What Do I Do If I Have Judgments Against Me When I Wasn't There?

Question

I moved out of state (not to run away from debt) for a while now. I have a few accounts that should be delinquent now. I'm about to receive my credit report, what do I do if I see a judgment against me? Does that mean that it restarts the date of SOL? What should I do?

Also, is it really possible to rebuild your credit to an good score after 7 years of deliquency if I begin to be responsible about my finances? Sometimes I feel like my one-two years of being stupid could have really ruined my financial life period.

THank you for all your wonderful support so far.

So then it's entirely possible to have a judgment against me without me being there and being aware of it?

The most I owe to each creditor was 6000, is it likely that that amount would be taken to court?

I am confused now. Some people are telling me to not contact these creditors and let it fall off my credit report and begin anew, and some are telling me the only way to do it is to get back to them and start paying off my debt.

What should I do?

I am confused now. Some people are telling me to not contact these creditors and let it fall off my credit report and begin anew, and some are telling me the only way to do it is to get back to them and start paying off my debt.

What should I do? Also..I'm in school right now with no income. If I wait another two years when I get a job before I start paying back debts, would my situation get any worse? They've been delinquent for about five years at this point.

Answer 1

Nothing restarts the S.O.L. except you paying them or saying you might pay them.

If you have judgments, they can attach bank accounts, garnish wages (if your state allows it) and file liens on any property you may own like cars, boats, land and homes.

This will stay on your credit for 7-years or until the S.O.L. runs out whichever is longer making it very hard to get any other types of loans with out making massive down payments, fees and State maximum interest rates.

As far as re-establishing your credit, like I said in my first answer the best way is two credit cards paid in full every month and not exceeding 30% of your credit limit in any given month.

I did this for 2-years and rasied my credit score over 150-points.

Answer 2

I find it unlikely that you wouldn't know about a judgment if it was issued, but it is possible. If you do have a judgement it means they went to court and sued you for the money you owed BEFORE the SOL was expired on the debt. If they got a judgment usually they get a garnishment order to go with it and they start garnishing your wages, or they attach your bank account and start siezing any money that goes into it...so you would likely know about a garnishment because they have your SSN so they would be able to find your wages no matter where you lived.

If it were ME and there was no judgment against me I would probably let sleeping dogs lie. You should be very close to the SOL expiring on these debts and that means they can take no legal action (once the SOL has officially expired on the debt).

If you do have a judgment that would have an SOL as well...but your creditor can charge you interest on your judgment as well...for example the SOL in Michigan on a judgment is 10 years and they can charge 12% interest on the debt...

The thing you need to remember is that just because the SOL has expired does not mean they are required to stop harrassing you about the debt or stop reporting it to the credit bureaus...they can report until the day you die or pay, which ever comes first.

Answer 3

First, it is possible that creditors sued you and won a default judgment.. Summons could have been send to your last known address and you never got it. Judgments are good for 10 years and can be renewed.

However, before worrying about judgments, get a free copy of your credit report (AnnualCreditReport.com) and see what is actually showing.

Negatives fall off your credit report 7 years and 180 days from the date of last activity (DOLA) which is the default date. Paying does not restart this reporting period.

Do not confuse the 7 year reporting period with the statute of limitations (SOL). The SOL varies from state to state and is an affirmative defense if you are sued. Making a payment does restart the SOL. Moving out of state puts a hold on the SOL.

If your creditors already have a judgment, the SOL is immaterial . If there are judgments showing on your credit report, pay them off. They are not going to go away.

Your negatives are probably about to fall off your report, and you can work on building a good score. The MORAL thing to do is to pay off those old debts.

