Can I get a judgment removed from my credit report?
I had a Judgement entered on feb/2012 for a $400 medical bill. It increased to $800 once it was sold to a debt collector. The collector reached out to me to make payments but I could not due to lack of funds. Long story short. A judgement was served to my then boyfriend at the time (feb/2012) because he opened my door and confirmed I lived at that residence. Missed court date so the collector received a default judgement against me. Started making payments of $100 every month until I lost my job again. I haven't heard from them since. I made 2 or 3 payments total after the judgement was in place.
I want to fix this debt but I want the judgement to be removed from my credit report. Called the collector 2 months ago informing them I would make two split to pay balance in full within 1 month. They declined saying they would gladly accept the payment but will not remove the judgement they will only said judgement settled on my cr. The firm is a building not far from home maybe 20 min ago with an office of like 5 ppl. Not sure if i can go in face to face to make arrangement again with my same terms or speak to another agent and or person in charge. Not sure if its something i can do on my own to meet my terms or if i need to get my own attorney to do the negotiating for me. Really want to take care of this before it increase any higher than it already is or worse/wage garnishment. btw I live in M0.
How can I get a judgement removed off my account if I pay the balance in full? Is this something i can do on my own if told
—Jai
Short answer
Not by asking whoever is collecting. Debt collectors, debt buyers and collection attorneys cannot make your original creditor change what it reports, and nobody collecting the debt controls the court record. Removing a judgment means getting it vacated. For most people the practical move is to pay or settle it and make sure a satisfaction of judgment gets filed.
Key points on this page
- There is a hierarchy to credit reporting. Collectors, debt buyers and collection attorneys cannot change what the bank reports, and original creditors have no real influence over the court record once judgment is entered.
- The judgment is a matter of public record and the court maintains it. Getting it vacated takes an attorney who knows that work, or a lot of your own time and energy.
- Judgment debt carries a 7 year shelf life, and that clock starts on the date the judgment was entered, not on your first missed payment.
- The earlier stages, from first late payment through charge off and collection reporting, carry about a 7.5 year shelf life from the date you missed your first payment.
- Paying or settling the judgment results in a satisfaction of judgment. Put the filing of that satisfaction in the agreement in clear terms, because there is no shortage of feet dragging on updating the court.
- Once the satisfaction is on the court record you can use it to update your credit report yourself, which matters when you are trying to get a home loan approved or refinance. On a small balance, paying it also heads off garnishment.
It sounds like your main goal is to resolve the debt and get the negative off of your credit report. Unfortunately, you are fighting a losing battle with this approach.
Getting a Court Judgment Removed From Your Credit Report
The life time credit cycle of a debt that goes unpaid looks like this:
- 30 days after you miss a payment to a creditor, like a credit card bill, you should see a thirty day late pay on your credit report if the item appeared there already and is updated regularly.
- 60 days after a missed payment you now would have 2 payments skipped and are considered 60 days late.
- As long as you continue to miss payments month by month you are being reported as an additional month late.
- Ultimately the creditor will charge off the debt and take an accounting hit. The charge off is often then reflected on your credit report.
The Life Cycle of Credit Damage
After missing payments on unsecured (and most other debts), your account may take on some additional qualities after charge off.
5. If a debt collector/debt buyer has the account and reports it as a collection on your credit report, with a balance due, the charge off from the original creditor remains, and the new negative will be reporting a balance due them, not the original creditor.
6. If you are sued for collection and judgment entered in the court, the judgment can turn up in the public record section of your credit profile.
Most of the negative credit impact from missing bill payments does not get to #6. One through 5 has a 7.5 year shelf life from the date you missed your first payment. There are some shenanigans that occur with credit reporting and debt collection accounts being reported with more recent dates, and even instances of multiple entries showing up for the same debt and more than one reporting a balance due, which is not right because you cannot owe the same debt to more than one place.
I am pointing out the above as a brief outline for later readers of this page. A little perspective of what happens to credit reports along the way when a bill remains unpaid is a good foundation for what I have to share about getting a judgment removed from credit reports.
Credit Reporting, Collectors, Debt Buyers, or Attorneys Collecting Debt
There is a hierarchy to who can do what when it comes to credit reporting. Debt collectors, debt buyers, and attorneys that collect debt cannot make your original creditor change what the bank is reporting to the credit bureaus. And even the original creditors have no real influence over the court records once the judgement is entered.
The judgment is a matter of public record. The integrity of that record is maintained by the court. You would need to get the judgment vacated, or the judgment creditor to somehow miraculously want to undo their suing you (doesn’t happen).
Unless you have a good argument for getting the judgment vacated, and are willing to spend the money on an attorney who knows what they are doing when it comes to accomplishing something like this, or dedicate a hell of a lot of personal time and energy to learning how to do it for yourself, the judgment will stay in the record with the court.
Judgment debt has a 7 year shelf life too, but the time only starts ticking from the date the judgment was entered.
Is this a big deal? Not for most people. Getting the judgment paid, even for less than the balance owed if that is agreed to, will result in a satisfaction of judgment being filed. You can use the court record to rapidly update your credit report yourself if you are dealing with the judgment in order to get a home loan approved, or refinance a current mortgage.
