2 Sticky Situations

[ABattle]

I've posted for help on these before but still unclear on how to handle them, so I've going to try to give as much detail as I can & hopefully you guys/girls can help me out.  DH has two judgements on his credit report that I would like to clear up ASAP.

Judgement One

The plantiff is listed as Capitol One

A default judgement was entered on 11/3/2005

It shows Mann Bracken as the one handling the judgement

The issue w/this is:

1) DH never had a cc w/Capitol One.  The only cc he has ever has was when he was a teenager & it was through First Union Bank & financed by First North American National Bank, so I'm not 100% sure he actually owes this debt unless Capitol One bought the account.

2) He was not properly served they used an old address

3) Mann Bracken has gone out of business

My question is how should I handle this? My only thought is to file a motion to vacate based on not being properly served & not believing the debt is his.  My prayer would be since Mann Bracken has gone out of business that this will go away.  Any advive or thoughts?

Judgement Two

The plantiff is Check City (payday loan company)

Default judgement entered on 9/1/2005

It shows Check City as the one handling the judgement

Hubby admits he did take out a payday loan although he isn't 100% sure he owed the debt.  In any event I want it to go away so I am willing to pay it.  He was not properly served w/this judgement either they used an old address, one that he did not provide when he opened the account, so I'm not sure where they got it from.  My question is how should I handle this.  I can file a motion to vacate but Check City is still in business so I'm sure they will respond.  Im also unsure on the SOL for this debt, since he defaulted on payment in 2005 & it's now 5+ years later is he still obligated to pay the debt.  I'm not sure what move to make on this one. 

Should I try to call over the phone & pay & then file a motion to vacate based on not being properly served?

Should I file the motion to vacate first & then wait?

Should I send a DV letter to Check City?

I'm just confused on what move to make.  My main concern is that the judgement is removed.

Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated, I would like to handle these next week.

I forgot to advise that I'm in VA if that helps any w/the SOL question.  I'm not sure where a payday loan falls w/SOL

[mauve]

If these are both judgments, you should contact the courts in question and ask for a copy of any information they have on file about them.  You should also ask the courts what constitutes proper service. 

[ABattle]

I just called & they said that it is my legal responsibility to update my address w/my creditors & if they used an address that they had on file for the account then it does constitute proper service.  At this point for the Capitol One judgement I'm going to proceed w/the motion to vacate, I'm still going to advise not being served properly & I'm also disputing the debt I'm going to advise that I tried to contact the company listed as handling the debt but they are no longer in business & say a prayer that the outcome is in my favor.

On the second judgement I am still unsure on how to handle.  I'm leaning towards calling them at this point but I'm still not 100% sure.

[Anonymous]

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@ABattle wrote:

I just called & they said that it is my legal responsibility to update my address w/my creditors & if they used an address that they had on file for the account then it does constitute proper service. 

Who is they? The court clerk? If it is, they're  probably saying that based on previous rulings by  the judge. I agree with Mauve ,you need to get  copies   of all the documents pertaining to each judgment. Then look at how the summons was served to you. .That will tell you which way to go about getting the judgement vacated. I wouldn't bother calling either one of the plaintiffs on the judgements yet. Not until you have looked over the paper work, and decide  which direction to take.. Good luck

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[Anonymous]

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@ABattle wrote:

I've posted for help on these before but still unclear on how to handle them, so I've going to try to give as much detail as I can & hopefully you guys/girls can help me out.  DH has two judgements on his credit report that I would like to clear up ASAP.

Judgement One

The plantiff is listed as Capitol One

A default judgement was entered on 11/3/2005

It shows Mann Bracken as the one handling the judgement

The issue w/this is:

1) DH never had a cc w/Capitol One.  The only cc he has ever has was when he was a teenager & it was through First Union Bank & financed by First North American National Bank, so I'm not 100% sure he actually owes this debt unless Capitol One bought the account.

2) He was not properly served they used an old address

3) Mann Bracken has gone out of business

My question is how should I handle this? My only thought is to file a motion to vacate based on not being properly served & not believing the debt is his.  My prayer would be since Mann Bracken has gone out of business that this will go away.  Any advive or thoughts?

Judgement Two

The plantiff is Check City (payday loan company)

Default judgement entered on 9/1/2005

It shows Check City as the one handling the judgement

Hubby admits he did take out a payday loan although he isn't 100% sure he owed the debt.  In any event I want it to go away so I am willing to pay it.  He was not properly served w/this judgement either they used an old address, one that he did not provide when he opened the account, so I'm not sure where they got it from.  My question is how should I handle this.  I can file a motion to vacate but Check City is still in business so I'm sure they will respond.  Im also unsure on the SOL for this debt, since he defaulted on payment in 2005 & it's now 5+ years later is he still obligated to pay the debt.  I'm not sure what move to make on this one. 

Should I try to call over the phone & pay & then file a motion to vacate based on not being properly served?

Should I file the motion to vacate first & then wait?

Should I send a DV letter to Check City?

I'm just confused on what move to make.  My main concern is that the judgement is removed.

Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated, I would like to handle these next week.

I forgot to advise that I'm in VA if that helps any w/the SOL question.  I'm not sure where a payday loan falls w/SOL

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Are you sure that CrapOne didn't buy out or otherwise obtain First Union Bank's credit card portfolio?

In any event, just because you were served at an address at which you do / did not live does not mean necessarily that service was defective.  That said, the court clerk you spoke with is misinformed if they believe that a creditor can just pull an address out of a hat and use it for service even if you have not notified of any change of address.  Plaintiff's must conduct due diligence in attempting to ascertain your current location.  The best thing to do now would be to obtain a copy of the proof of service and other documents related to the actual judgments from the court and see exactly what happened.

Even though a judgment creditor is no longer in business, somebody ... somewhere owns that judgment.  Attemtping to have a judgment vacated will result in notification to the current judgment creditor and you run the very real risk that even if the judge does vacate the judgment that they also order the statute of limitations tolled so the creditor can sue you again.  If the judge does not order the judgment vacated, you are left facing irate creditors who now have the ability and renewed motivation to enforce the judgments against you. 

I believe the best course of action is to get all the documentation together and see if your DH really does owe that debt.  If not, then try to file a Motion to Vacate and sit back to see how it plays out.  If, however, he does owe that money then I would still contact each judgment creditor and offer payment in exchange for their cooperation in having the judgment vacated and, ultimately, removed from your credit reports.