interest. The original debt was obscenely less. What do you recommend I do at this point? I don’t want to damage the progress I’ve made. At this point, if I contacted them, I fear that it will open up a Pandora’s box of problems. At almost 62 years old and living month to month with no savings, I can’t afford to make a bad decision. Your guidance and help would be greatly appreciated

    I do have a close friend that is a very good attorney. I’m sure if I asked, he would draft a cease and desist letter. Would you recommend this? If not, what SHOULD I do?

    Thank you……

    • I would not recommend sending a cease and desist letter to someone collecting on a judgment. What is the balance owed? Who was the plaintiff in the collection suit originally? Who is the debt collector contacting you now?

      I typically would want to put a strategy together to settle a judgment debt this old when possible.

  141. I have a question, discover card is pending a judgement against me for 1,998.87… I had stopped paying in April cause i couldn’t afford to pay them now their seeking judgement against me unless i make payment arrangements by nov 30, I’ve tried calling to make payment arrangements for 10 or 15 dollars a month they refused saying they can’t go no lower than 29 dollars but i have no income at all pending ssi claim and they won’t work with me with any payment arrangements i was told to call back by Nov 30 with a bank account number for them to get they’re 29 dollars every month, if i can’t then they’re seeking legal action against me what can i do???? I have no income at all i stay with my brother… please can someone give me any advice?

    • Sometimes there is nothing to do until your situation improves to the point you can offer a monthly payment the creditor will take, or offer a settlement for a lump sum when you have the money.

      It sounds like your options could improve in the near future. If you can pull roughly 50% of the balance owed together, I would target that as a settlement, and regardless of whether you are in court or not at that time.

    • The may never depending on how you handle it, or whether they ever go through the process of a debtor examination where you can be hauled into court to talk about your assets and income under oath.

      I deleted your last name for your comment. You can call me to cover your concern in more detail if you like at 800-939-8357, option 2 will ring to me.

  143. Went through a divorce, stopped making payments on Discover card a few years back. It was until I saw on my credit report that there was a judgment on me. I found the case and they had my old addresses so I never received any notice. Judgment was signed and closed and I owe them 15,000 plus. I would like to have a settlement. I consulted a lawyer and they will charge 2000 to settle my case to about 50%. Can I just call the law firm myself and ask for a settlement and save me 2,000? Can I ask them to remove from credit report? Thank you

    • You will not be able to get Discover or the collection attorney working with them to remove the judgment or the original charge off from your credit reports. You will be able to get them to update both of these entries as paid and satisfied.

      You will typically find that you must negotiate the settlement with the attorney for Discover. The only exception is if the account was recalled and Discover hasn’t placed the judgment with a new firm for collection.

      You can call the attorney and negotiate yourself. 50% is a realistic target in many of these cases. Who is the law firm handling this for Discover? Are you able to raise the money needed to pay your settlement?

  144. thank you in advance for your help
    I live in Texas, I had court a week ago for a credit card lawsuit, this is a card where I owe, 4,700 , I took my divorce decree where it states that my exwife is responsible for that card, but the judge said it doesn’t help me, so I lost, and they obtained a judgement against me , the lawyer was Melvin Thathiah, what can I do? I only have a part time job making 1,000 a month, I have my house that Im paying to the bank where I owe 75,000 and its worth 90 k , and I have two older cars 2005 and 2002 , can they take my cars ? can they put a lien on my house? what should I do? thank you very much

    • Wages are exempt from garnishment in Texas.
      Texas protects the value of one family car in excess of what your old vehicles are probably worth.
      Your home is protected from judgment creditors no matter the value in Texas, but there are some restrictions that can come into play if you have over certain acreage.

      Your exposure to a debt collector with a judgment in Texas will often come down to cash on deposit in your bank account.

  145. On August 14, 2015 I found out, while applying for a mortgage, that a judgement had been issued against me and I had a lien filed as a result. This was from over 10 years ago but I called and settled and paid them in full at that time. The check cleared my account on August 17, 2015 and I was suppose to close on my home yesterday and because of this lien not being released by closing is delayed until it is cleared. I have called multiple times and nothing is being done. How long does this attorney’s office have to release this lien before they are violating laws? It has been over 30 days and they have admitted they have not sent the paper work to release the lien as of yet. I have a letter from their company stating that I have paid and my case will be closed but nothing has been done. What are my rights? This judgement was filed in WV but I currently reside in Texas. Please help

    • What is the name of the debt collection law firm? Knowing who the firm is would help me recognize if you are dealing with a collector that is know for delays.

      There is usually a standard for updating the courts on any new developments for an existing case. You could file complaints with the state bar, but I am not sure 30 days would register as anything actionable.

  146. Michael,

    Thank you so much for this service! I have just received a “Very pleasent” letter from MCM informing me that my “account has a new home.” and the my “experience with MCM will be different…” Ohh, boy.

    $22,500 in Credit card debt with FIA Card services as the original Creditor.
    Last Payment Date as 7-12-2011
    Washington State.

    I’m self-employed, and really have no way to pay this debt off anytime soon. Even small monthly payments would be an excessive burden.

    What is the SOL in Washington? I have read some reports that it is 3 years, others say 6.

    At this point I’m mostly concerned with being sued and having bank accounts levied.

    Advice or thoughts? .

  147. Michael, about three-four years ago, I had a judgement against me for $17,500 from a credit union for credit card debt. Only $12,000 of that is principal and the rest is fees, which is outrageous. They got a judgement against me, I was unaware I was being sued and never received any notification of a court date or anything. regardless, I owed the money although the fees are crazy.

    I am in a much, much better position now and want to settle the debt. I called the credit union and they pushed me off to an attorney and the CU would not even speak to me about it even though I’m wanting to pay. I’ve made offers to the attorney (7500) and they will not respond to me, return phone calls, or anything. I’m willing to do more if needed but can’t do $17k. Do I have any rights? Can they just ignore me or any advice you might have?

        • I am going to send you an email with contact details to an experienced debt collection defense attorney in Alabama that offers a no cost initial consult.

          I would recommend you first talk about whether your courts will entertain setting aside or vacating a judgment this many years after the fact. If that strategy has a history of success in Alabama courts it is what I would likely start with. Ask the attorney for a referral if he does not handle that type of case, or is too far away from you.

          If that is not an advisable course of action, you may want to enlist his help with contacting the other attorney and negotiating the settlement on the judgment.

  148. I received a judgment almost 2 years ago from a collection agency/ law firm. They actually served a family member of mine with the judgment after she verified that she in fact was not who the asked for. I never received a summons or a complaint or anything just letter stating that they were trying to settle the debt and then bam my credit dropped 200 points and I have a legal item on my credit. I cannot purchase a car or home because of this, I watched your video about not emailing with the collection company but I have emailed them and we have reached a settlement but my fear is that I will pay and nothing will happen to positively affect my credit, Should I settle? Should I fight it since they served a family member who was not listed on the account?

    • Serving someone over the age of 16 is often not going to be a problem. There are perhaps other concerns with how this went down, but challenging the legitimacy of an existing judgment is an uphill path with no guarantee of the outcome. Settling will put things to rest.

      Whether or not settling a judgment debt will have an immediate impact on your credit score is not what I would focus on. An unpaid judgment can result in wage garnishment, a frozen or levied bank account, and property liens. You could be turned down for a home loan, and other credit, long after the judgment falls off your credit reports from age.

      What is the name of the collection firm handling your settlement?

  149. I contacted the lawyers that filed the complaint and they told me that even if we settle, if I am making payments they will continue to pursue the judgment lien.

    I am considering defending myself in court to try to get a dismissal since I am unemployed, had cancer and two surgeries last year. I am also mentally ill and take meds for that.

    What are my chances?

    I live in Ohio.
    The debt is owed to a Teacher’s Credit Union.