Be sure that any pay off agreement, whether in full, or for less than the judgment balance, includes filing the satisfaction with the court. There is no shortage of feet dragging when it comes to updating the court.
Paying Off or Settling a Judgment Debt Can Be Done on Your Own
It is always best to discuss legal matters with an attorney who practices in a specific area of law. In this case, one with credit reporting or debt collection experience. Hiring one to help resolve an 800.00 debt may not make sense unless you want to battle the judgment itself.
With a smaller debt amount such as this one, you can get the payment in and avoid garnishment. Just be sure that any agreement to pay includes in clear terms that upon receipt of payment, or the full agreement being met, a judgment satisfaction will be filed with the court.
Improving Your Credit Report After Payment Setbacks and Judgments
I will have a series up at the beginning of the year that details credit report recovery and tips for increasing credit scores after bouncing back from a tough financial patch. In the mean time, if you can answer the following questions in a comment reply, I can give some more feedback:
What are your immediate financial and credit goals (buying a home, car, other)?
What other negatives appear on your credit report beside the original payment default related to the judgment debt, and the judgment itself?
What positive items are appearing on your credit report right now?
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About Michael BoveeMichael 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. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
I disputed a judgment and it was deleted on February 12 2015 . Is there a possibility that can comeback and not anymore .
The public record is what is underlying the reporting of the judgment. If the bureau deleted it, there is a chance it comes back on your reports when the data local data miners scans the court records and pushes that information to the bureau all over again.
If you succeeded with the dispute the first time, you could possible succeed again. What was the basis of your dispute? What did you say in your letter or communication?
Were you able to push through the home loan you spoke about it prior comments?
I call the credit card company and they didnt have any records , I called the collection agency and told them I was never served any papers that it was not my account , it was my wife . I kept calling them asking them to remove the judgment then one day I called them and they searched and told me they don’t have any records . I called equifax and told them that , it was removed in 4 days , then TU removed it in 2 weeks . Then I applied for a loan to purchase home and I was approved and we have a house now . I have a feeling this judgment won’t comeback ever but if it does I am going to keep fighting it . It was a six year old judgment , I don’t know I just hope it never does .
Hi Michael,
I have a default judgment placed (collection). It is regarding a credit card. Amount $1,200.
They served but I was surprise for me because they said the defendants were me and john doe with my last name (which now I know is somebody that they don’t know the name – I didn’t know that before). They also said that it was a marital joint account. I didn’t have a joint account by that time.
I received a letter from the collector saying that they want to settle.
I don’t know if I should vacate (arguing that I was surprise because I didn’t know about john doe, there wasn’t filed number, I though was a scam, and my mother lost the papers and I wasn’t able to search about it)
I don’t want that they garnishment my wages when it hits the 30 days. I need to act fast, but I don’t know what is better: vacate or settle?
Another fact is that the same collector has 2 more collection for credit card (charge off). They served papers to go to court but I answered them denying it (around $17,000). They have not done anything else after that.
My goal is to increase my score (at this moment 620 in TU) and buy a house in around a year.
Thanks,
When was the date of judgment entry? What state is this in?
Also, how old are the accounts in collection (when did you last pay on them)? Who is the collector involved on these?
I have a judgement lien placed on my home from debt collectors that bought the original credit card debt and from a cancer clinics where I was being treated for cancer surgery that I had in 2005. I got a lawyer that contacted me at the same time that I got the letter that I was being sued, however his advise was since the surgery had rendered me disability and they could not garnishment there was no alarm. The cancer clinic I did not know had sued me until years later checking the county records on my property and noticed the liens,the clinic debt is 2400.00 and collection for credit card is 8000.00 even thought i disputed the amount without master card sent letter to BBc, all three credit bureau, No good!!
That attorney you spoke with did not do you any favors telling you to ignore this. Not when you have property that can have a lien placed against it.
What are your goals?
Michael,
I owned a bunch of real estate that dramatically became under water in 2009 and could not renew the loans. I was able to work out a deal with the buildings with only some late payments showing up on my report. My issue is that I stopped paying the utility bill at one of the multi family buildings at the time. One of the banks I was doing the workout with said they wanted the rents if they were going to work a deal so I complied. The Energy bill was for around $30k. I missed the court time by 10 minutes and they were awarded judgement against me for around $33k. One issue with the judgement was I was initially charged to $6k as a deposit that I was not given credit for. The rep who turned off the utilities threatened me and lied to the city to get them to break the door down in order to shut off the utilities. Oct 2016 the credit report shows this falls off. Would you wait to see if this just falls off ? My concern is they renew? Another concern is interest although no one has contacted me in years? Is there someone you can recommend or any other advice?
They will renew.
Fill in this debt help consultation form. If you are available today, put in the comment section what time. I will be who calls you back. If there is no good option to connect today, it will be someone else that you speak with next week about resolving this.
Thank you. Filling out now.
Hello,
I current live in NY and I have a judgment from FL, which should be removed from my credit repots in October 2015. With that in mind, I’m scared that Florida can renew the judgment. Is this possible? Also what state statue of limits do I follow, Florida where it was filed or NY, where I currently reside?
Thanks
There is a difference between a judgment being renewed on your credit reports, and the court renewal for the judgment to remain collectable.
