court judgement from 2008

[HelpMe----]

Hello all,

                Well, i have tried my best to get my credit right since my disaterous 20 left my credit score in the low 400, now I'm in the mid 600.....now to my scenario, on my way to credit awesomeness, I got a call from a credit car I owned from 2002(i was only 19) and used up the credit limit and never paid it back, now in 2013 I got a credit collection agency asking me to pay a certain amount so this goes away. They stated that I had a court judgment in august 2008 and that this will never go away. My question, is that court judgment correct???  I don't have it on my credit report, so why wait until now to collect? Second, if I don't pay, will this come back and show up on my credit report? 

I want to pay it, but something is telling me that this is a scam, the collection agency is legit, has an A rating with the bbb and I honestly believe they want me to resolve this case but something, something(maybe since this is such an old account and the fact that they took so long to do anything with it) is just telling me to ignore and move on with my life......... 

They wanted to force my hand a lil bit by telling me to give them a post dated check to cash, but I told them I need to check if this debt was legit, if the debt was still in legal obligational standing and to make sure the company was not a scam, the csr said the longer I wait, the less he will be able to help me out but I assured him if everything checks out that I would pay the full amount within 30 days, yet he was not happy with that and asked for just 20% of the balance just to get it out the way, but once again I said that i want to check them out and he still said no for me to settle today,and he lowered down the one time payment to 10%.........kept saying what does 30 days difference do for me other than having to pay the full balance........so I NEED HELP!!!!!

[hutchj]

You'll get more help if you post this in the Rebuliding Credit portion of the forum.

[09Lexie]

I am going to request this thread to be moved to Rebuilding. I am extremely leery of anyone asking for a post-dated check. I would also suggest that you determine if you have a judgment entered against you.

Again, let me refer this to the experts in Rebuilding. Good luck!

[Dapper_Dan]

A judgement will haunt you for a while.

You are right to investigate the legitimacy of the caller's claims.  You will want to check with the clerk of the court in which the judgement was entered.  You can find that in your credit report.

I HIGHLY doubt that they will take 20% and accept that as payment in full.  If they offer that to you again, get that in writing, and more to the point, also get in writing that once the 20% they want is received, they will VACATE THE JUDGEMENT.

The term "vacate" means "remove" the judgement.  If you are successfull in paying 20% against a judegment and get them to vacate it with the court, then you are one lucky kid.

[Dapper_Dan]

But be sure to contact the court first to verify the accuracy of the judgement.  Judgements will collect interest the entire time.  It's to your benefit to pay it (if it's real).  Ask the clerk if you can pay the court directly... if you do, it would be for 100% of the judgement plus court costs and interest.  If the person you owe will accept less (which sounds suspicous) then don't pay a dime until you get something in writing that states the judgement will be vacated once you pay 20% or whatever they are asking for - make sure that letter is notarized.

I am not a lawyer.  This is not legal advice.

[pizzadude]

Moved to rebuilding forum.

[guiness56]

If you defaulted on this in 2002 it is way, way, beyond the reporting time to be on your CR.

You need first to know the DoFD of the account and your states suing SOL.  If there is supposedly a judgment it will be easy to find out by contacting the court where you live.

I would not pay a penny until you know something concrete.

It actually sounds like a scam to me.

[HelpMe----]

Thanks everyone for you input......kinda felt this wasnt right, I will call the csa back and ask what state/court the judgement was made in so I can verify the debt.

The credit card I defaulted in was a Sears card with a 15k cl.

Another question I have, If the judgement is valid, how long will I have it hovering around me??

Once again thanks for everyone input... 

[Dapper_Dan]

Judgements last 10 years on your reports.  But they can be renewed.  Depending on who the ceditor is, and how much is owed.  It will haunt you for many things down the road.

If you pay the court, get a receipt.  But verify the judgement first.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-does-creditor-collect-judgment-against-me.html

[HelpMe----]

And that another thing, I have no judgement on any of my credit reports.........so if they are true, then it should be on my credit report right?  Has any one gotten a judgement against them and not have it show up on any credit report???