smarten wrote:
Newbie here. Although I have GREAT credit [30+ years in system, 85 credit entries, credit card balances paid in full each month, no installment credit balance exceeding the amount originally loaned, no lates and all paid as agreed], my FICO score is getting killed [by at least 80 points] because of an ex-wife's attorney's fee judgment [for $130K] entered 8 years ago in a dissolution action. The judgment had nothing to do with my "credit" and even if it did in some manner [insofar as my ability to pay my other debts], it was satisfied [thus it doesn't exist]! Yet I believe the FICO matrix is treating this "public record" as if it were a collections action by one of my creditors suggesting I don't pay credit obligations that I voluntarily assume. I can't ask that the judgment be "removed" from my credit report because it did exist. But according to the primers on what SHOULD go into my credit score, the satisfied judgment should have ZERO effect. What can I do?
Welcome, Smarten.
A judgment against you affects your credit adversely because it means someone sued you in a civil matter, you lost, and you owe $. A judgment is a baddie even if your neighbor sued you after your dog bit his kid. This has seemingly nothing to do with credit, but it's a public record that you owe someone money.
Even after it is paid (satisfied), a judgment still has a chilling effect on your FICO score, same as if a creditor had sued you. It works the same for a collection -- even if you pay it in full, you get dinged for crossing the point of no-return once it went into collections.
A civil judgment can't appear on your CR more than 7 years from the date of entry, so if that date is 8 years ago, you could dispute it as "outdated" and it should be removed. Caveat: if there is a SOL that applies which is longer than 7 years, the judgment will stay on your CR until then. That's a legal matter, and you'd have to consult an attorney in your state.