Florida judgments are 7 year renewable (for collection purposes, not credit reporting).
New York judgments are good for 20 years (both domestic and foreign), both with a 10 year lien renewal. That is also for collection, not credit reporting purposes. And they would have to domesticate the Florida judgment in New York.
If it is your credit reports that are the main concern, you may still have to worry about an unpaid judgment lingering out there before you can realize different types of credit and financing goals, regardless of whether the judgment still appears in the public record section of your credit profile.
Hey Michael, Charles again. I know you’re probably sick of my questions by now.
To refresh you on my situation, I’m the guy living in Florida for 7 years who recently got a hold put on some of the funds in my savings account by an attorney for a default judgement filed against me. The judgement was filed in New York 10 years ago. The judgement, new collector, and the attorney collecting on behalf of them are all in New York. They also have not yet officially collected. The funds are still on hold.
I see you have someone with a similar situation, except they’re in New York, and their judgement was in Florida. You replied to them and said that the Florida judgement would have to be domesticated in New York. Does it not work the other way around? Because I now have every piece of paperwork on it, and they didn’t domesticate my judgement before putting the hold on my account. Should I confront the attorney about that?
The other thing I was thinking about was that my account is in a national bank (Wells Fargo). Is that why they were able to do it, because my bank has branches in New York?
Thanks once again,
– Charles
It would work the same way from NY to FL for wage garnishment, property liens, etc., they would generally need to domesticate the foreign (to the state) judgment.
Did you open the Wells Fargo account in a New York branch office, or in Florida?
I think your situation is worth talking to an experienced FDCPA attorney about whether there are collection violations that can be pursued.
It was opened in Orlando, FL. About 2 months after I moved here. I literally never had a bank account before that. I tried talking to a consumer lawyer here, but he said I had to talk to a NY lawyer because the judgement was in NY. I called at least 5 lawyers in NY and non of them really wanted to help me, mostly because the judgement was so old, and because I was out of state. One of them told me that he could try to take care of it, but I would have to pay him “around $1,500”, and there was no guarantee that there would be a positive result.
And you have searched for your name in the court records in your area and found nothing about this?
Yes. The lawyer that I spoke to here actually did me that favor. Nothing turned up.
The new collector is Palisades Acquisition btw. Since this all started I’ve been reading many many articles and comments. Their name and especially their ‘unorthodox’ tactics come up quite often.
I’ll look into the judgement domestication further and let you know what I find..
I checked again (myself this time). I searched my local court and all surrounding counties. The only thing that turned up were a couple of automobile violations that I took care of long ago. Nothing judgement related. I bit the bullet and called their attorney’s office. I got (what I assumed was) a phone jockey. I threw the Domestication of Judgement thing at him, and he came back with kind of the same thing I was asking you about before. He said if they wanted to garnish my paycheck through my employer or something, then they would have to. Since there was enough in my bank account to cover the judgement, and because my bank has branches in NY, they didn’t have to. This is what the guy told me. That doesn’t at all mean that it’s true. I have to mention that at that point he also offered me a chance to satisfy the judgement for less money. I didn’t really understand this considering that they already have the full amount on hold from my bank account, and are really close to getting it all. I didn’t admit or agree to anything. I told him I had to talk to somebody before I was going to make any kind of deal. He started to get pushy. He started telling me that the best thing for me to do would be to settle it right then. I broke it down to him. I said, “Look, you already have my money on hold, you have all of my contact information, and you have ME calling YOU to discuss this matter… I’m not going anywhere. Give me a day or so to get answers to some questions I have, then MAYBE we could work something out.”
He told me I could do what I wanted, and that he would have one of the attorneys give me a call tomorrow. The conversation ended there.
I checked with an attorney resource of my own. They did not see a collection violation worth pursuing.
Hey Michael,
I found more on the subject:
“If you bank in the state in which judgment was awarded, the judgment creditor (the creditor who sued you and won a judgment against you) will petition the court to garnish your bank account and then ask the court to send a writ of garnishment to whatever bank they think you bank at. Think is the operative word here. They have to guess where you bank. They usually just have a writ of garnishment served on the top 5 local banks in your area—and they usually get lucky. Next your funds will be frozen and they will use this as leverage to get you to enter into some type of payment plan (most people don’t have enough cash in their accounts to satisfy a judgment). The lesson here is to bank online with an out-of-state bank.”
Hopefully this will be useful information for someone in a similar situation to my own.
– Charles
So just to verify if I don’t hear anything by 10/15 I’m out of the clear?
If I understand all that has happened correctly, that is the date the credit reporting agency says this will drop from your credit. But you are not in the clear necessarily. The judgment can still be found in the court record, and often can show up and prevent mortgage and other credit approvals. And for as long as the judgment is legally enforceable, you are at risk of extra ordinary collections like lien, levy and garnishment (as each would apply in your state, and if a judgment is domesticated).
Thank you!
Hi,
I had a judgment against me for £990. As the forms were sent to an address my family and I had moved from years before, and did not know the occupants so had no idea I was being taken to court until last month when I saw it on my credit score (Experian). I have paid that off now, I would like this taken off my credit score – I believe it’s unfair as I never got the court papers.
Can I get this taken off easily?
Thanks for the help.
Are you in the United States Beth?
