Got summons for small claims court for a debt.

[Anonymous]

Alright, here is the low down. This is indeed a debt I owed to a creditor. Its in a sum of a little over 1K. I owed it. This has been in collections for a few years now. So it does show up that is in collects. The other day I got a summons that they are taking me to small claims for the debt. So here is the question: If I do nothing and let the judgment go and they do garnish, what happens? Does the judgment ALSO hurt the credit score even though its already listed as a collection on the report? That would really stink if I get double hit for the same debt twice. On the other hand, I am willing to actually start making payments on this. The court date is a few weeks out as it sits right now, I am willing to reach out to them and try to work something out, but only if it would benefit me in the long run. I know they are going to get the money either way, its just a matter of the best way to go about this with little to no more damage to the credit score. FYI, I have been working great in the last year and a half to get my credit on the right track. No more late payments, all bills are being paid on time now. I just started to pay attention to this then, and have been working hard to stay "clean". I have gotten 3 CC now, along with a new auto loan ( that actually was not a problem ).... so things are looking up until this. Im in the 630 range, after gosh knows how long of being in the mid to low 500's. So any advice on this would be helpful. Thanks for your time guys!

[RobertEG]

Just as a charge-off and collection can simultaneously show for the same debt, a judgment can also report and is an additional major derog.

It is "fair" in that it represents additiional actions taken by the creditor in their pursuit of the debt.

A judgment additionally has a 7 year exclusion period that does not begin to run until the judgment is entered, and can thus extend long past the current exclusion period of an exitsing charge-off or collection.  It will be posted vis its presence in the public record, and thus cannot be removed by way of a good-will request.

If the debt is legit, it is well worth it to avoid going to trial.  I would seek a settlement prior to court date.

[Anonymous]

Okay well then I guess that settles that. Now, what should I do to contact them? Should I get such things in writing from them first before I start sending in payments or can they still take me to court even if I did start doing payments and then have it still show up on the report as a judgment?

[RobertEG]

You can always simply begin to make voluntary payments against the debt, but that will not forclose their civil action, it will only reduce the monetary level of the asserted debt at trial.  Yes, you need to contact them immediately and begin negotiations.

If you reach a formal agreement, it will be contingent upon their dismissing their civil complaint as long as you continue meet the conditions of whatever agreement you reach.

They will notify the court of dismissal, and if enough time remains prior to trial, the court will have time to notify you of the dismissal.  If time gets short, you boht may need to show up on court date and notify the judge that you have reached a settlement agreement.  No trial, no judgment.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you answer the summons and deny.  You want to kill their chance for a default judgement.   Dont let that happen.

[Anonymous]

^+1

If you've already been served, your clock is already running on a default judgment. To avoid this, you must file an answer with the court. Even if you are past the actual deadline, filing an answer can still stop a default judgment, especially with a pro se (no attorney) defendant. An answer is a fairly simple document - Google "general denial answer" if you dont want to seek legal representation.

Once that is filed, then you can spend the time between now and your trial date negotiating the settlement of the debt to avoid a public record. And eventually get a PIF on the collection reporting.

[RonM21]

I agree, anything you can do to try and maybe keep that judgement from hitting your report.