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paid judgement question

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Anonymous
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paid judgement question

What happens when you paid a judgement thats in collections and it doesn't get reported to court house?.  As i understand it the original creditor has to report it paid correct?. lets say he doesn't what course of action should be taken?. Also how and who reports it to credit bureau's?. Thanks
Message 1 of 11
10 REPLIES 10
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

Dekrist - If I understand your correctly, you had an account in collections, you didn't pay it, and the creditor got a judgment against you.  That means that the creditor sued you and you lost (possibly because you didn't file an answer and didn't show up in court).
 
If I've misunderstood, and you paid the collections agency before they got the judgment, then you need to contact the court to find out how to file a "motion to vacate judgment."  You submit proof of your payment to show that the judge never should have granted the judgment against you.  There is a time limit on filing the motion so make sure you look into this right away if that's what happened. 
 
The court, not the creditor, reports the judgment to the credit bureaus as a "public record."  Other examples of public records are bankruptcies, and state and federal tax liens.  If you paid the judgment, then it should be reported by the court as "paid judgment."  Dispute it with the credit bureaus if not.
 
Hope this helps!
Message 2 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

yes it does help and thanks. I should of been more clearer on what went down. I had a judgement against me from a music store. i went to settle it with them but the owners are new and couldn't help so i went next door to the collection agency (how convenient). and i paid this off. I got receipt stating paid in full. I don't trust these people and just want to know what i need to do if things do not get reported as they should. I think they followed me out the door with my check and ran to bank to cash it cause it was on my account about 2 hours after i paid them. one other thing how long do they have to report this? (Not the 3 years it took me to pay it i hope) j/k. thanks again
Message 3 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

I'm still a little confused.  The music store went to court, sued you, and got a judgment? If so, their next step would be enforcing it against you.  They normally do this by garnishing your wages or bank account.  They wouldn't use a collection agency because it didn't work for them before they sued you, right?
 
Unfortunately it sounds like you paid a "collection agency" that had no legal right to collect the debt for the music store.  What does the music store say  -- do they have any record that they were paid?
 
I'm not sure about your question about reporting.  If the music store has a judgment against you, it will be on your credit report for 7 years from the date that the judgment was entered in court.
Message 4 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

sorry if im confusing everyone. i'll try to explain better, okay 1st my son had to rent a music instrument for school and during that time financially things were difficult and i missed monthly payment. so at the end of year we had outstanding balance and instrument was to be returned to school at end of year by son for pickup by music store. well music store said they never got it back so they proceeded with suing me, understand i thought instrument was returned up until recently when we found it hidden. so they were right and i was totally wrong. I didn't go to court so they got default judgement. which they the next month turned over to collection agency, they never tried garnishment or filed liens or attempted to extract payment from my bank account. what im asking though is after paying this off how long do they have to report to courthouse that it is paid?. hope that clarify's question better.
Message 5 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

OK, so the music store got a default judgment against you and luckily they didn't try to enforce it by garnishment.  Does the store agree that you've paid them what you owe and/or returned the instrument? If so, they must report to the credit bureaus that the judgment has been paid. If they haven't, you should dispute it with the bureaus.
 
Whether it's paid or unpaid, the judgment will stay on your credit report for 7 years.
 
Clear as mud now?
Message 6 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

Yup clear as mud and thank you.
Message 7 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

Doesn't a judgement stay on for 10 years instead of the normal 7 for normal collections?
Message 8 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

i believe it will be on there for 10 years at least thats what i read, i talked to owner of CA yesterday and he told me to file a dispute saying that account is reporting wrong ie paid, and when he gets notice from CB's he would round file it, and not respond, now if he does this should it get taken off my report? now im talking only about their account on my file not the one from the court.
Message 9 of 11
Anonymous
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Re: paid judgement question

Nope, civil judgments = "seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period."  See Fair Credit Reporting Act s. 605(a)(2).
Message 10 of 11
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