No the UK, I know things are slightly different but finding it difficult to get any straight answers.
Check out this resource for debt and credit help and answers in the UK: https://getoutofdebt.org/free-uk-debt-help-and-advice
I found out in November by checking my credit report that liberty had filed a judgment on me and I had no idea what the judgment was about well after several attempts to contact liberty I got a hold somebody found out what it was about. Liberty has sold to another company and no longer owns this debt I have not heard anything from the courts, had not heard anything from liberty and have not heard anything from the new company they sold to but liberty still has a judgment with the courts on this debt my question is can liberty still keep that judgment in place even though they do not own the debt. I did contact the other collections company and requested some paperwork be sent explaining the debt and the amount owed that was in January and I’ve not received anything from them yet I am out of town working and unfortunately do not have the information of the other company with me. I would like to get this matter cleared up and get that judgment removed from my credit report I live in Utah. Could you give me some information on what I need to do thanks
The court keeps the judgment in place. Liberty has nothing to do with it at this point, and it will stay in place unless you resolve it through payment (settling for less works), or challenge it successfully for some legitimate reason (never served).
Sending the new owner of the debt a request for paperwork explaining the debt will not result in anything useful.
What is your goal with this account?
I should say… what is it you are looking to accomplish by getting the judgment removed from your credit reports (which is highly unlikely)?
I’ve been living in Florida for 8 years now. I’ve built my credit up to just under a 700 score. Not great, but I’ve made a lot of progress. About 2 years ago I started getting really proactive about it to the point that I check my credit report at least every other week, and there have been no judgements or collections on my credit report in that time.
Today (2015) I got paperwork in the mail from my bank stating that $4,652 from my savings account was put on hold by an attorney because of a judgement that was filed against me in New York in 2005. Plus from what I understand, 10 years worth of interest. I had my Mom go to the courthouse in New York to obtain a copy of my file and she was able to verify that the judgement from back then was legitimate. So they are collecting on it from me now, 10 years later, and several years after the judgement has already come off of my credit report.
If I owe it, I owe it. It’s going to hurt me financially, but it is what it is. I just don’t want it to harm my current good credit.
So my question is; when this is all said and done and the attorney finalizes getting the money from me, will this somehow pop back up negatively on my credit report? Or because the judgement has already come off of my credit report years ago, he just collects the money from me and that’s the end of it?
He collects and that is the end of it, based on what you shared.
I would look to try to negotiate a lower lump sum payoff on the judgment if possible.
Thank you so much for your reply Michael. I’ve been searching for the answer to this for almost a week now. I must have worded it a hundred different ways in Google and read a ton of posts before finally posting the question myself. I really appreciate your help and I think what you’re doing here is very noble. Credit and everything related to it is a mystery to most of us, and can be really scary at times. It’s great to have someone like you in our corner.
Thanks again.
– Charles
Hi Michael,
My husband and I are trying to purchase a home, we ran a report and found 2 judgements under my husband’s report from 2009 and 2010. How can we fix this issue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Who are the judgments in favor of?
What are the amounts?
What state are you in?
Are you closing on the purchase soon, or just starting shop for loans and houses?
Hi Mike, I was wonderingif there isa way to remove a public record from your credit report? I had a civil judgement from TD bank to pay money I owed to the bank, and it resulted in my check being garnished for a few months until it was paid off. This happened in 2011, and I am still having issues opening up a bank account and the public record is still showing up on my credit report. Is there a way I can resolve this?
Does the judgment show as unresolved on your credit reports still, or is it appearing as paid/satisfied?
Hi , Mike . I have a Judgment against me filed on 11/04 /2009 In Washington state , I was sued by NCMI Corporation . I never knew about this , I asked NCMI about information on this and they told me it was about a credit card my wife had that she didn’t pay . I was not a consigner or authorized user or anything on this account . I never received a notice about this Judgment , I moved to Michigan about a year before ! I have asked them to remove this from my credit file but they have refused to do it . Recently , I call Equifax and open a dispute and this judgement was deleted from my credit file , I called Trans union about a week ago so I am waiting to see what happens . Reading the responses here this doesn’t treat the root of the problem but if I could get it removed while a purchase a home it would be great , later I would fight this with an attorney . What are my chances of winning and what are my chances of Trans union also deleting this ? Thanks
I do not think the chances are great for getting the judgment deleted by all of the credit bureaus, but it can happen, so cross your fingers and get the loan through before they come back on.
If you can show you were never served, and lived in a totally different state to boot, I like your chances of dealing with this. Would you like to consult with an attorney I know with the experience you need?
I was living in Michigan during this time , I have all the rent records and School records . I was living on Campus at a University . I would like to consult with an attorney and see what happens . So send me any information you have . Thanks .
I sent you contact information to an attorney that covers all of Washington. Call him and see what he thinks of all of this. Please post an update and let me know how you progress.
Michael , Judgement was deleted from Equifax in about a week after I contested it , it was never in Experian and Trasunion deleted it after 30 days from the date I challenge that debt . I challenge some late payments . Credit went from 587 Experian to 734 , Equifax from 601 to 685 and from 582 Transunion to 710 . Thanks for all the information here . I aply for a home loan today and everything looks good . I should have my home in about 30 days . Refinance a car loan , interest went from 12.86 to 5.93 .