  150. Hello,

    A judgment was entered against me in 2005-2006 because I could not attend the hearing. The company is National Check Bureau. Over 10 years I have paid them over $13,000 dollars in payments. I now only owe post judgment cost. Post Judgment cost is still a lot. I went to court and the judge told the company they need to try to work out a settlement offer with me. They renewed the debt for another 10 years. How should I go about trying to get them to settle? Bankruptcy is not an option. I have no accounts in collections at all. I just don’t want to pay them for another 10 years.

    • Are they garnishing you in anyway? If not, call me and lets discuss some ways you can get them to settle. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.

  151. I’m in the process in negotiation with a law firm that working with a big commercial bank that I use to have a credit card debt. They were suing me but have now started to negotiated with me and my lawyer. How does the negotiation process works? If you turn down the first offer and counter offer do they recounter again and do this back and forward until we agree or a lot of times when you counter with a lower offer they stop all together and continue the lawsuit on the debt. The law firm does this a lot with big commercial banks a lot with debts.

    • I need more to go on Chris. Who is the bank suing? What collection law firm are they using? What is the balance owed? Have you filed an answer to the lawsuit already?

      • The bank is Bank of America and the firm is FJ Hanna. The debt is about $5000 and did deny the I owe the money. They email my lawyer for almost the amount I owe. I counter with a lot lower amount about 30% of the debt. I’m waiting on an answer if they will take the offer.

        • The process for negotiating when sued is helped when you file an answer denying claims and otherwise put on a defense. The process with your attorney negotiating is not much different than if you or I were. It is often going to be an offer/counter offer scenario, and sometimes a “go dark” period while the court case progresses.

          30% is not a gimme when trying to settle with Hanna and Associates. Keep me posted with how this progresses for you.

          • My lawyer reach out again today and waiting on a reply back if they accept or decline the offer. He told me that this firm frequently takes there time to give answer.

            Would there be any reason why Hanna would decide to stop any negotiation and take me to court when they already gave me a bad offer?

            • They are already in court with you, and these situations can progress to pretrial hearings and even a full blown trial. I would not anticipate that with your situation.

  152. Hello, I live in NJ and I was sent a letter from a lawyer representing Midland Funding that a judgement had been entered against me. The cover letter states ‘Civil Action Information Subpoena”. Which I have filled out because I had 14 days to do so or they will hold me in contempt.

    My debt is from 9 years ago, but because I had made a payment on it in 2012 it passed the SOL. The balanced owed is $2,000. I don’t work, I don’t own anything, and I don’t have any source of income, my bank account was a joint one with my son and I completely closed it. I co-signed in 2006 a car for my son and it is paid in full since 2012. I have recently turned over the title to my son and removed my name from the title.

    I have no idea how I am going to pay a debt when I have nothing. A family member offered to help by giving me $600 and when I suggested this to the lawyers they said NO, they wanted $1500 of the $2000 I owe. O well, I really have no idea what to do from here. I am broke and have nothing.

    Can anything else happen to me?

    • It does sound like you are uncollectable. Do you have any expectation that your situation will turn around? Midland is one of few debt collectors that will walk away from legitimate collections if your hardship suggests you will never be able to pay.

  153. Hi Michael,

    I’m being sued by BoA (Frederick J Hanna) almost 2 months ago for a credit card debt that I stop paying over 2 years ago. I’m living Atlanta, GA. The debt is for $4.4k. I got an attorney to try to negotiation a settlement. Well, they send a letter to Frederick J Hanna and no response and yesterday they are going to send a letter again. I answer the summon and deny the lawsuit. I got a court date in 3 weeks and want to know what I should do next.

    I feel like Frederick J Hanna will not answer the letter and will most likely go to court which I don’t want to. The letter that my lawyer send put in $950 for settle which by reading and watching seem like its really low. I also have other debts and student loans but which is about $14k (medical bills).

    What should I be doing now that I have only 3 weeks before my court date? I call my lawyer and they his paralegal send an email telling me about the second letter was set out.

    Thanks!

    • I like using the phone to negotiate these things, and once the deal is agreed to, then getting everything in writing.

      The $950.00 offer is a bit low for the situation from my experiences.

      Is your attorney preparing for the hearing? Is he/she an experienced debt collection defense attorney?

      • No, he is only negotiating a settlement and the paper work if it goes that far. If it comes to the 27th of this month then I would have to go to court to do it myself. It’s something I’m worry about because if it comes down to it. I would rather pay it in full without going to court because I know I will lose and don’t want to pay interest and lawyer fees.

        I already paid $400 for my lawyer to negotiated but it seem like he is only going to see a few letters to Hanna to settle it.

        I would like to know what I should do now? I try to called BoA to see if I could settle it with them but I could never get to the right place over the phone to find out. I don’t even know if they sell the deal to F Hanna.

        I try to call my lawyer but now I’m getting an email from the paralegal saying they send a second letter. It’s find but I also would like to know what I should do between today and the court date if they don’t respond to the letter to settle.

        • If BofA is the named plaintiff in your lawsuit, and still show a balance due to them on your credit reports, they are likely still the owner of your debt. Calling them will just lead to being referred back to Frederick Hanna and Associates. The same thing would occur if BofA sold the debt. The collection law firm is driving the bus.

          I do not have much faith in the letter writing process at this stage of collection, and that goes for when attorneys are involved too. If it were me I would first be sure I can afford a 50%-ish settlement and then tell my attorney to get the deal set up, and not just with a letter, but a phone call to the debt collectors. Hanna and Associates negotiates settlement on the phone every day. It is both a common and simple process. If your attorney can’t or won’t pursue getting this settled with more than sending a couple of letter, I would suggest you hired the wrong one.

          I can refer you to attorneys in Georgia who regularly deal with Hanna and Associates if you like?

            • I sent you an email with a few attorneys listed in no particular order. All will have experience dealing with Hanna and Associates, and will likely offer a no cost initial consult.

              • Thank you for give the list of lawyer that have deal with Hanna before in my area. The lawyer I pick has deals with Hanna thousands of times and always has a good result

                I told whats going on with to the new lawyer. He told me that almost all the his cases never goes to trial. Last month all 30 cases got a settlement or dismiss. He did see my paper work yet because I’m going to drop off my documents and contract to the lawyer on my lunch break. But he told me that the best would happen is that my case will be dismiss or the worst case is that I would have to settle at 50% without having any judgement on my credit report.

                When I told my old lawyer that I was letting him go that, I could always go to court and try to settle it there and show the lawyer letter that is trying to settle it. The judge would settle it there or try to work it out of court with my old lawyer. My question is would try to settle it there or with my lawyer if I go to court or they will try to get a judgement there and move on?

                • I cannot know what your first lawyer would accomplish in court with you, but it sounds like not much if he has not prepared discovery and other defense strategies. I like the direction you are taking with the new, and experienced debt defense attorney.

                  Please let me know haw this all progresses and what the outcome is.

                  • Feel stupid now because my old attorney just send me an email saying that they want to settle the debt and offer 80 cent on the dollar. Should I take it or should I ask for less? I ask that question to my old lawyer and I’m waiting for a response.

                    I don’t know how long this negotiation takes when they start.

                    I’m just glad I didn’t yield at the lawyer on the phone or anything. I just wanted to get some answer and didn’t get a call back over 3 days and 6 days from email.

                  • I send the offer to Hanna for a lower amount to settle the offer yesterday. In general. how long until they accept or declined the offer? I would think it would go really fast as in the same day or in a few hours. Just because they have a lot of debt with other people.

                    Thx

                    • I can go back and forth with Hanna and Associates several times in a day. It can also take several days to get a decision. It really can be a mixed bag.

                      If I am working a file and know I am close to what should get approved I will often not wait to hear from them if it has already been a day or three. I will often be proactive and check back,but always by phone.

