Letters about Having old Judgments Removed

Anonymous · ‎08-09-2008

Hi all. I've been lurking on and off for a few months now but this is my first post . I have two questions. I hope that is okay.

1. My husband's friend mentioned to me that he has a judgment on his credit report that was both filed and paid in 1997. I told him that it should be off by now and that he should write a letter to have it removed. I tried searching for a sample letter but I am not sure if I was checking in the wrong place. What I did find out was that certain judgments stay on for 15 years. I am hoping that it is not a government judgment and that I will have to go back and tell him that I have misinformed him. I think he said he owed a school so I am not entirely sure yet. Would that quaify as a government judgement? Lastly, where could I find a sample letter or template requesting that the judgment be removed from his credit report?

2. I have a question about my own judgment. It is currently not showing as satisfied on my CR. I am scared to request my former landlord to update the courts to show it as satisfied. The judgment is from 2003 and I paid it in 2004. I currently have a credit score in the mid 730s even w/the judgment so I am scared that updating it to show as paid will "reactivate" the file or the negativity

and bring my score down. Is this possible? I don't know if it matters but I live in NY.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Anonymous · ‎08-09-2008

skimmylf wrote:

Hi all. I've been lurking on and off for a few months now but this is my first post .  I have two questions. I hope that is okay.

1.  My husband's friend mentioned to me that he has a judgment on his credit report that was both filed and paid in 1997. I told him that it should be off by now and that he should write a letter to have it removed. I tried searching for a sample letter but I am not sure if I was checking in the wrong place. What I did find out was that certain judgments stay on for 15 years. I am hoping that it is not a government judgment and that I will have to go back and tell him that I have misinformed him. I think he said he owed a school so I am not entirely sure yet. Would that quaify as a government judgement? Lastly, where could I find a sample letter or template requesting that the judgment be removed from his credit report?

There is no sample letter or template. Just a letter with his name, address, social security number that states the account in dispute and why it is disputed. The reason would be because the account is obsolete and past reporting time periods set forth by the FCRA. It should be removed. FCRA states that accounts that relate to certain government education debt can remain longer, but says nothing about judgments remaining longer.

Include proof of ID.

2.  I have a question about my own judgment. It is currently not showing as satisfied on my CR. I am scared to request my former landlord to update the courts to show it as satisfied. The judgment is from 2003 and I paid it in 2004. I currently have a credit score in the mid 730s even w/the judgment so I am scared that updating it to show as paid will "reactivate" the file or the negativity and bring my score down. Is this possible? I don't know if it matters but I live in NY.

It does matter that you live in NY because NY has its own version of FCRA. According to Equifax, for NY residents, a satisfied judgment remains for only 5 years from date filed. Seems your judgment should be removed already or shortly, just needs to show that it is satisfied so that it will be removed.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Anonymous · ‎08-10-2008

Thank you so much! I am so excited that I still haven't gone to bed since reading your response. I am drafting a letter to my former landlord now. I plan to send it certified mail although I am also considering calling and/or visiting the office in addition to the letter. My husband, however, doesn't share my enthusiasm. He thinks that I will need to have a lawyer contact their lawyer in order to get a response from them. I'm hoping that this will not be the case.

Would it be okay if I posted what I have drafted so far for additional advice or is that a bad idea?

Thanks ever so much!!!!

Anonymous · ‎08-10-2008

It is okay to share letters, just don't include personal information of your own or the recipient.

A friend has a judgment showing unpaid. She contacted the courthouse and they sent a letter to the filing party asking them to fill it out stating that it was satisfied. The courthouse told my friend that if the filing party didn't fill this out, she'd have to file back in court.

So, you might try calling the courthouse this was filed in and asking them how to have it showed satisfied.

ETA: It is always possible that the judgment shows satisfied at the courthouse, but hasn't been reported this way to the CRA. I would check with the courthouse.

Message Edited by sidewinder on 08-10-2008 09:30 AM

Anonymous · ‎08-10-2008

Here is what I have written so far...am I missing anything? Thanks again for all your help.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have obtained a recent copy of my credit report and discovered it contains inaccurate information. In ********, a judgment was filed against me by *******. The judgment was satisfied on ******, however, the case file was not updated to reflect that the judgment has been satisfied. Please instruct your attorneys to notify the court that I have fulfilled my obligation and satisfied the judgment so that an Entry of Satisfaction may be entered on my behalf. Once a copy of the Entry of Satisfaction has been sent to your attorney, please send a copy of this notice to me.

In order to expedite the process, I have included a copy of the Notice of Petition. Should you require any further information from me, I can be reached at *********.

Respectfully,

Me

Anonymous · ‎08-10-2008

Sounds good, but again, I would check with the courthouse to see if it is showing as satisfied there before contacting the filing party.

It may not be the filing party responsible, it could be the company that furnishes the CRA with public record information.