That is fantastic Fred! Your update made my day! Good luck in your new place.
Hi I have a question about a judgment made against me by a credit lawyer and I am trying to pay it off in full and e mailed his office to pay him off? Do I pay the creditor or do I pay the court that I have the case number it is attached to? When I pay it off how do I go about getting it off of my credit my husband and I are trying to buy a home and this is the only thing holding us back, so I am trying to get it all settled. The original date was 8/20/2010 and there was garnishment of my wages does this make the amount go down at all? Do I request for the lawyer to have it removed off of my credit? Thank you for your time, also this is in Arizona
The lawyer nor the court is going to remove the judgment from your credit reports. The judgment on your credit is based on the public record. Unless you remove that, which is not likely, the judgment stays for 7 years. The fact that you paid/settled the judgment should result in the attorney filing a satisfaction with the court. That would update to your credit reports, and remove this as a home buying hurdle.
What are your credit scores right now?
Thank you for your reply, I am not sure on my current score but I have not made the payment on the judgment I am trying to pay it off and have my credit score go up, I am having trouble knowing how to go about paying it off, do I go to the court and pay it in full or do I contact the lawyer on the case? it has been Five years so will it be higher then what the court says it will be or less because they garnished my wages when I was working?
Each state sets their own limit on judgment interest. It is highly likely there is 5 years worth of interest accumulated on the judgment.
FHA type of home loan financing is often going to be based on a 620 credit score floor. That is why I asked.
I am a fan of trying to negotiate the lowest possible pay off on old debts. If you want to see how much of a reduced payoff you can negotiate on the judgment, call the lawyer. If you want to pay off the judgment in full, you can deal with the lawyer, or call the court clerk and ask about your options for paying the court directly.
Hello,
We won an appeal on a lawsuit that was won against us. Once the appeal board had given us the award, the attorney went back to the district court to try to get attorney fees. The lost that case also. Now we need to make sure this judgement is removed from our credit history. How do we do that?
Becky
What does the court record show about your case as of right now?
Great info. I have an interesting issue. I recently discovered I have a judgment against from Capital 1 from 2013. What happened is I have 2 other Cap1 cards between me and my wife and this one somehow got overlooked. My signed a summons (certified letter) while I was working out of town and never opened it. I assume it ended up in the trash and never was seen. The judgment against is me for $711. I have not contacted anyone other than to get the official court documents emailed to me, which all seem in order. I would like to pay Cap1 and have the judgment and charge off removed from my credit as this was not an intentional non-pay (though correct). I am looking to purchase a new home in a year and need the credit to do so. Any advice? Can I get Cap1 to do a pay for delete on the account and the judgment or somehow vacate the judgment even though its been over a year?
It will be difficult to get the judgment vacated if your wife signed for the summons.
Capital One is not going to do a pay for delete in normal circumstances, and this is an escalated collection, so any effort in this regard will likely prove a waste of time.
You can pay or settle the judgment and get the court record to reflect as paid or satisfied. If this Capital One account is the only negative on your credit reports (charge off and a judgment, so two negatives), but show as having been paid when you are out shopping for a mortgage, you may still be in good shape.
Are there any other collections besides CapOne showing on your credit reports? How about your wife’s credit?
around the same time I have a 120 day late on a mortgage from Nationstar which seems very inaccurate as I have never gone 4 months without paying. Im thinking of either challenging this one or asking nationstar for a goodwill adjustment. Other than that I have a few 30 day late issues over several years (4 in the past year spread over 3 accounts). It is of note that I also have a separate Cap1 credit card in good standing and so does my wife. As far as my wifes credit, she only makes $4,000 a year and has 1 credit card in her name in good standing. We share credit on a car payment that has a few 30 day lates. I currently make $70k and pay a mortgage of $1000/mo with no issues and only 1 car payment. Plan on keeping ccs under 25 percent for the next year and paid off monthly. Thanks for the fast response!!
You should be okay come home loan time, if you get the judgment settled or paid, and be sure that the attorney for Capital One gets the court record updated.
Make sure all payments are kept up on time from now until you close on the new loan.
I would definitely do something with how Nationstar is reporting that 120 day late. You have some time, so perhaps starting with the goodwill letter is not a bad idea. Post about the progress you make with this. I can help you further if need be.
Thanks. You have likely saved me a bunch of time. I absolutely hate where I live now and want to buy a $200k home and seeing this on my credit as a surprise has me panicking! My first thoughts were how to get it all removed but it seems that wont happen. Gonna have to do it the hard way….. I will update when I can on the progress. Thanks a million!
Hello,
I have defaulted on a credit card. I have the last statement from the original bank showing when I stopped making payments in 2010.. Sick with cancer and not expected to live, paying this debt was not my highest priority. The debt has been sold to LVNV per my credit reports.
Obviously I have survived but continue to collect SSDI which will be my income until I am not longer on this earth or it transitions into Social Security. The SOL will come long before this is an issue. I believe the SOL is 7 years.
I have not been sent anything by mail nor have they bothered me by phone so I have not sent a cease and desist /do not communicate letter. I did go to a attorney to discuss this several years back and he told me to just “forget it” unless I am contacted.