                  • They counter off for 64 cent on the dollar of the debt. I would pay half of it in 30 days and pay the rest in 10 months of $150/per month. I would like to know if this is my best offer or I should try to get it down lower?

                    I don’t like the fact that I would have to deal with Hanna each month and would rather pay it off in full and move on with my life.

          • Thank you for your information. I will call him and leave a message and see if he will do that. I’m a shy person and don’t like to push anyone to do something but if this will keep me out of court and pay less then I will need to suck it up and do it.

            Thx

  154. Hi Michael, great website.

    My wife has a Capital One CC that was sold to a collection agency after we tried to negotiate a settlement amount in 2011. We did not hear from a collections agency for almost 4 years until just recently (Cavalry Portfolio Services). Since I am active duty military, we sent a request to invoke our rights under the Service Members Civil Relief Act. Almost immediately after, she was served a notice to appear at pretrial mediation.I would like to settle the debt and get it off our shoulders.

    My question is this: is it too late to request a settlement amount, or does she have to attend the mediation? Also, under the SCRA the interest rate on the card should have been capped at 6%, should I factor this into the settlement offer? The original debt was $3200, last payment was in March 2011, and we are in FL.

    • What part of Florida? I would encourage you to talk about your situation with the right attorney and determine if there are any violations of the SCRA before you do anything. I can email you contact details to experienced debt defense attorneys if I know the name of a larger city near you, or you can locate one with the experience you need here.

      Settling with Cavalry at this stage of collection is doable. I would not focus on the fees and charges being accurate if your only goal is settlement. That is just semantics when your goal is to settle for a set amount of money that you can afford, and that they will accept. Needling away at the balance, and how it was determined, is worthwhile when you are defending the suit to dismissal or a bang out settlement. But talk over any of that in a free consult with the attorney(s) I send you.

  155. I have about $18,000 in judgements against my home. I am in college and get student refunds on student loans. I am thinking that after I finish college I will have a substantial bill to pay back; so does it make sense to use my student loan refunds to pay off the judgements so that I can refinance my home before having to pay back my student loan?

    Also, my husband passed last Feb. He had bought a new car only in his name on the debt and title. If I don’t pay off his car loan can I have a judgement placed against my house in Virginia?

    • Call me for a phone consult at 800-939-8357 and choose option 2. I have more questions than answers and can economize my feedback after I get a clearer picture of your finances and goals.

  156. In 7/2006 Capital One got a default judgement in the amount of $750. I filed Chp 13 in 8/2006 but that was dismissed in 8/2009. The Default judgement as of 7/2015 comes to $2,300. The law firm of Brumbaugh & Quandahl have never attempted to collect on this judgement, no lien on my home property, my bank account has never been levied, and no garnishments have been started. I live in Nebraska, and I know the judgement went dormant after 5 years with their option to renew it. There has been no contact to settle the judgement.. I have not received anything that says the judgement was renewed. This is not on my credit reports any more.

    How should I go about settling this – contact Brumbaugh and Quandahl, Capital One, or go through my own attorney? I don’t know how collectible I look currently. I have $157K in student loan debt, $10K in current credit card bills, and $6K on a car loan. I do not want to get back on their radar any sooner than I have too.

    thanks for your thoughts!

    • First pull up the court record and see if they bothered to renew the judgment. You have options to consider if they did not renew.

      Post what you learn and lets go from there.

      If calling and negotiating a settlement makes sense, can you pull together half of the $2,300.00 owed?

  157. Hey Michael. I have been self employed since 2003. Starting in 2005 I had several slow years. I couldn’t make payments on my credit cards and had 3 default judgements against me. In Feb 2007 I went to court for a discover card I was behind on. I talked with the lawyer for the credit card company and thought we had monthly payments set up of just over $200 a month. I assumed they were going to send me the paper work in the mail to get it started. Evidently I was supposed to go back to court in 30 days and I didn’t so I got the default judgement against me. Their lawyers were Nathan & Nathan from Birmingham Al. and the default judgement plus court cost was $5180. In Sept 2008 they garnished a savings account I had of $2000. That left a balance of $3492 not counting any interest. The last papers I got from them was for garnishment in 3-1-13. After taking off the $2000 credit they said my balance including other cost was $6987. I checked my credit report in June 2015 and this discover default judgement is no longer listed on my credit report. What does that mean? In 3-4-2009 I had a default judgement against me from a citibank card of $6058 not including court cost. Their lawyers are Zarazur & Schwartz from Birmingham Al. I have gotten no other papers from them that I can find. In April 2009 I had a default judgement against me from Capital One bank for $1263 including court cost. Their layers are Hollaway & Moxley of Montgomery Al. On 4-29-10 they garnished $170 from my checking account. In Sept. 2011 I set up monthly of $58. I made those for 10 months ($585 total) before I got behind & couldn’t make any more. I got garnishment papers on 5-12-15 that shows I have a balance of $998. I have a mortgage payment of $344/month that I am keeping up to date. I am still self employed and my business dose not make a lot of profit but I have enough saved up to pay the least balance on the capital one card and maybe one other depending on what percentage they will settle for. I have also been paying monthly($155) on a couple of delinquent sales tax & personal income tax that I had gotten behind on. I got one paid off and still owe $900 on the other but I could possibly pay it off now. I hope I have made this understandable without being too long. I look forward to hearing form you. Thanks

    My main question is what % of the total balance should I try to aim for in my negotiations on each of the cards.

    • Judgements are like other derogatory information that will drop from credit reports after enough time passes. In this case the judgment fell off your credit after 7 years. But the debt did not go anywhere or lose any of its legal enforcement. It is still collectable.

      Done correctly, I think you can get all of them settled for roughly half of the balance owed today (not including the state and federal tax debts).

      If you need help let me know.

  158. I was served a Civil Warrant from Midland Funding on 5/27/15. This is regarding a Chase Bank credit card with an amount owed of $2,251.85. I was told by the server to contact the # on the warrant which is for Fenton & McGarvey Law Firm in KY if I wanted to discuss & avoid going to court. I am a resident of TN. I contacted the attorney’s office & explained I don’t remember having a Chase Card. She told me the card was opened in 2008 & written off 2010. Long story short, I have spoken with them 3 times. Asked them to send documentation from the account which I thought was being mailed. When I called back yesterday, I was told I won’t receive those documents for 30-60 days. The court date is 6/18/15. I decided to set up monthly payments because I do not want to go to court. I have panic/anxiety issues & I can’t physically or mentally deal with going to court. I gave my checking acct info for the 1st payment & am to call back to pay each mth. Once I did that, I asked if this eliminated the need for court & her response was “I am not an attorney, I’m a representative only. I can’t tell you not to go to court. I can tell you that your obligation to us has been satisfied with this payment arrangement”. I’m now wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake & if I’ve truly saved myself from court? Your help is appreciated!

    • Are you being sued in Tennessee (just want to confirm as your comment could be read to say you are being sued in Kentucky)?

      If you are being sued in the correct court, and you offered up a monthly payment in the hopes that doing so ended the court action, it usually won’t. If you do nothing formal with the court (usually file an answer to the complaint as a start), you will usually end up with a judgment against you, and that generally ends up on your credit reports later.

  159. Michael-

    Awesome website you have;

    I currently live in the State of Oregon and have so since 1999. I lost my job in January 2009, and unsuccessfully attempted to pay my debts through December of 2009.

    Capital One obtained a Judgment of $17,743 in November of 2011 which I could not pay due to having no substantial income being in Nursing School to retool. I graduated in December of 2012 and have been working since Feb 18, 2013.

    I stopped paying my Mortgage After May 2009, and ALL of my credit cards after December 2009, and have not resumed paying anything on those past bills.

    The First Mortgage was modified January 2013 and I have been making regular payments.

    I have not resumed paying on the 2nd which has now ballooned from $54,000 @ 10.75% to $93,000 with interest, penalties etc and has been sold to TriPeak Assets. I have not paid anything on this debt since May 2009.

