HUGE Amount of school Fees leads to JUDGEMENT on CR!!

[vayub4]

I went to school in 2010 because a family member promised to pay the fees while I go to school. Family member even presented their accounts statements to the school before I was able to secure admission. I didn't know fees has not been paid until the end of the semester! 

I Had to stop schoo, because of this but fees for the semester was past due!  Long story short, case was taken to court even though I didn't know there was a case against me in court until after judgement had been passed! So this judgment got on my credit report in 2012! I have had a credit card since 2011 and have never missed a payment! The only thing ruing my scores is this judgment.

I would have been willing to pay the money but it is a whoping $18k!!! I have enough credit cards now and don't really need any more right now but I am concerned about this on my Credit report. 

Now this is my question, if I wait it out until 2019, will this drop from My credit report permanently or it can be put back on My creit report? 

[guiness56]

Were these private studet loans?

If the judgment was to drop from your report unpaid, the collection SOL on it would still be enforceable, depending on your state.  Those are usually 10 - 20 years and can be renewed.  So they do not go away.

Per the FCRA, a judgment can remain 7 years from the filing date or the laws of your state.

[vayub4]

It wasn't really a loan because I owe the school directly. So when it is renewed, would it get back on my report? I am not worried about them coming after me, I do not have the money so they can't take anything really

[guiness56]

It could be if it renewed with a different case number.

You don't work or have a bank account?  Those can be garnished also.

It would appear it is a default judgment.  You could probably have that vacated for improper service but it won't make the debt go away.  It would just be removed from your CR.

[coterotie]

18K in fees for one semester?

I don't think Harvard is this expensive.

Did the family member sign the contract or did you?  I would immediately get an attorney, file for improper service and try to get an accounting including any payments made with copies of the form of payment.  Every school I have gone to would send you a notice through the instructor a week or two into the semster/quarter if you hadn't paid all your fees.  As a professor, I would get the notices and let the students know there was a problem. 

This sounds pretty shady on the surface and I would want to get in front of a judge and let the other side prove something.  Waiting is not a good strategy here, as some states only give you a limited time to file the vacation.

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@vayub4 wrote:

I went to school in 2010 because a family member promised to pay the fees while I go to school. Family member even presented their accounts statements to the school before I was able to secure admission. I didn't know fees has not been paid until the end of the semester! 

I Had to stop schoo, because of this but fees for the semester was past due!  Long story short, case was taken to court even though I didn't know there was a case against me in court until after judgement had been passed! So this judgment got on my credit report in 2012! I have had a credit card since 2011 and have never missed a payment! The only thing ruing my scores is this judgment.

I would have been willing to pay the money but it is a whoping $18k!!! I have enough credit cards now and don't really need any more right now but I am concerned about this on my Credit report. 

Now this is my question, if I wait it out until 2019, will this drop from My credit report permanently or it can be put back on My creit report? 

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[vayub4]

Thanks for your suggestion... I was the student so I signed as the student but from the get go it was the family member who put their account forward as willing to pay the fees. The fees were a little less than $14k originally. It is close to $18k now because of interests and court costs I suppose. when I found out about the cost I was shocked myself! a semester shouldn't cost that much for 13 credits! I didn't live on campus or anything like that.

All I know pertaining to this case is all that is on my Credit report. I know the name of the school and also have the address. What do you suggest I do? If I were to write to the school I don't even know to write to specifically to explain my case. I currently do not work but I have bank accounts with a total of 2k split in all of them. I wouldn't mind settling for 2k if they would agree but I don't know where to start from.

[guiness56]

I would start by contacting the courts where it is filed and getting it vacated due to non/improper service.  You can ask them for copies of all the documents.

If you can go to the courthouse in person.

[vayub4]

I live in NC now. Case was filed in NY... That's a long way from here. Is there a way to do this in writing? If there is who am i writing to?

[guiness56]

Probably.

I would still contact the court clerk by phone where it is filed and find out what you need to do to get copies.

[coterotie]

I also have a question about what you mean by showing them an "account" statement?  If the school relied on them in granting you credit that you clearly couldn't afford you may have some defenses available to you.  If this was the CIA or something like that there are a number of lawsuits you may want to research.  But the first step is getting the default judgment vacated.

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@guiness56 wrote:

Probably.

I would still contact the court clerk by phone where it is filed and find out what you need to do to get copies.

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