Judgments – Remove from Your Credit
A judgment is also commonly referred to as a default judgment or credit card judgment. This is simply a variation of the same meaning.
A judgment means you have been found legally responsible for a debt. This finding has happened in a court of law.
The creditor has sued you and won their case. This gives the creditor legal grounds to have your wages garnished to pay back the debt.
This is a very bad mark to have on your credit and will cause your credit score to be lowered. Often collection agencies will try and win a judgment. Judgments can happen with any form of unsecured debt.
This mark will stay on your credit for 7 – 10 years dependent upon the state that court was held in, and the statute of limitations in that state. However it is common for creditors to renew judgments.
This makes it possible to never be able remove a judgment. However with some savvy credit repair attorneys and a little luck you may be able to remove a judgment without paying it.
I would first suggest creating a dispute letter. In this letter you identify the judgment listing and explain the reason it is not accurate and mail it to the credit bureaus.
The bureaus will then hold an investigation. They will try and verify the debt and the amount of the debt with the lender or collection agency.
If the debt is inaccurate or is not verified then the bureaus must remove it from your credit. Frequently investigations result in a negative listing being removed.
However a judgment is such a severe mark that it doesn’t have as good of chances of being removed. This often means you are stuck with the listing.
However in some cases a judgment is not correct. Thus the mark should be removed and you should not be responsible.
This is when I recommend a credit attorney. They will be able to use their expert knowledge and when necessary go to court to prove that the judgment is not right and should be removed.
Credit attorneys do not have to be paid thousands of dollars. You can actually hire them at a reasonable rate. A very popular credit repair service Lexington Law has over 20 attorneys and can be hired for as little as $39 a month.
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