    I have two primary questions:

    1) What should I do regarding the Lien Judgment from Capital One? I called a Title Company today and confirmed a Lien is place upon my home. I looked up Oregon Law and see that the judgment will last 10 years with a 10 year renewal. Is there anyway to vacate the Lien Judgment such as the Oregon Homestead Exemption without selling or filing Bankruptcy? I understand this debt is likely now in excess of $25,000 not including penalties and fees.

    2) My 2nd Mortgage has been sold repeatedly, and I have not paid anything on it since May 5th of 2009. Since it is now effectively six (6) years old since the last payment, can I effectively say “I have an absolute defense since the statute of limitations has expired?”

    • 1. Not that I am aware of. But I would recommend talking to an experience debt defense attorney in Oregon and discuss all realistic options you have at this point. I can send you contact info to a couple of really good ones I know if you like?

      2. I would discuss the absolute defense regarding the second mortgage with the attorney too. Even if that applies, I suspect there may still be the lien issue from the 2nd to contend with when you later look to clear title.

  160. I received a summons in mail today regarding a complaint to collect a debt for a credit card, the collection agency and the law firm had never made an attempt to contact me, in fact I had not thought about this since 2008, in the complaint it said I made a payment on 108 on May 2008, which I did not – so I don’t know what all this is about or what to do about it, I cannot afford an attorney and Ionly have a bank account that I get Child support money in (its not through court though) so I am worried they will garnish this and I will have no money for my kids – what do you suggest I do?

    • I would suggest you defend the suit if the debt is time barred. What state are you in, and when do you know that you last made a payment on the credit card?

  161. Hi Michael,

    Thanks For Replying To Me Again.

    I have actually looked at some legal aid options, but my local area is not one for many options in that way, as I am located in the small town portions of my state. I didn’t come up with much of anything there. I can always have at least one free consultation with a full price lawyer if this doesn’t turn out the way I plan for it to turn out for me…..But Thanks So Much For Your Suggestion.

    I Appreciate Your Personal Advice For Me Too. I am still trying to agree on the small monthly ( $30 ) payments, however. I sent my official Financial Statement to their offices on Monday. I also Emailed both attorneys listed as lawyers to contact to begin discussing negotiations as well, one of them on Monday and one of them on Wednesday.

    I just sent them all my uncollectable information where they asked me to place it on my Statement to them, and I made notes in the ‘Any Other Facts That Could Affect Your Ability To Pay’ section that stated how my mother, whom I reside with, is willing to assist me with a $30 monthly payment until my own finances are worked out…..I stated how this is not that different from when an uncollectable person applies their spouse’s income to pay a judgment until they have their own income. Hopefully, they will move fast and finalize it now.

    In your own experience, do you Please have any statement about how long lawyers can take to respond to offers like these at all? Will they reply to my Emails, or should I telephone them and hope to catch them live on the phone immediately? I assume they may prefer live telephone communication versus email contact if possible. My answering service is being replaced right now, so I told them to email me their responses back….But, my service will be fixed early next week anyways….

    Thanks So Much For Your Advice! You are really helping me out so far……

  162. Hi Michael,

    Thanks So Much Again For Replying To Me.

    I understand about the credit fraud not being as crucial during a Payment Hearing for this judgment for me. I was actually looking forward to any possible Bankruptcy Hearing, where I believe it can get more intense with those kinds of areas, where they want to know you didn’t commit fraud when you received your cards or created your debts on them, Etc…..I am still avoiding bankruptcy for now…..So, I guess that they don’t go into areas at this Payment Hearing like, “When you created this debt, what income did you have to pay it all on your own without family assistance?” “Did you believe you were creating a debt that you might have challenges paying if you lost certain family income?” Etc….. At this Payment Hearing, I didn’t know if they would want to know what employers I had before, to know whether I had any personal income in addition to my family’s assistance while I created this debt……Would this Payment Hearing want to know what details I placed onto my credit applications, not only just their own application, but additional applications, Etc…..BUT, I believe I AM really getting into various BANKRUPTCY HEARING areas here…..From what you are saying so far, this Payment Hearing is pretty simple, just focused towards RIGHT NOW concerning present time ability to pay this single judgment debt…..

    1 ) Do you believe that since my family is the one committing to this payment immediately, until I get my own income again, they will be more insistent about a lump sum settlement, even a reduced one, as they might believe my family isn’t as concerned about making these immediate monthly payments on my behalf in the same way I would be concerned about such a monthly payment? Like, they might believe, “Well, her family could just lose interest in helping her at any time….. OR her family’s own personal finances could get worse where they would just stop paying this for her as they had to assist themselves instead….” I wonder if they are more keen on making monthly payment deals when it is the actual person committing to paying it monthly….I can see their concern there….. Versus their ease with a one time lump sum deal with family money because they just get their money all at once and it’s done…….I am still starting out with my $30 monthly offer, as that is best for everyone right now…….I really just want to get my own independent finances going, and not look to anyone else for help anymore, and be fully out on my own, a future which I am planning to begin building in May and June…..We can handle them not reducing the debt from $1,200 or so and paying $30 monthly for right now until I get a new way of income on my own to pay it……For us, even a reduced lump sum from that $1,200 is trickier at this moment……

    2 ) If it is settled out of court before May 21st, I assume there are official papers that I sign and such…..But yet, even though this is a payment deal on a judgment, I still can’t be arrested on a civil warrant ( not criminal warrant ), for some contempt of court charge for missing payments on it if the worse ever happens for some reason?

    Concerning this May 21st Payment Hearing…….Will they still want to get me into court to have the judge sign some court order for our monthly deal, being that I assume if the judge signs it, that means it IS an official court order to make these monthly payments, and then, I CAN be arrested on a civil warrant for some contempt of court charge for not making payments, I guess?

    I assume that if the worse happens and I start to miss payments on any court order from the judge, I could get some civil warrant after me but once I appear in court and show that I can’t make the payments anymore, I am judgment proof until I get my finances back together again?

    I Am Sorry for asking so many questions, but my family is one that wants to know all the possibilities before they fully commit to things……I admit they can be more negative, so they want to know the “worse case scenarios” before they commit…….I am not like them at all that way, but they ask these questions……

    I am planning to contact the law firm on Monday……This Post should be the last of my questions…….

    THANKS So VERY Much For Your Great Help!

    • You really should get your questions answered by an attorney, and preferably one with debt collection defense experience. The detailed answers you want can really only be arrived at that way.

      I am not an attorney, and I am across the country. You may qualify for low income legal aid, so you may start by looking for the closest legal aid office you can find.

      That said, you are just way too far into the weeds on this. An asset discovery hearing for a judgment on a credit card bill is just a fancy way of saying – you need to come look someone in the eye and tell them why you cannot pay any money toward the judgment.

      This has nothing to do with your family. If they are brought into the discussion at all, it would be by you.

      If it were me, and I am viewed as uncollectable by the court, I would not make those small monthly payments that really do not make a dent in the debt due to judgment interest. I would save up and settle for the most savings I could negotiate later.

      This is not a complicated issue. Just a debt collector taking someone into a payment hearing – who is uncollectable – in order to waste everyone’s time.

  163. I had a Simplicity Citi card, however, I received an online notification that my “main bank” in Kileen, which my bank is inside Walmart, was going to issue me a credit card. However, I thought it was strange, since I had horrible credit.

    However, I filled out my employment information, but not once did the application ever ask for my social security number, nor was there a blank to fill that in, it just asked me about my work employment and how much and when I got paid.
    Also, one important thing, I NEVER ever had to sign an application. When I filled out the employment information, along with my salary requirements ( I guess since I had an account at their “bank” they had all my other information) I was granted a credit card.

