Duplicates and Judgements on my File. Please help!

[Anonymous]

Like most of us on this forum, I'm trying to improve my crappy credit.  As of today 3/20 my FICO score is a 575, so I'm optimistic that I can get to 620 mark here soon.  I have 2 issues (well actually more than 2, but the two I want to concentrate on for right now) that I need a little assistance with.  I have a judgment against me for a utility bill back in the state of GA for about $684. (There was a problem with the HVAC system in the home I was renting at the time, and my lease was up during the dead of winter and I moved to another state, so when I got the bill it was $684.)  The utility company pretty much sued for the amount owed plus intrest.  I appeared in court and needless to say wasn't able to settle for the amount I could afford (I hadn't even been on my new job a month, and barely had money), so hence a judgement was slapped on me for about $800 (the original amount plus intrest).  Now that I am in a somewhat better financial situation, I should be to negotiate and settle for less than the full amount.  I pulled my credit report and notice that the original $684 is on my Equifax report twice, along with the judgement.  I know I need to dispute the duplicate and have it removed, but wouldn't the judgement count as a triplicate, since the utility company used a law firm which specializes in collections to collect the debt?  And would I be able to dispute the amount ($800 vs $684).  What would be the best way to go about resolving the duplicate and judgment?  I know there is no way I'm gonna get the judgment removed from my credit file, unless some miracle is bestowed upon me.  So I guess I need some kind of leverage at least. 

My second issue is that I saw a $10 judgment for a returned checked or something to that affect.  I called and got the info.  What is perplexing about the entire situation is that I pulled a credit report in 2007 and it was not there on all 3 (supposedly the returned check incident happened in Dec 2006), and it appeared on the report I just pulled today.  So I'm thinking it probably wasn't reported until sometime in 2008.  It's $10, but I want this off my file as well.  Do you think I have a better chance in having the CA deleting this all together once the $10 is paid.  Afterall it is $10.  Or do you think I should track down the original store I wrote the check to and just send them $10 certified check/money order and have them to deal with it? 

Sorry for the long post.  I wanted to give as much detail as possible.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

On the first item, the utility:  you pretty much know where you are on that one.  The only thing is that it might be reporting correctly if the utility is reporting, a CA is reporting, and a judgment is reporting.  That would really suck, but it is possible.  I don't think you really have any leverage, so really it would just be out of the goodness of their heart if they take a lesser amount to pay the judgment. 

Double check if the CA is the same as who sued you--that might be a way to get one of these three items off--because the only way to pay this off is through whoever represented the plaintiff (or the court directly).  You'll have to do some research (probably call the court) to figure out who you have to pay and what the procedure is.  Have you looked to see about vacating a judgment in your state?  It's unusual to succeed on that, but that is a possibility.

On the second item, could you clarify if you actually have a Judgment from a court??  A judgment is very different from a CA just stating that you owe them.  If it is a judgment, then you have the same process--call the court to figure out who you have to pay and what the procedure is.  Paying a judgment does not delete the item, it just marks the judgment as satisfied.  If it's just a CA, then you might be able to PFD.

Be sure to check the stickied threads at the top of the forum for explanations on abbreviations, and the usual procedures on these kinds of things . . .

[Anonymous]

Well the utility company used a law firm that specializes in collections.  The debt is on my credit file twice and then there is the judgment.  The duplicates appear to by the actual utility company and another CA.  I think once I moved out of state they were able to sue because they used this particular law firm that specializes in collecting and of course suing.  The second court date was scheduled.  I didn't appear in court the 2nd time (I did go the first, and wasn't able to negotiate what I could afford) because the summons was sent to an address I had moved from a year prior and was not forwarded to me until a 3 days before the court date, which was crazy because the law office had been sending me correspondence directly to my current address.   I was out of town when the summons came in.  The judgment was issued due to my failure to appear in court.  At that time I did not have any recourse.  The damage had been done.  I have all of the law office's info, but I will call the courts to find out more info.  I just found out my aunt is an attorney at the magistrate court I went to, so I will ask her for some advice as well.  Hopefully she'll assist in getting the processes sped up and maybe have some influence. 

[Anonymous]

The OC can report and the CA can report. Also, a judgment can appear in the public records section.

Is the CA that is reporting the CA that sued?

As for the bad check, is this listed under "public records"?

Where did you get your reports? If you haven't gotten your free reports, I would do so now, see link below.

[ChemGuy]

This is a sad situation, and I'm sorry to hear about it.   Out of curiosity, where did the CA/ law firm file suit?  You said you moved out of state and they filed a suit--did they file in the state to which you moved or your previous residence? 

[Anonymous]

They filed in VA, my current state.  They used a law firm called Dominion Law Associates to collect and represent them in court.

[Anonymous]

The check is a separate incident that is unrelated, and is not in the public records section of my CA.  Only the utility is listed in the public files section.  The utility company used Dominion Law Offices to collect and represent them in court.  The deliquency is listed 2X on my credit file and once under Dominion Law Offices in the public files section.

And yes I have my CR...that's how I discovered the duplicate and Dominion Law under public records section.

[Anonymous]

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ladyblue wrote:

The check is a separate incident that is unrelated, and is not in the public records section of my CA.  Only the utility is listed in the public files section.  The utility company used Dominion Law Offices to collect and represent them in court.  The deliquency is listed 2X on my credit file and once under Dominion Law Offices in the public files section.

And yes I have my CR...that's how I discovered the duplicate and Dominion Law under public records section.

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Ok, so there is no judgment on the returned check? Only a collection listing? Correct?

On the utility. Who is reporting on your report? Is the OC reporting? Is there a CA reporting? Is the CA that is reporting the same as the one who got the public record against you?

We need to know exactly who is reporting what in order to make sure they are all allowed to report.

[Anonymous]

So the good news is that the check issue is not a judgment.  I was confused because in your first post you said it was a judgment.  Anyway, it's just a collection.  So you should talk to the OC, and see if they'll accept payment.  If they will, then you should be able to DV the CA to get that collection to go away.  If the OC won't work with you, then you should PFD the CA.  Some advocate doing a DV first, but I think you should only DV if you're not sure if they still have the debt (multiple CA's claiming the debt) or if you're not sure that you owe the debt.

I think sidewinder is asking about the CR's because it matters where you got it.  The ones you get directly from the CRA's have the most information on them (usually).  If you get it from a 3rd party (like FICO), then it might not have everything you need.

Duplicates are when more than one CA reports the same account.  This is an error because only one CA can report a particular account at a time.  Sounds like you do not have duplicates, just the same account reporting three times (OC, CA, judgment).

[Anonymous]

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jesslyn wrote:

Duplicates are when more than one CA reports the same account.  This is an error because only one CA can report a particular account at a time.  Sounds like you do not have duplicates, just the same account reporting three times (OC, CA, judgment).

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This is true, but if the OC recalled the debt from the CA and filed suit themselves, the CA must go away.

If the debt went to another CA and that CA filed suit, the CA reporting must go away.

Unless the CA that is reporting is the same CA that filed suit, it should not be there.