Answer 4

Hi, First yes it is possible to get a great score after 7 years if you take care of the problem. Deliquent bills just do not magically disappear. If the creditor has filed a judgement against you it will continue to show up on your credit report until you have paid it and then 7 years after that. Everytime they update their inquires of your deliquent accounts it starts the date fresh. So until it is taken care of you will continue to show it. I do not know how much your debt is but I would look into bankruptcy. I had to file because of medical bills. I was only 18 when I incurred them and did not have the insurance to pay for the serious illness that I had and the treatment and surgery of it, I just let it go thinking the same way that you did that after 7 years it would just disappear. Did not happen. So I had to file bankruptcy. I did this in 2000. It is now 2007 and I have a credit score of 780. Excellent credit. It took hardwork and learning to manage my money but I did it. Good luck to you.

Answer 5

What do you mean you were not there? If you incurred the debt (i.e. you were the one that opened the accounts, charged them up, and then left town), you are always responsible for them. It does not matter where you were when they accounts went delinquent.

Now, if you did NOT open these accounts because your identity was stolen, you need to report that to your local police department, get a report #, and then call the collections agency and tell them the same thing. (I've dealt with that twice before, too) But from the sounds of it, these are legit accounts that you did not pay on...

I've had a judgement against me in the past. You can still pay on it. You call the original company that you owed the money to, and they will refer you to their collections agency. When you call the collections agency, be ready to deal with some nasty people that will try and get you to pay the debt off ASAP. That is their job and they love trying to get you nervous and scared. They will even try to tell you to "borrow the money from the friend" just to get you to pay it off. You should be able to set up a payment plan with them. In my case I was paying directly to the attorney for the collections agency. They sent me an invoice every month and I paid them via check. (I was paying over the phone, but one of their dumb employees screwed up one of my payments I made over the phone, so I started paying by check so I could track every payment. Remember, the call center workers at collections agencies are making minimum wage and some of them could care less about your $$.)

Anyway, I paid off the balance and now the account it closed. It was a very humbling experience to call and tell them I screwed up, I was seriously delinquent, the judgement was made against me, and now I had to PAY up the ***. But I did it and now it's over with! It is NEVER too late to make these things right.

And yes, you CAN fix your credit, even after judgements have been made against you. I just BOUGHT A HOUSE on my own in January, all because my credit had improved enough to get a mortgage. The other day I had to finance new tires on my car and I was approved. Three years ago I never would have gotten approved.

My boyfriend has had wage garnishments for previous debts, and a car repossessed, but his credit has improved enough for him to get 0% APR on his current truck. Once you make right and start paying current balances on time every month, your scores will improve.

Again, it's never too late. Swallow you pride and call the collections agencies. Tell them you want to set up a payment plan. You can do it.

Answer 6

It should only take two years to get yourself out of this. Show that you're taking responsibility and pay off your debts in payments and continously. The judgement may stay on your record for 7 years but getting them paid off will tell any loan company that you are able to pay your debts. I guess it all depends on what you're buying.

Answer 7

you may circulate interior the unique courtroom to have the judgment set aside on the grounds of loss of service. you will ought to document the action with affidavits exhibiting which you weren't served & weren't living on the region of service. you will then ought to have an evidentiary listening to on the concern. Your burden of evidence would be quite severe & you're able to be able to lose. As a sensible remember it quite is impossible so you might try this without an lawyer. despite while you're efficient, all you're starting to be carried out is set aside the judgment. you will nonetheless be in courtroom & could returned lose the case & be returned the place you began, having spent a brilliant form of $$. So except you may instruct you weren't at fault, it probably is merely no longer easily worth the attempt. except the quantity in touch is massive it quite is according to danger quite helpful to artwork out a paymement plan to get your license returned. in case you won't be in a position to try this, yet another decision is financial ruin. which will discharge the judgment & get your license returned. you need to hunt for advice from a community lawyer as to what's your superb decision.

Answer 8

Kelly everyone one of us has hard times. At least you seem willing to discuss your options. Once you have the credit report, and know to whom and what you owe, I suggest you contact them and seek to work out a repayment plan with each one. Yes it may take sometime to clear this, but you will be rewarded in the end.

Answer 9

If you're really that worried about your credit score, just pay the delinquent bills.

Answer 10

If you have outstanding debts which you defaulted on, this does not bode well for you creditwise where ever you relocate to.