    My name was the only name on the card, my husband and I don’t have any money comingled, none, we have no loans together, no home loan together, no banking together, nothing, we have our own money and accounts, we have nothing jointly together, not even our cars, etc. So it shows me as the “responsible” party on the bill, only my name.

    However, two years into making the payments every month I got really behind, due to medical reasons, as my husband got cancer and I was having to take over making all the bills, and I am a teacher in Texas and I just couldn’t continue making payments on the account.

    It was charged off by Citi and went to a “collection agency.” However, before it did that I called Citi and made an agreement to settle. I originally had a 10,800. balance, but they agreed to let me pay 2000.00 up front, which I did, so it should have brought down my balance and that was paid with a check, so I have proof of that payment I made with them. Then I was to pay for 12 months about 93.44 a month. However, after I paid the 2000. which just about broke me (I agreed to it, b/c they seemed to threaten me with going to jail or court), but I made 2 payments, last one made in July 2013. At that time, I called and spoke to someone in the credit recovery department with Citi’s and asked if they could just deduct it from my checking account each month, we agreed to do that, but they never took the debit out of my account, so I thought they weren’t going to pursue it, so nothing ever happened again.

    But before this happened, back in April 2013, the above happened at the end of April, but in April my husband was going to purchase a home, he has had a great credit score in the upper 875-950 credit range. However, when he went to apply for a loan, they said he had an outstanding bad debit with Citi’s, he said, I have never had a credit card with Citi’s. Here is what we found out, they used his social security number on my application. I didn’t even know his social, b/c I never have any dealings with him, we both have separate everything. Also, he never signed an application, as I never signed an application, it was all done online, I also never ever gave his social security number on the application.

    Now, the Citi’s bad debit is on his credit, but the card was never in his name and he never used the card, had anything to do with it. I never signed for the card, and never put his social on it, and now it is on my credit report as well.

    Citi’s open the account through First Convenience Bank – Kileen, but they never verified or checked the application, if they would have don’t you think they would have discovered the social they put on my application was my husband’s an not mine, my name was on the credit application, I never put him down on anything.

    Doesn’t Citi’s and First convenience bank take some responsibility here? Shouldn’t it have been verified better before they issued the card?

    curious….I want to settle, but don’t have that much to deal with, as I am still on one check.

    Thanks,
    Cliffonia

    • Has he ever sent a dispute about the account not being his to the credit bureaus? If so, when and what was the response? How about a written dispute to the bank?

  164. Had my trial yesterday. My pro bono lawyer did not show up. I settled with original creditor (Bank of America) and now I am very unhappy with the number. I think my lawyer would have done better job of negotiating. Judge signed the settlement. Original debt 12K plus 8K interests. was never served. Settled for 9K. Is there anything I can do now? Thank you!

    • You have options to appeal, but it sounds like there may have been no foundation laid for that.

      What is it you mean by having never been served?
      When is the 9k payment set to be made?

  165. Hi Michael,

    WOW! This blog IS SO AWESOME. I am discovering SO MUCH just from reading it for a day or so here! THANKS SO MUCH For Creating It For Us.

    I have a default judgment against me from a Capital One Credit Card. This judgment is for $1300. The law firm is Solomon & Solomon in Albany, NY. I reside in Massachusetts. I am due in court for a Payment Hearing on May 21st.

    I am currently unemployed, with no wages to garnish at all. I live with my family, and they own the house, not me….. I have no personal Assets for them to place any Liens on either. I also have $5.00 in my Savings Account, and another $5.00 in my Checking Account that has $40 added to it and then subtracted out of it when I pay another credit bill with my family’s assistance at this time. There is NEVER any pile of money just sitting in ANY Bank Account with my name on it right now is what I am saying here.

    My employment history consists of one taxable job from several years ago…… Any others have been child care jobs in the houses of other people or in my own house where I did not receive enough money from them to have to pay any taxes on them before……I have only been able to have credit cards with the assistance of my family’s whole household income so far……Actually, their personal checking accounts were paying my monthly credit payments for me until our household situation changed dramatically in late 2013, which is when I stopped paying all of my credit cards but one of them…..Even then, I have to be given the monthly $40 from them to be placed into my own checking account anyways…..

    I really want to create a new career path for myself, and move out of my family’s house as soon as I can now……I want to avoid bankruptcy as well. This is the ONLY suit / judgment against me at all so far……

    The thing is that I actually have certain panic attack concerns about appearing in court in May….I am seeking counseling / medication to stem them, and I may even apply for a Continuance or something to postpone the May date……In addition, to avoid court in May……I wonder if it is worth it to contact this firm to arrange ANY small monthly payment schedule with them, like only around $20 – $30, as $30 per month was the usual monthly payment that I paid before stopping payment as well……I really prefer to settle with them on a monthly payment plan with my family’s help ( they have offered to assist me with this judgment ) until I find a new job etc…..I realize the firm prefers a lump sum, but they can’t get anything else from me as I am judgment proof and that amount is basically what I paid them before anyways……

    My other questions are….Please…..

    1 ) Considering if I call them this week, which I want to do by the end of this week, do they accept payment plans with people that are officially unemployed like me this week, and where my family would be agreeing to assist with this low monthly payment until I got my own employment again?

    2 ) What is the Payment Hearing like? Does the judge go over your whole Employment History? Do I need to bring every employer I have ever had with their Contact Information into court that day, as these positions were non taxable income for me? Or would the judge just want to know my very last employer in this regard instead? Would they not care about my past employers? Honestly, since some of these positions happened in my house, I am not sure exactly where people lived when they brought their children to my house, and they moved on which ended my positions with them and now I have no idea exactly where any of them are now……Still, I wouldn’t necessarily want everything about my finances to get back to them through this process, in case I require any of them to be some kind of references for me again…..

    3 ) At the Payment Hearing, can the judge demand that I cease paying that monthly $40 payment to that other card and start sending it to Capital One instead? It is the only business I do out of my checking account these days, but the funds for it come from my family, not from me….They just wanted me to have one credit card in good standing should I eventually have to bankrupt, which I still seek to avoid…..With panic attack concerns at times, you can imagine how nervous I might be about Bankruptcy Court…..

    THANKS SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPLY…..

    • It would be ideal to negotiate a reduced pay off. If your folks are willing to help, can you come up with half of what is owed?

      Yes, many judgment collections can be paid on monthly. They are debt collectors, and will take what they can get in most instances. Calling to set up some small monthly amount is a possibility, but it may not deter them from wanting to get you in court so that you have to say how broke you are on the record.

      The asset discovery or payment hearing is really relaxed. You may not even see a judge. You will essentially answer a bunch of questions. You will find most of them you can handle by memory. You do not have to be concerned about those past employers hearing from the collectors. They are really only interested in if you are working now, for who, making how much.

      I have never seen a situation like your in where a judge told you to stop paying the one bill, and give it to a judgment creditor. Bankruptcy trustees do that all the time, but that is where they split up your money and give creditors an equal share, not special treatment. And besides, it is not your money, it is your folks paying it.

      I would not recommend bankruptcy over this small a judgment. Are there other debts than this one out there that remain unpaid? If so, add them all up, and what is the total?

      • Hi Michael,

        THANKS SO VERY MUCH For Your Fast Reply.

        I don’t know if they want me in court for sure, as they claim that they wish to settle things BEFORE our next scheduled date on May 21st. I know these people can lie, but hopefully, they are truthful about their wishes here…..

        1 ) So, you believe that I have a chance to speak to them and negotiate down to a half reduced pay off, where the final total I give to them is actually just around $600 – $700 instead of the full $1200 – $1300 or so they want right now? THAT would be great for me……Do you feel they would even accept that reduced pay off paid in small monthly amounts, like between only 10, 20, or 30 dollars monthly right now? Or would they only agree to that smaller incremental of a pay off if I agree to pay the full $1200 to $1300 total they have this judgment for? In other words, pay $600 or so immediately and everything is cleared for us, OR pay $10, 20, 30 monthly until the full $1200 is paid off……I know that with those smaller amounts you don’t always do much but pay on interest, BUT I intend to only have this arrangement for so long, until I get my finances together and I can pay higher amounts or even better, just pay it totally off as fast as possible….. The reduced pay off of $600 – $700 along with those smaller amounts are obviously the very best outcome for me at this point…..

