Possible wage garnishment, need advice!

[ficobuilder923]

Hey guys, I have an out of state (from NJ) wage garnishment letter from a lawyer looking to collect from a judgement from 6/2000 (yes, 14 years old!).  It says that if I do not appeal, the court in NJ will garnish my wages.  I have the money to pay it, but the lawyer won't return my calls and the collection agency says the lawyer has all of the details (not sure if they sold him the debt?).  In any case, I'd like to not have this hit my credit report, especially since I have the money to pay it and the original judgment has dropped off.  What options do I have?  I want to send a certified letter back in the next couple of days before my 10 day window to appeal runs out that can buy me some time.  Is there a way I can just settle with the court and not have it hit my credit?  Also, is there a place I can check for improper court procedures in NJ and hence file a motion to vacate?  Any advice is highly appreciated, I've been trying to rebuild my credit for the past 2 years now and this is a setback.

[Old_Man]

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@ficobuilder923 wrote:

Hey guys, I have an out of state (from NJ) wage garnishment letter from a lawyer looking to collect from a judgement from 6/2000 (yes, 14 years old!).  It says that if I do not appeal, the court in NJ will garnish my wages.  I have the money to pay it, but the lawyer won't return my calls and the collection agency says the lawyer has all of the details (not sure if they sold him the debt?).  In any case, I'd like to not have this hit my credit report, especially since I have the money to pay it and the original judgment has dropped off.  What options do I have?  I want to send a certified letter back in the next couple of days before my 10 day window to appeal runs out that can buy me some time.  Is there a way I can just settle with the court and not have it hit my credit?  Also, is there a place I can check for improper court procedures in NJ and hence file a motion to vacate?  Any advice is highly appreciated, I've been trying to rebuild my credit for the past 2 years now and this is a setback.

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First step, contact the court that issued the judgement and verify that it is still in effect and not out of the SOL.  The letter that you recieved should have instructions on how to file an appeal, follow those steps and appeal with the reason that you do not believe this is your debt.  (This will give you time to investigate the situation without having an actual garnishment take effect immediately.)  If after verifying that the judgement is valid and still enforceable, then contact the lawyer (by written communication, CERTIFIED) and try and work out a settlement on it.  The date that it can stay on your credit report is 7.5 yrs from the date of the original judgement, so it's not going to hit your CR's (shouldn't anyways), but that will not stop them from taking your money if the judgement is still active.

[Old_Man]

One other thing I think I missed, you don't live in NJ?  If it is an out of state order, I believe that they have to get it domesticated in your current state to enforce it.

[songsofexperience]

Yes - if you are no longer in NJ it will have to be domesticated where you now live. You may want to use this if you decide to negotiate a settlement. I used it for a judgment settlement that is in a state I no longer live in. Be very clear about your state laws too. Most allow for judgments to be renewed, but let's say NJ has a 10 year collection period that can be renewed for another 10 and they failed to renew it in 2010 then you may be in luck. You'll want to ask them to prove it was renewed/is collectable. If it is no longer collectable I'd say they're just trying to scare you into paying.

Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.

[ficobuilder923]

Hey guys, well it worked out pretty well.  Thanks for all of your responses!

The lawyer finally got back in touch with me and I just paid it off, it was about $950 but I only paid it after he said he was almost positive that it wouldn't hit my credit report.  Since the original judgment was from 2000, he didn't think it would be reported if it wasn't on there now.  Regarding Statute of Limitations, I am out of luck because NJ is 20 years (ridiculous I know), which I verified with a NACA NJ lawyer on the phone yesterday.  

The wage garnishment letter did have the wrong office branch (NJ) of the company I work for, but I didn't want to take the chance that the NJ branch of my company would report it to the state I'm in now (VA), and risk that garnishment hitting my credit report.  Even if the garnishment didn't work in NJ because of the wrong company branch, since the SOL is 20 years, they could re-sue in my state any time in the next 6 years (which I may want to buy a house in that time).  

If the lawsuit in the court still somehow hits my credit, I will have to get the lawyer (who I settled the debt with) to dismiss it by asking him to vacate the lawsuit, re-open it, and then dismiss it and then send proof to the credit reporting agency that it was dismissed.

Overall, I think that this was the best route to take since a) I had the money to pay, b) now the lawyer is on my side in the small likelihood that this thing still hits my credit report and he can take steps to have it removed.  Hopefully this helps someone out!

[songsofexperience]

Is he going to file a Satisfaction of Judgment? I doubt it will hit your CR, but you'll want that satisfaction if you do want to buy a house at some point since it's a Public Record and will likely still show up in underwriting, even if it's not on your CR.

Congrats also

[ficobuilder923]

Yes, he said he would send me the updated letter and they would file that satisfaction letter.  I don't think it will hit my credit since I couldn't even locate the original judgment under my name on the NJ courts website.  I had to actually call the court to confirm there was even an actual judgment from 2000 against me. And thanks!

[gdale6]

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@ficobuilder923 wrote:

Yes, he said he would send me the updated letter and they would file that satisfaction letter.  I don't think it will hit my credit since I couldn't even locate the original judgment under my name on the NJ courts website.  I had to actually call the court to confirm there was even an actual judgment from 2000 against me. And thanks!

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This is a dead horse for reporting on your CRs, judgments can only be reported for 7 years from the date issued, the satisfaction being filed will not trigger it re-reporting as that would be illegal. Grats for getting it settled

[ficobuilder923]

Hi gdale,  If my wages had been garnished by the court, would that have been found by a CRA and go on my report?  I'm guessing yes and didn't want to take the chance...

[gdale6]

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@ficobuilder923 wrote:

Hi gdale,  If my wages had been garnished by the court, would that have been found by a CRA and go on my report?  I'm guessing yes and didn't want to take the chance...

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No. CRAs dont go to the courthouse to get their info they buy it from runners who are sent to the courthouses to retrieve into, one such company that sends runners is Lexis Nexis. An order of garnishment would be attached to the original judgment and once again it being so old it would have been illegal to report such, most garnishments for money judgments are not reported to ones CR, child support is one that does but that is typically the government reporting directly...