Judgements: Dismiss or Vacate

[Anonymous]

On my credit report is a judgement that I paid sometime last year.  I spoke with the company that took out the judgement and told them that I was thinking about doing a motion to vacate so that I could get if off of my credit report.  He was fine with it and would n't fight it. 

I guess I am wondering is there an easier way to get this off.  Do I have to go to the courthouse to file a motion? I read somewhere on here about having a judgement dismissed.  How would I go about that?

I am confused. Which is the easiest way if you know the other party won't give you any problems?

[Anonymous]

So I see a number of people have read my post, but no response so I did a little research on my own and here is what I found:

1.  Check out this site for SOL on Judgements http://www.cardreport.com/laws/judgement-sol.html

2.  And the following is what I read on aaacredit guide.

The statute of limitations (SOL) on judgments is very long usually 12 to 20 years and many are renewable (a judgment may be renewed if the creditor files a new suit seeking to renew the judgment prior to the expiration of the original judgment) therefore the judgment could follow you around forever. Even if you pay it you will be stuck with a 'satisfied judgment" for 7 years from date satisfied not filed!

There may be several ways to remove a judgment from your credit reports. First - Is the judgment still legally allowed to be on your credit reports? Look at the SOL- statute of limitations for judgments and if your state allows it to be renewed. If it is still LEGALLY on your credit reports you should dispute it to the credit bureaus before you contact the JC- judgment creditor. It may be deleted without ever paying it! This is because many court records are not verified in time when disputed. The bureau has 30 days to verify the accuracy of an item and to send a request to the courts and to expect a reply within 30 days is a long shot. We all know how slow the courts can be. If the court does not verify the judgment within 30 days, the credit bureau will delete it.

However if the item has been verified as timely and you have no other documentation to prove it is not valid then you can negotiate with the JC to dismiss the judgment in exchange for money. This is a much better rating than a "paid judgment". It tends to indicate that it was dismissed therefore "legally void". This IS a better rating than showing you simply paid it- that means you owed it. Not much of a credit improvement. Make sure when you negotiate with the JC that you put your terms in writing and have the JC sign and date it. This can be used for proof later if the rating doesn't change. Once you agree, the JC will complete a form to dismiss the judgment and file it with the court. All public records are reported to credit bureaus so you should see your new rating in about 30 to 45 days.

Another option is a procedure called a "motion to vacate" a judgment. This procedure can be used if you have good cause to believe you were sued in error, were exempt because of retirement or SSI or served improperly. The great news is that about 80% of judgments are awarded in error- you just have to know what to look for. Getting the judgment vacated means it does not stay on your credit and you do not have to pay it so if you think you have a good case for a vacate motion then by all means seriously consider pursuing it. You can attempt to vacate the judgment yourself or use a lawyer. If you do not know a lot about it, you are better off hiring a lawyer for a few hundred dollars.

Hope this helps everyone

[Anonymous]

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sunshyne4u wrote:

On my credit report is a judgement that I paid sometime last year.  I spoke with the company that took out the judgement and told them that I was thinking about doing a motion to vacate so that I could get if off of my credit report.  He was fine with it and would n't fight it. 

I guess I am wondering is there an easier way to get this off.  Do I have to go to the courthouse to file a motion? I read somewhere on here about having a judgement dismissed.  How would I go about that?

I am confused. Which is the easiest way if you know the other party won't give you any problems?

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Yes you most certainly do have to go to the court and file a motion to vacate. I would be more than happy to explain but here's a thread that explains a situation just like yours.

Check out Donks thread's

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=rebuildingcredit&thread.id=18080

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=rebuildingcredit&thread.id=18654

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

First - Is the judgment still legally allowed to be on your credit reports? Look at the SOL- statute of limitations for judgments and if your state allows it to be renewed. If it is still LEGALLY on your credit reports you should dispute it to the credit bureaus before you contact the JC- judgment creditor. It may be deleted without ever paying it! This is because many court records are not verified in time when disputed. The bureau has 30 days to verify the accuracy of an item and to send a request to the courts and to expect a reply within 30 days is a long shot. We all know how slow the courts can be. If the court does not verify the judgment within 30 days, the credit bureau will delete it.

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Disputing ACCURATE info is NOT allowed on this forum. Its against the rules of the site, which you agreed to follow when you registered.

What your site forgot to mention, apparently, is that while its true that unverified info will be deleted, they have ALL the time in the world to verify LATER. Even if they can't verify within the first 30 days, they can verify later and pop it right back on.

[Barry]

Thank you, Wonderin, for reminding folks about our rules regarding the disputing of ACCURATE information in the FICO Forums.

To avoid having this board and all credit repair discussions REMOVED entirely from the FICO Forums, please adhere to these rules and feel free to PM me or one of the Mods if these rules are unclear to you.  Also, please see the thread stickeyed at the top of this board entitled "Want to Get Your Post Deleted?"

I understand there are other sites out there where anything goes and you are more than welcome to go there to discuss ways of getting accurate information removed from your credit report.  It's not what the FICO Forums are about, however, so please don't spoil it for the rest of the community by disregarding our rules about discussing credit repair.

Thanks!

Barry

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

First - Is the judgment still legally allowed to be on your credit reports? Look at the SOL- statute of limitations for judgments and if your state allows it to be renewed. If it is still LEGALLY on your credit reports you should dispute it to the credit bureaus before you contact the JC- judgment creditor. It may be deleted without ever paying it! This is because many court records are not verified in time when disputed. The bureau has 30 days to verify the accuracy of an item and to send a request to the courts and to expect a reply within 30 days is a long shot. We all know how slow the courts can be. If the court does not verify the judgment within 30 days, the credit bureau will delete it.

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Disputing ACCURATE info is NOT allowed on this forum. Its against the rules of the site, which you agreed to follow when you registered.

What your site forgot to mention, apparently, is that while its true that unverified info will be deleted, they have ALL the time in the world to verify LATER. Even if they can't verify within the first 30 days, they can verify later and pop it right back on.

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