        Now, if I happen to miss this settlement payment for a final total that is possibly cut in half for $600 after all, I miss it just one month, can I be arrested on a capias warrant, even if we don’t make it to court on May 21st? Does the fact that the new settlement was created with a different final amount of debt out of court this way change my possibility of being arrested if I miss my monthly $30 payment if that monthly amount is what we agree to here?

        I admit I was likely jumping ahead to a possible Bankruptcy Hearing, where I believe the investigation into the person’s life history is more focused with employment and such because the court may want to verify that you haven’t somehow committed any credit fraud with your purchases if you received your cards and created debts on them when you had assistance from others to do so…..I admit I am confused about credit fraud in general…..I have heard of people that identify themselves as Students for their occupation on card applications say that they receive cards and pay for them through their whole household family income amounts that they place on these same applications….. I have seen people state that they list being a Homemaker as their occupation with their whole household income on credit applications too…..I have heard of people that list their spouse’s occupation as their occupation with whole household income so that they receive and pay for cards that way……I have just always had other people’s backing to receive and pay for cards until recently, as I read that “so long as the applicant has a reasonable expectation that the money will be there to pay for their cards” it is not fraud as it can be occupational income of your own, alimony income, whole household income, maintenance income from sources……Just never know what attorneys might toss at you if you have serious changes where you need to change payment arrangements for awhile if your original assistance changes for too long…..I certainly never intended to commit fraud……I definitely want to start being fully financially independent now, as I see how tricky matters can become when others are too involved in your payment arrangements early on this way……What constitutes credit fraud is what confuses me about Bankruptcy…..I just want to avoid that option until I get my finances together and then just settle with creditors instead…..

        Thanks So Much Again For Your Valuable Advice!

        • I do not think you have a shot at the lower monthly payments along with any amount off of the fill balance being sought.

          You do not get arrested for missing payments on a debt like this. You can get arrested for not complying with a court order, in this case, your being ordered to show up and talk about your not having any money that they can take from you. You are uncollectable. You would likely be found by the court as unable to pay even the 10 dollars a month.

          ALWAYS show up to court.

          I am not sure where you were going with the whole credit fraud comment. When you go to the hearing there really should not be any discussion along those lines. It is really just about what money and assets you have as of that moment that could go to pay the judgment. That will be the entire focus, and nothing of looking backward.

  166. I have a judgement against me from a credit card company for $2800. Today I contacted their attorney and offered a $1000 lump sum settlement. They e-mailed me a form called a citibank settlement information worksheet. The attorney called it a financial worksheet. They said I had to fill it out before citibank would consider my offer. Does this sound fishy to anyone? By the way I live in North Carolina.

    • There are sometimes requests for financials in order to get an exception to settle your account for less than what the creditor would normally accept. There are also instances where a law firm is just protecting their clients interests by digging into your finances only to expect full payment based on what you share, and how they see it.

      I generally suspect the latter unless you are on a fixed or low income situation with little to no assets.

      • I was afraid of that because the credit card company had sent me a offer to settle for $1700 just 4 months earlier with no mention of a form to fill out. The thing is, I inherited a $100,000 house after the judgement but its still in my deceased parents name. The house is paid for. Do you think they could take my house or make me sell it over a $2800 judgment?

        • I just do not see forced sales on this stuff. What would be more likely is a lien on a home in your name that they can find. They would get paid at some point, and with interest, when the house sold, got financed, changed hands and needed to clear title.

          You could work around this with a bit of strategy, and adding to the offer. Can you come up with more than the 1k?

          • Perhaps with some time. I’m thinking that maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and wait to see if they send me another offer to settle. I told them I was waiting for my federal refund to come when I made the offer so maybe its a possibility. I also have to say thank you for the prompt replies. Your great, sites great, thanks again.

  167. Hello I’m Donnell
    I’m 29
    Here’s my situation.
    I was formerly profoundly irresponsible and careless with money.
    I have 2 debt judgements against me $2800 and $500.
    One from Kay jeweler and one from capital one.
    I lost both cases in 09 (had no idea until 2013, I didn’t care).
    Now that I’m crawling out of debt (believe it or not but for some reason this journey is fun and interesting).
    The same lawyer is handling both of my judgement debts.
    My wages are already being garnished for child support (by choice).
    I make under $1200 a month (after garnishment/taxes/insurance).
    So I believe I pass the means test to threaten them with bankruptcy.
    I don’t own anything for the to lien and I didn’t have employment at the time of the case so my wages and bank account has (luckily) remained untouched by these judgements.

    I want to negotiate to get rid of these judgments because they are Killing my credit score.
    I’ve been doing research and I am finding a lot of info on how to negotiate BEFORE the judgments but not much after.

    Also I have a dream. That I could possibly negotiate a situation with capital one to give them a lump sum and maintain a credit line with them stemming from 2006 (when I opened the account) putting me back in good standing with them and improving my credit time average. I’m aware it is a long shot but would like to know if it’s possible.

    Please help.

    Recap: I need tips on negotiations AFTER a judgement.

    Help negotiating a return to good standings after the judgment. (Sounds genius to me lol)

    • Debt collectors do not generally take threats to file bankruptcy all that seriously. Not that people do not go ahead and file, and they miss out on a deal they could have had. That happens, but debt collectors are working a numbers game. Some of their files are always filing bankruptcy.

      Also consider the fact that they know is not worth filing over the 3300 debt total you have. You would be better off settling with them and using the first in line garnishment that you have (the child support) which will mean they are not going to be getting paid as long as that is in place, unless they can lien property or levy your bank account.

      Your dream will stay a dream unfortunately. Capital One is not going to reopen that closed credit line. Not if you had no judgment for the debt, and likely not even if you were trying to pay them in full the week after they closed it for nonpayment.

      Capital One will often open up new credit card accounts with you though.

      How much can you come up with to pay and settle these?

      • I can come up with $1500 at the drop of a hat
        records show that they’ve tried to search to levy my accounts twice now, unsuccessfully ( I don’t believe I had a bank account back in 09) but the civil court says they can charge me for the attempts.
        I didn’t live at my mailing address in 09 (I was on a 2 month furlough in Atlanta at the time) I never received any court notices so I never responded (not that I would have because I was completely ignorant to how this all works back then)
        I’m trying to research possible ways to vacate the judgments all together
        I’ve been working on my credit for almost a year (all i have left negative are these 2 judgements and one more account in collections for $860)
        I’m also $21K in college debt but it is no longer delinquent

        Chapter 7 wouldn’t be a far cry I just wouldn’t actually do it but I figure if I hint toward it in a letter they may be a bit more lenient with the settlement.

        in my research i’m finding that 20% is a good place to start then go up from there, of course this is mostly in negotiations before a judgement has been found.

        thoughts?

        • *Update*

          Ironically I just received a call from a CA claiming to represent Capital one in an attempt to collect the debt (which was originally $1500 and is now $2800 per the judgement)

          Does this mean the law office from the civil suit no longer has this debt and I can no longer negotiate with them?

          And do I have to handle these two matters separately ?

          • Call the law office and verify that CapOne yanked the account, or call CapOne and verify they placed the account with the new debt collector. There is far too much fake debt collector stuff happening in the U.S. right now to not take the extra step of verifying who is who.

        • I will eat some of my note pad paper if you are able to settle with Capital One at 20 percent. Realistic targets in your situation with CapOne generally start at 50 percent.

