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Judgement & Collection

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Judgement & Collection

Good Morning Everyone,

 

I am in the process of rebuilding my credit. I have a judement from an apartment complex that that's for $610.00. The debt is 3 years old. I also have a collection on my report, concerning the same debt, for $2300.

 

I'm wondering if I pay the judgement, can I show proof the the collection agency that I have paid a portion and they substract that amount or does the judgement include only fees?

Message 1 of 4
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HoldingOntoHope
Valued Contributor

Re: Judgement & Collection

The judgment is going to include the original amount they sued for and associated court costs and attorney fees. Depending on your state law it also may have been accumulating interest at a specified rate. The problem with the judgment is that it is enforceable without any further action in that they can garnish wages or seize bank accounts if they find them to satisfy the amount due. It is definitely in your best interest to contact the party who holds the judgment and pay or settle it as soon as you can.

 

The CA has probably added their own extraneous fees onto the original debt. If you have not done so already then you should proceed to do a debt validation process with them to ensure they have the right to collect. If it is past thirty days from their initial contact it may be too late. But in any event once the judgment is paid you can open negotiation with them as to a settlement amount that includes credit for that portion. Best case scenario is that you can negotiate a pay for delete on the account. Or at the least you can get a paid settlement which prevents any further distress down the road.

 

This is assuming that they are both for the same debt. Have you tried to contact the apartments to see if they are willing to pull the obligation back from the CA and simply work with the judgment? Or perhaps there is a legal argument that the payment of the judgment supersedes any further collection activity? All questions of law far above my limited knowledge.

Best financial advice I ever got: "Just imagine what an adult would do and do that."

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Message 2 of 4
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Judgement & Collection

Thank you for letting me know.

 

Am I able to pay the collection agency and then take that informatiobn back to the court showing its been paid? The CA will do a PFD but they are saying I MUST! pay it all in full.

Message 3 of 4
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Judgement & Collection

I agree that the requirement to provide debt verification under FDCPA 809(a) and (b) has specific timeliness provisions that may permit a debt collector to ignore any debt validation request that is not timely.  So that may not be a way you can compel validation.

 

However, I suggest an alternate path.  FDCPA 808(1) stipulates that it is a violation for a debt collector to collect or attempt to collect

"any amount (including any interestm, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt, or permitted by law."  Thus, challenge of an amount attempting to be collected could be treated as a violation of their debt collection practices under the FDCPA.

 

How to pursue that path?  Violations of the FDCPA are handled administratively by the FTC.  I would review my account agreement with the creditor to ensure that fees they are attempting to collect are not specifically authorized in that document.  If they are not, the court judgment is presumably an assessment of what was asserted at trial to be lawfully due, and what  the court agreed was due within their judgment.  Thus, I would assert that it prescribes what is permitted by law.  The fact of the judgment could thus be used to your favor.

File a complaint with the FTC for their violation of FDCPA 808(1). 

That will force a response by them back to the FTC, and ultimately to you, that will be tanatmount to a request for DV under section 809(b), and with teeth.

 

 

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