Recently I applied for a secured credit card to try to raise my credit score and I was approved. I do not have any large credit plans, just would like to have a better score than ‘poor’ to be able to rent a home. My plans are to wait out the SOL and then try to get the credit reporting agencies to take this off my reports. I have no money in which to barter with LVNV anyway.
Did I make a mistake in applying for a secured credit card? I also see that LVNV has added what looks like interest to the amount of the original debt too. Is that legal? It racks up to be about three thousand dollars over the original debt amount.
Thank you for your help.
What state are you in?
The interest LVNV adds may, or may not be legal. That would be determined by the contract you had with the original creditor.
I would not say you made a mistake applying for the secured card. It may have put an alert in front of LVNV, but it sounds like you are not collectable, so not to much to worry over unless you hear from an attorney licensed in your state. That would be a clear indication LVNV is ready to escalate their collection efforts.
WOW! You are quick to respond and I find your advice brilliant. I am very grateful.
I am in the state of California. I went to legal aid to get some help as I wanted to make this right but I am so below the poverty level it is impossible to consider this option. My home is gone, 401k gone…..all after a great career in Nursing. It was beyond my control. I had such great credit before this default of 8K. The default amount, is now over 13K, with all the interest applied.
I would like to build my credit and a well known bank approved a secured card for a $49 dollar deposit. I do not know if this had something to do with the small deposit amount but I had a card in fantastic standing with the same credit card company before I closed it. I was trying to put my affairs in order.
So I guess I slowly use this card, not going over 30% of the total limit, pay in full every month and hope 2017 comes and goes without hearing from LVNV. Would my family be responsible for this unpaid debt when I die if I do not pay it?
Thanks once again.
Being in California you are passed the 4 year SOL for LVNV to try to collect through the courts. You can basically tell them to pound sand with any collection efforts they make at this point.
You generally have to wait out the 7 year time limit for most negative entries to come off your credit reports. But attempting to dispute the item off now (as inaccurate somehow), would not cause collection fallout you couldn’t handle (they cannot legitimately sue).
You have not shared anything to make me think your family would have any responsibility to pay this collection after you pass.
Oh and the collection agency is SW Credit Systems Inc.
You can dispute this with the credit bureaus as a first step. If the dispute does not result in a credit report correction, or removal, I would file a complaint with the CFPB.
Before you do anything, get a copy of the report direct from the bureaus that have it. Verify that the account has been raged to stay on the report starting from 2013 (so not scheduled to drop off until 2020). Date open may just be the day SW Credit Systems received the account.
Hi Michael,
My husband has a few accounts in collections and when I look at his credit report the negative information is being shown by the original creditor and the collection agency. Is there anyway to get one of these removed? Also he has a judgment on his report and is currently making monthly payments based on the agreement established by the court. If we make a deal to pay this off will it be removed from his cr or does is a reporting of settlement pd sufficient?
Thanks, Alicia
Is the original creditor reporting the debt as a charge off, and a zero balance owed to them, while the debt collector is reporting the balance owed them? That is normal.
Paying the judgment off does not mean it gets removed. But it does allow his credit reports to start healing from the hit it took in the first place, which is often all you can do with this stuff.
You would be surprised what you can get done credit improvement wise, and how quickly, once your accounts are updated to show resolved.
Thanks for your quick reply. Yes the original creditor is showing a zero balance. One more question, my son has a collection agency attempting to collect on a Comcast bill from 2008. When does the 7 year time period begin for how long something can stay on your credit report. The collection agency is showing a much more current date…
Alicia
You start counting the time limit for collections to stay on credit reports from the date of the first missed payment.
DOFD is date of first delinquency. Is the collector showing a more recent DOFD? You can dispute that so that it is corrected. What is the name of the debt collector?
The only date that I can find on Credit Karma is the “open date” which is July 31, 2013. There is no mention of Comcast on his report anywhere.
Alicia
Actually I don’t even know if it’s my debt, I left in 2003. Does it take that long to take someone to court?
Creditors and debt collectors can take years to bring collection efforts to the courts. It is not that uncommon at all.
I had a judgement issues against me in 2007 in NJ, for an unpaid credit card. I was out of the country since 2003 until 2008. I don’t exactly remember what I owed on that credit card, but the judgement is for $9000. It doesn’t show up on my credit report anymore, 7 years have passed.
After I came back to the country I have been able to work on my credit and have a 767 score right now. Will the judgement be a problem for me buying a home? I don’t see it on my credit report anymore. Please help.
That judgment can show up in a factual or other type of underwriting report that a mortgage lender may run. If it does show up, it will likely impair your ability to get approved for the loan.
Who was it that got the judgment (name of plaintiff and the collection attorney that sued)?
Well that’s the thing. I wasn’t living in the country, I was living in South America for 5 years. I think it was Citibank credit card or GE Money, but Erin Capital Mgmt LLC appears on record. Is the judgement legal, since I wasn’t aware I was being sued?
You can have an initial consult at no cost with one of the collection defense attorneys I will email you contact details for. Ask them about the likelihood of vacating a judgment with your particular set of circumstances.
Let me know how that goes.
Hi,
Just wanted to let you know that in fact it’s not on my credit report. My broker ran my credit and I am good to know. Thank you so much for your quick response.