          • LOL the art of negotiation! start 75% lower than what you can afford.

            but lets say I find out who has my debt and i come to an agreed upon settlement amount. how do I go about vacating the judgments! can I possibly work that into the negotiation?

            these 2 judgements are killing my score. After I deal with them and the small account in collections I can build from there.

            ALSO, midland (the collections account I have for $860 sent me an offer for $360, should I take it or try to negotiate lower?

            • I do not see an outcome where a judgment from 2009 is vacated. Only that the court record is updated to show the judgment is satisfied. You can still build credit with a paid judgment.

              How long ago was it that you last paid on the debt Midland Funding bought, and what state are you in?

              The offer from Midland is a good one, but answer those two questions for more feedback.

              • It’s an old cell phone bill that my friends bailed on in (feb 2011 was the last payment) and the state is connecticut

                *Update*
                I called the attorney’s office who is controlling my debt (the 2 judgements) and they still have it and are willing to bring the $3,487.58(total) down to $1885. That was with no type of negotiation (over the phone) I feel like I can possibly get them to go lower if a write a letter.

                My main concern are the 2 judgements. My question is after I pay the agreed amount. Can I reopen the case with the court and vacate them from public record? Could I add that to the agreement? I need them gone!

                • Not in my experience, no, you will not be able to get them to agree to vacate the judgments. Why do you need the judgments gone like yesterday? It could potentially help me to know what your end goal is for wanting that outcome.

                  • I need the judgements gone because they are derogatory and are severely hurting my credit score.

                    I would like to purchase a home in the near future or get loan for a business.

                    I would like at least a 750 score when its all said and done.
                    currently:
                    623
                    609
                    595

                  • I would also like to add that the accounts that these judgements derived from are so old that they have fallen off of my credit report.

                    with them gone and if I can manage the $860 account with midland I would be golden, and could build from there

                    • Judgments no longer on your credit report, but that are still valid, will often still hold you up from getting a home loan approved.

                      How many positive open accounts do you have on your credit?

                  • I’m aware that the judgement can’t still home me back. But I plan on reopening the case in court and asking them to withdraw them (as part of me agreeing to pay them)

                    So I’ll pay the reopen fee if they agree and they just sign the withdrawal papers. Hopefully that will get rid of the judgement. I figure they won’t mind doing after they’ve gotten their money.

                    They still have the option of going after my bank account still but I don’t keep much money in it so it would be futile.

                    I’m just trying to strategize

                    Current have 4 open positive accounts but it will be 3 soon because my car is one payment away from being paid off

  168. I was recently notified of a judgment against me with the original date of March 8, 2007. The original amount of the debt was $4265.54 with 8.25% interest per year now it is $8432.97. I called the lawyer to try and settle the debt in payments but could not reach an agreement. They are adamant about me either paying the amount they want monthly or pay off the entire amount whole. They would not negotiate a smaller lump sum. My hands are tied, I want to pay the debt but unable to reach a common ground. I don’t remember even being served to attend court. I asked them if they sent a certified letter and all they replied with was the abstract of judgment from the court. Should I take another route maybe ask to vacate the judgment or contact the court house? Any advice would help.

    • It could have something to do with how collectable you look. If you are paying all of your other bills on time, which debt collectors can see with real time access to your credit reports, they are less likely to offer better savings in a settlement, or perhaps none at all. Would you say you look like a good collection target? Are there other unpaid collection accounts on your credit reports?

      Who was the creditor or debt buyer that sued you?

      • The collector is LVNV funding LLC. My credit report does not reflect this judgement. There are no other negative items on my credit report and yes I pay all bills on time. So to answer your question I guess I am a good collection target. But because I pay all these payments on time there is no room for this additional payment, well at least not at the payment amount they want. And I definitely cannot pay the entire amount at one time right now. I have to respond to the new abstract of judgment now and don’t know what to do. I don’t have a home under my name and my paycheck is deposited into my mothers account. I don’t own any land. I do have a vehicle that I am paying on. What steps should I take?

  169. I have a number of credit card accounts past due I let a x girlfriend use and without knowledge were all ran to the max. My concern now is my only income is SSI and SS which is direct deposit into a checking account.This is my only source of income and I live in NY, can they seize my account? I have not got to the judgement stage yet but sure it is only a matter of time. And I paid the bills online so they of course have my checking information.Thank you for any advice you may give.

    • Generally speaking, SSI and disability would be exempt from judgment creditors. If you have any other money in your bank account that is from a different source, or have many months of SSI (or other exempts sources) build up in your account, you could have something to be concerned about.

      Some other exemptions from judgment creditors in New York:

      90 percent of wages are protect in NY.
      Your car value up to four thousand dollars.
      Between 75 and 150 thousand dollars of home value (varies by county).
      All household goods.
      Up to 1,740 dollars in your bank account is protected.

  170. Michael,
    Hi, I’m from Michigan. Where do I start… When I was 25 years old (I’m 42 now), I had a great job, no kids, & lived at home with my parents. I had car loan that I faithfully paid on time every month, car insurance, probably 15 credit cards (3 different gas cards, a few department store cards including Sears & Hudsons, Discover, Mastercard, Visa & an account with Whirlpool. I ALWAYS made sure I made my payments on time. I was young and naive and really didn’t understand what credit was or how it worked. I probably had phenomenal credit and had no idea. Then I met the father of my two daughters and everything changed. Within months he helped me maxx all my cards out, promising to help me pay them off, & then the company I worked for went out of business and I lost my job. By the time I got another job (making half of what I was making at my previous job), I was already so far behind in all my payments that I just couldn’t get caught up! It just spiraled from there. I paid off the small credit cards that I could, my car was repossessed after having already paid $10,000 on a $12,000 loan, and the rest went into collections, I just wasn’t making enough to pay them. We had our first child in 1999, a year after we met, and our second child two years later. I was with their dad for 8 yrs and that was a very stressful time in my life to say the least. Their dad was a musician with a severe drug problem. I had a lot on my plate dealing with the stress of that, trying to raise two kids, moving around constantly because we couldn’t keep a place to live due to his drug habit & me being unable to work because I had to be home with the kids. It was a mess! My point is, the last thing I was concerned about was my credit, I was just praying to have enough food for my kids and hoping to keep the heat on in the house. And while all that was going on, the collection agencies were wreaking havoc on my credit. I would get collection letters and just file them away, I knew I couldn’t pay them. When I’d receive court papers I did the same. When they called I just didn’t answer. I didn’t go to court because why? I knew I owed the money, and I also knew I didn’t have the money so why bother? I didn’t understand what a judgement was. Plus I had way too much going on in my life already & was extremely depressed. I wish now that I’d done something, but I don’t know what I could’ve done with no money… That was all years ago & everything has since come off of my credit report so my credit score is ok now, however, a certain collection agency obtained 2 judgements against me for the 3 accounts that I had with the highest limits- there is a judgement that was obtained in 2003 (was renewed in 2013 for 10 more years) for a Citibank Visa, and another judgement that appears to have 2 of my accounts rolled into one-if that’s possible- the collection letters I get for both my Discover Card & Whirlpool accounts have the same court case number & the same judgement date on them- June 2000 (was renewed in 2010 for 10 more years). There was also a third judgement against me for a $750 utility bill that my ex put in my name after we split up. My state income taxes were garnished for 3 years in a row, 2008-2010. My 2008 return ($590) was applied to the Citibank judgement; my 2009 return satisfied the utility bill judgement ($750) & the remaining $300 was applied to the Citibank judgement; and my 2010 return-almost $1200- was applied to the Citibank judgement. That was fine, I was glad they were getting paid off. I don’t like owing money and as a single, low-income mother of two its really hard to come up with a lump some of money like that, so I was kind of glad & relieved that one of the judgements were completely paid off and I thought I must have most of the Citibank judgement paid off since I only owed $3370 to begin with and I’ve already paid $2100 towards it. I thought one more year and I’ll have 2 of them paid off & I can start working towards the last one & be done with this!! …. WRONG. I decided to get all my paperwork together & really take a good look at it all, and I realized that even after I’d paid $1200 from my 2010 tax garnishment I still owed more than I did the previous year because of all the interest that was added on throughout the one year($2200 total paid over 3 years of garnishments), As of September 2011 I still owed $4584.44 because of interest added on when I originally owed $3300 and had already paid $2200 in garnishment payments!! I cant imagine what it’s up to by now!!! That was when I stopped filing my state income taxes. I have not filed for the years 2011,2012,2013 or 2014. I’m fine with paying if it’s eventually going to get paid, but if they’re just going to take all my money every year to pay off interest??? Nope. My initial thought was that I would wait until I received my federal income tax return the following year so I would have the money to hire a bankruptcy attorney and just claim bankruptcy, but the time came and went and I needed the money to get caught up on other bills that I was really behind on so I thought, I’ll wait until next year & do bankruptcy. But the same thing would happen every year. Every year I’d need the money for more important bills. For 4 years. I FINALLY have a better job and don’t need my federal income tax return to survive off of this year so I REALLY want to take care of this. The problem now is that my credit is finally good again after YEARS of having bad credit and I don’t want to ruin it by claiming bankruptcy now, but I know I don’t have enough money to pay off the judgements, or even one of the judgements, in full. I’m doing a little better financially. I can keep up with my monthly bills ok & I have a couple thousand from my federal income tax return that would normally go towards getting utilities caught up and other necessities. Since I’m caught up on bills this year for the first time in years, I see this as my opportunity to try to do something about these judgements. But I’m not sure if it’s enough to do anything with or what I should even try to do! Is it possible to request the interest to be taken off of the judgement so that I just owe the original amount minus payments already made? Can you settle with a collection agency if there’s already a judgement against you? If so, do I contact the court or the collection agency? Am I thinking way off track here? I just feel like if I continue to file every year & they continue to garnish them and each year I end up owing more than the previous year, I’ll be paying the rest of my life unless I can pay it off all at once, which I’ll never be able to do. What would you suggest. I want to be able to file my taxes and not have them take all my money if it isn’t going to pay anything off anyway!!! I’d appreciate any advice you have. Thank you and I apologize for this being a mile long! One more thing, I have received no collection letters, court papers, phone calls, or garnishment letters since 2011/2012, but when I contacted the court they told me the judgements are still on record until 2020 & 2023. I asked if they’ve filed to garnish my taxes and they told me they haven’t filed since 2010, which was the last year I filed my taxes, but they still have the right to. Is that coincidence or do they get notified AFTER I file, & then they put the garnishment through? Also, I’ve heard that the collection agency is going bankrupt, what happens to my judgement if that were the case…?

