Can a judgement settled before the court date remain on your credit report???

Question

Hi guys! Just was checking out my credit report and noticed that an old credit card debt I had that had filed a judgement against me in the local court. Before the court date I appealed and worked out a payment plan that I am current on and should be finishing off soon. We never went to court and I swear they sent me a letter that is was dismissed. But the judgement is on my public credit report and bringing my score down more which I understand I shouldn't have let it get that far but do I have to wait 7-10 years for it to go away or should it be off when I am finished paying???

Answer 1

It will remain in your credit record for 7 years following the last transaction on the account, most likely 7 years after you make your last payment.

Answer 2

When you become past due, the creditor has the right to report the delinquency to the credit bureau. Often the creditor does not report the delinquency until the account is in collections.

When you settled the account, part of the deal should have been that the creditor would remove the derogatory item from your credit report. Since that was not part of the deal, this item will remain on your credit report for at least 7 years from the last transaction. However, you can contact each of the credit bureaus and contest the accuracy of the derogatory item. If you keep asking them (in writing) to investigate the item, sometimes they will just remove it rather than spend time reviewing the item. If you request that it be removed in writing several times, you might get lucky and have it removed. Otherwise, it is going to stay on your report. Good Luck.