I wanted to add an addendum to my previous comment I just submitted:
I just searched my e-mails for any information or correspondence with Coastal Credit, LLC (who enacted a judgement against me for the balance of my repossessed vehicle), since my memory is a little foggy since 2009.
I actually stumbled across my credit report which I pulled on January 21, 2009. I thought I had fallen behind on payments, but apparently I had not. From August 2007 through October 2008, my payments were on time and “OK” as reported on my credit report to the bureaus. November 2008, I had an orange 30–my firstborn was born November 26th. It was the birth of my child that made me ultimately decide to voluntarily repossess the vehicle, since I wasn’t driving it, and felt it was unsafe. December 2008, my report shows a red RF–for repossession.
Looking at my current report which I just pulled a few days ago, the judgement was entered into VA Beach courts on January 14, 2009 for $8679.
They didn’t waste any time, and I don’t recall any outreach by them to try to obtain the money before a judgement was enacted.
Just thought I would disclose that I was always current on payments with the judgement that is in question until my voluntary repossession. I wish they would have never enacted a judgement! Ahhh, the rearview mirror.
Thanks for the additional details Kate. I can better suspect your answer to my question in reply to your first comment (I did not see this follow up until responding to your first entry).
It appears you only knew about the suit after the fact. But I will wait to hear back from you to confirm your answers to those two questions.
Good morning!
I just want to preface my comment by saying how appreciative I am for the information and insight you have provided so many people before me. I have read most of the comments and replies on this article, and it has helped to assuage some of my fears as I stumble to reclaim my credit. My friends always joke around about how loquacious I am, so I will try to keep this succinct and to the point.
I should have listened to my parents about the importance of healthy credit habits when I was 18–how I wish I could go back and make amends! I am now 27 years old, and haven’t had an open line of credit since….I was 18 or 19. I literally received cards in the mail, activated them, made a few payments, and then defaulted when I deviated from the “path”. I stopped out of college, joined the Army, and my debts went into collections. Recently–over the course of the past couple of years–I have witnessed most of these debts “fall off” of my credit report. I have to admit that this has been refreshing for me, as I have lived my young adult life without credit, and suffering from my poor decisions when I was younger. I have only recently (within the last couple of years) found myself in the financial situation to start tackling my debt and repairing my credit, simultaneously as the allure of my VA loan and the dream of owning a home has surfaced. I am tired of paying someone else’s mortgage for them, and would love to invest my money into something that will return the value down the line. The idea of owning a home is petrifying (although I think my experiences with my credit have contributed to this).
I requested my free annual credit report last week (as I religiously have over the last few years), and was pleasantly surprised to see that the sum of my debts right now are around $3500. The majority of this are unpaid medical bills (that were, for some reason, never run through my health insurance…but that’s another story). I haven’t had an open line of credit in years, and my old credit card debt has “dropped off”. There is, however, a looming black hole of a public record that I would like to address. It concerns an automobile that I had financed through Coastal Credit LLC while I was active duty Army in Virginia.
I have a personal vendetta against this company. I was young and naive when I took on the loan, and trusted the recommendations of a close friend who had purchased through a small dealership in Virginia Beach. I went in around August 2007, picked a vehicle, signed the papers (without reading….YOUNG AND DUMB!), and was ecstatic that *I* had been financed for a vehicle not long after encountering all of the bumps in the road with the aforesaid credit cards that were in collections (at that time). Well, the transmission blew on the vehicle (I kid you not) the second day I owned the car. While I waited for Starbucks. I’ll never forget it. I tried to address it with the dealership, who did have it towed and repaired. I requested to trade it in for another vehicle, etc… as it was under a 30 day warranty, and the owner avoided my contacts and persistence for the 30 days the lemon law protects you under. I paid my car payments through an allotment until I got out of the Army in February 2008. I continued to make my payments while I simultaneously fixed my lemon car, at an APR of 19% (if I recall), while on unemployment out of the service. I ended up ceasing use of the vehicle in October 2008 because it was incredibly unreliable and unsafe. I was late on payments, and then requested that they repossess my vehicle, which occurred in January of 2009.
After my car was repossessed, I received notice that it was sold at auction for just over a grand. The remaining balance was nearly $9,000, and certainly not anything I could afford off my unemployment. I didn’t even know how to react in this situation, and my instincts with credit at this point of time, was to simply avoid the debt. I resided in NY out of the military, and a default judgement was brought against me in April 2009. It is now almost 6 years later, and the judgement on my public record has had little importance to me because I have learned to live my life WITHOUT credit (simply, lamenting the fact that I had ruined it).
Fast forward to wanting to obtain a mortgage. I am now much older, wiser, and tired of letting my credit woes tug at my conscience. I have beautiful children, work in the ER as a nurse, and gross over 100k a year with my husband. We have settled into Kansas, and the rental market here is incredibly overinflated. We are renting a duplex that hardly accommodates our growing family, and I struggle with feeling like I am failing to provide my children with the childhood home they deserve. I contacted a lender specific to the VA loan market, and they stated that this public record will continue to prevent my abilities to obtain a mortgage as long as it persists.