    • You can often negotiate judgment debts for a lower lump sum pay off. You can look at it like taking away some of the interest.

      You would contact the attorney for the collection company that owns the debt, or the debt owner themselves. What are the names of the judgment creditors?

      If the debt owner goes bankrupt, your judgment still exists, and so does the debt. Some other company will buy up the assets of the bankrupt company.

      Call and be a little coy. Tell them you are still broke, but confided in family and they are willing to help you get back on your feet. You need to know what the balances on the judgments are. Post what you learn and lets go from there.

  171. I was Sued in another state(RI), i missed the court date so the judgment was againest me. I since moved to FL. I assume that i need to take care of that at some point. Whould that show on my credit, and then allow me to take care of it?

    • If you know the debt is yours, and your goal is to resolve this through a lump sum settlement out of court, calling the attorney to come to some agreement that they will then put in writing before you pay anything, is often the first step.

      If there is more to this than that, as is often the case, post more details for more targeted feedback.

        • If you are going to try an negotiate a settlement on the judgment, there are a ton of tips and suggestions throughout this page of the site. For specifics, answer the following:

          Who got the judgment? How long ago? How much is owed on it now? Do you have specific credit or finance goals in mind for why you are trying to settle this now? How much can you come up with to offer as a settlement? Do you have other collections on your credit reports, and if so, how many? How about positive credit reports… how many are on your credit reports that you are paying on time, and what types of accounts are they (mortgage, car loan, credit card)?

          • Hi, I was trying to purchase a house but i need to clean up some past credit issue to bring my score up. as for this issue.. it is a $2,300 Capital One bill. I called them and told them i would pay $300 then $50 per month (for a total of $2,500) and they would just let the court know.
            I do have other collections on my credit. Most from 1 1/2 – 2 years ago. I dont have a morgtage anymore ( i rent)
            Postitves on the credit report would be rent, car payment for the last 11 months all paid on time.

            ALSO: I was reasearching online how to defend this in court.. What are your thoughts on this? Should i work somehting out with them or try to find an inconsistcy in court with paper work?

                • You will likely find that court action with Capital One will need to be showing as completely resolved on your credit reports before you can get a home loan approved. Any collections should be settled before you apply.

                  This would mean allocating more than the 50 dollars a month toward that one debt if your goal is 12 months.

                  It is often not worth the cost on smaller debts, that you know are yours, to try to pick apart something to undo a judgment. That is because your success with that approach is better reached working with your own attorney. That cost and risk can sometimes be about as much as it would take to settle a smaller balance.

                  • Michael,
                    I just wanted to say thank you for the good info. I did call them and came up with a settlement which is a few hundred less than the original (2k vs the 2300 or 2500) which should allow me to pay off in the next 6 months.
                    (although the lawyers receptionist just emailed my personal info to some yahoo address. even tho it is secure it still bothers me she sent it to the wrong email).
                    Ty

  173. Hi, I can’t decide whether it would be more beneficial for me to go to court or not. I got served in February for a debt that was closed in 2010, last payment was feb 2010 and that was trying to “settle” with the credit card company (Citibank) as prior to that since 2007-2009 very few if any payments were made. I got the credit card in college,
    What can I say, I was young and dumb. Past few years I’ve tried cleaning up all my mistakes from when I was in my early 20’s. I had thought the debt was time barred (6 years is statute of limitations in New York) so I answered the summons from the debt collect (unifund llc- lawyers mullooly, Jeffrey, Rooney and Flynn llc out of Long Island) to provide information showing what amount was owed and last payment received as i heard that often times paper trail is lost of the years, well lucky me they had all the record that showed last payment was feb 2010 which I naturally don’t remember since it was 5 years ago but I’m sure I did. So now a court date has been set up. Balance of debt is $2,769.89 I do have the money to try to pay this in a lump sum if they can reduce it to less than $2,000. I just want this done with and do not want to make small payments for years and years and plus my income is good. My mother thinks i shouldn’t call to negotiate due to often shady harassment tactics they will probably try to use and she thinks I should just go to the court date as she’s thinking they won’t even show up (I live at least 6-8 hours away from where lawyers are located) however I am nervous that I may end up worse off going to court. My court date is next week so I need to figure this out. Do you think it would be more beneficial to try to settle out of court or in court? And of course even if I settle out of court I will get it all in writing before making any payments and as I do NOT want them to get any banking info from me is a money order the best way to pay? Thank you for any help, I don’t know what to do.

    • Why not try both? You could try to negotiate the pay off amount you can afford before the appearance in court, and if you cannot reach an agreement, try in front of the judge.

      Money orders issued by your bank, and from your own bank account are fine. That leaves you with an easily accessible paper trail of your payment amount, date of, and date cleared. Any other type of money order can create headaches if you ever need to show proof of payment if something comes up later on.

      They may send a local attorney, as 6 to 8 hours is a bit far to travel for one account. This can work for and against you in the court room.
      Citibank has historically kept some of the best records and made those available to debt buyers like Unifund Partners that I can recall (since I started paying attention in the late 90’s).
      Have you ever run your situation by an experienced debt collection defense attorney?