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Last year I was summoned on a credit card debt, after filing the answer and requesting validation, I sent an offer to settle out of court. The CA and I agreed to a payment amount, and just before I sent it I received a letter stating that payment was due as a judgement had been entered against me(an entire month earlier by the way which i had no knowledge of)
So now I have a listing from the CA on my credit report and also a public record. Since I was unaware of any judgment made and since I came to an 'out of court' settlement can the Public Record from the judgment somehow be removed?
Hello Mike, Did you receive any paperwork or registered letters that you were to appear in court? Even if you made an out of court settlement you needed to appear. I would try to have the judgment vacated. Take your information and go to the courthouse and see about filing a motion to vacate the judgment. This is a time sensitive matter so try to do it soon. By chance did you get there settlement offer in writing? That would help also. If you can not get it vacated it may remain there for a number of years. Good luck.
Do you happen to know the timeframe? This happened back in mid-late 2009.
Removal of judgment from report
Hi Mike,
Do you retain a copy of your settlement with the collection agency (CA)? If you have the copy the settlement, you can go to the court and have the judgment vacated. Fireyone is right in telling that, you need to appear in court, even if you have settled the debt out of court.
A court judgment remains on your credit report generally for 7 years. However, depending on the state, it can remain for a longer period.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Aaron.
I do have all the paperwork from the lawsuit still, and I did get the settment in writing. I'll have to dig it up and see if the settlement letter indicates that the payment was to settle or to satisfy judgement. I did however receive a satisfaction of judgement after I made payment if that will make a difference.
How time sensitive is the matter as it was "satisfied" in sept. 2009 I believe?
reply
Hi,
You can use the paperwork now to dispute the item. Just check what is written on the settlement paper. That is, if the amount was "paid in full" or "paid as settled" Sometimes, when you settle for a lesser amount, the debt tends to come back on your credit report.
Regards,
Aaron.
The settlement letter states that my payment will "settle the account in full" and that afterwards the attorney's office will "satisfy the outstanding judgement."
Could I still file a motion based on this wording? My only other point could be that I initiated the settlement talks before a judgement was entered.
reply
Hi Mike,
There had been a settlement agreement with the collection agency, so you can use it to file a motion to vacate the judgment.
However, there are various qualifying reasons according to which you can file the motion to vacate the judgment. These are :
1. If the summons was not properly served or issued.
2. If the notice is not served properly to all the parties involved.
3. If a defective petition is filed.
4. If fraud is used in procurement of the judgment. etc.
So, you can check out the court rules before filing the motion to vacate the judgment. To file the motion to vacate, you can go to the court and request the court clerk to provide you with the form to file the motion.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Aaron.
2.