Civil Warrant issued - Is it too late to stop a judgment being placed on the credit record?

Question

My elderly neighbor purchased an appliance 2 years ago and could not complete payments due to unforeseen circumstances, and has not had the money to settle with collections. The debt is less than $3000. He received a notice in the mail today that he needs to pick up a civil warrant from the sheriff's office. He knows that he will be served with a judgment because he owes the money, he simply did not have it, however now that we're aware of the situation my husband and I are willing to help him take care of this debt.

Since a warrant has been issued, is there any way to pay this debt before a judgment is placed? He is about to need to mortgage his house because of some other problems, and is concerned that a judgment on his credit will keep him from doing this.

Answer 1

It sounds like they have already filed the suit.
While he still would have to answer the suit within the time allowed (or they may go ahead and get a default judgment on him), he can still make a payment arrangement with the company, who is suing, before any court date is scheduled.

He needs to be sure that any agreement that is made is in writing and signed them. He also should include in the agreement that they will drop the case and remove any negatives they are currently reporting on his credit reports upon payment.

Then - he should take a copy of the signed agreement to the court clerk and request that it is placed in his file.
NEVER trust the creditor/collector to do that !!!

If he makes the deal to pay (and pays) before there is a judgment, and covers his butt in making the court aware (by filing the agreement) that there is an agreement for payment, then there would be no judgment record to place on his reports.