While I harbor very personal feelings towards a lender that is notorious for financing lemon dealers…and very personal feelings regarding feeling taken advantage of as a soldier….I know that, ultimately, the responsibility falls on my shoulders. I am very motivated to settle this judgement as soon as possible, but I fear the unknown.
I have been doing a lot of research on the credit system, and the VA lender rep I spoke with was so informative and kind. My highest score (Experian) at this time is a 606. He referred to it as “being stuck in first gear” since I have such old debt, and no positive open credit. Then you add in the judgement.
The judgement, as I mentioned, is just under $9k. Back in the day, I would have rather declared bankruptcy than pay these people another dime for their tactics and ploys. I learned a valuable lesson that capitalism isn’t based on compassion. Or integrity. For the most part.
I have never heard from Coastal Credit LLC since being advised of the default judgement back in 2009. I have never had my bank accounts seized, or my wages garnished…and I have no assets for them to pursue. I would really love to offer them $2k, with the very realistic expectation that they will counteroffer. I worry that they will refuse to settle for less than the full balance…even though the debt has been “charged off”, though the judgement remains (and I believe it’s effective for 8 years in the state of Virginia…) The statute of limitations on the judgement is coming to a close soon, yet I know they can always pursue reenacting it. I would rather negotiate a settlement, and have it show as “satisfied” on my credit report. Then, at least, I can prove to a mortgage lender that the debt is, indeed, satisfied, and hopefully fulfill my dreams of becoming a homeowner.
Do you have any suggestions on how I can pursue this with the most optimal outcome? What are some key points I need to address with this company before I pay them an agreed settlement? I worry most about being beat around the bush concerning physical documentation of a verbal agreement. I plan on offering a settlement, hopefully negotiating terms, and then requesting a written statement on letterhead that they agree to satisfy my debt upon receipt of payment. If I obtain this letter, will I be able to forward this to the original court that issued the judgement? Or will the creditor? I am so worried that I will be led astray by this company, and I have a mentality that I can’t trust anything anyone says who is trying to collect a debt. They should put that in their spiel: “This conversation is being recorded. I am attempting to collect a debt. Don’t trust anything I say.” Just a suggestion.
If they refuse to negotiate with me, what are my options besides paying in full? While our financial situation is solid, I simply cannot afford to dish over $9k. I am hoping to resolve this and be in a home by the end of the year…which may be unrealistic, but I’m a dreamer.
What is the likelihood of the creditor reenacting a judgement if the SOL expires? Is it simple on their end, or a hassle for a creditor which hasn’t made any attempt to contact me or reel in payments through garnishment, etc… over all of these years?
I’m a really bad liar, and I cry at commercials. And I obviously ramble on and offer up too much irrelevant information (which may benefit whomever I speak with). I want to make sure that *this* time I have a plan in place which I DON’T deviate from.
Also, at the same time I pulled up my credit report this year, I randomly applied for a cc with Capital One. I was shocked to not only be approved, but to receive an initial credit line of $1k. It has blown my mind, and excited me at the same time–because I feel like I am finally getting an opportunity to rebuild after all of these years by keeping my utilization low and payments current.
Any insight into my credit situation would be the biggest blessing, as I have spent hours and hours researching, reading, watching and begging for more information that is similar to my predicament. I have to satisfy this judgement, but all of the reviews for Coastal Credit LLC have me petrified that they will have the mentality of “they have nothing to lose” by refusing a settlement. I worry that by calling them, and attempting a settlement, that they will refuse to settle and attempt to garnish my wages…especially since I make a comfortable living at this time.
How I wish I had a time machine!
I apologize for the long-winded comment, and hope that there was some cohesive layout of everything. Thanks so much for all you do!
Warmest regard!
Active duty military have some additional consumer protections. I would like to have seen you explore those options all those years back. But there may still be some things to pick apart from back then.
I have a few questions for you:
Were you living in New York, but sued in Virginia at the time? It is not clear from what you shared.
What is the name of the law firm that handled the collection suit?
I will have more feedback, and specific to your entire post, once I know the answers to those questions.
Hi Mike!
Thanks so much for your response. I was very naive back then–wish I would have explored my options, as well!
I purchased the car while on active duty in Aug 2007 and paid on it for 9 more months after I separated in Feb 2008. The voluntary repossession occurred in NY in Dec 2008, and they took me to a VA Beach court and had a default judgement entered Jan 2009. I believe I did get a letter in the mail advising me of the hearing, and later, a letter stating that it had been sold for $1100.
I don’t know who the law firm was. Perhaps I can call the courts and find out?
Please do find out the law firm involved.
It sounds like you were living in New York, but they sued in Virginia. That can be a problem for them, which is why I want to pin that down. Can you clarify the timing and where you with a bit more detail?
Do you know how I could go about finding out who was involved in representing them without contacting Coastal Credit LLC?
And, yes, I had been living in NY for almost a year by the time that they took me to court. The hearing was in VA Beach, VA, but I had left VA 11 months earlier when I separated from the military.
You can pull up the court record (some offer free access online), and find the attorney and law firm name on their filings.
I am going to send you an email with contact details for an attorney in that area you can consult with about your options to unwind, or otherwise deal with the lawsuit. You likely have service and jurisdiction issues to stand on. The issue being from that long ago presents a challenge in some states, but not all.