I was just wondering if the renewal of a judgment would trigger another seven-year reporting period on credit reports. My case history â?? A default judgment for $2500 was recorded against me in California in 2000 by the long extinct â?? no longer in business - bottom-feeder First Select Corporation. After I learned that First Select was too dead to accept a settlement , I later found out much later that the judgment was subsequently assigned to Credigy Receivables. The judgment record recently came off my credit reports. However, in California, a judgment is valid for 10 years and can be renewed into perpetuity. My main concern is that if the judgment is not settled â?? the assignee â?? Credigy Receivables - will renew the judgment on or before the next two years . If the judgment is renewed (which can be easily done by the judgment assignee) , will the renewal trigger a new 7-year reporting period on my credit reports? (BTW, I still live in CA) . Needless to say, the moral of the story is to never take a default judgment without exhausting all the available remedies . It may stay on the haunt you forever.
Renewal prior to expiration may not be all you have to worry about. In Georgia for instance, the creditor has three years after expiration in which to renew. Of course, late renewal would lose lien priority vis-a-vis other lienors who had not needed to renew yet or had not been late renewing. I have heard that Credigy has re-recorded some First Select judgments at or near the seven year mark in Florida ... which technically isn't necessary, as judgments are good for 20 years under existing case law (however, that case law is treating a statute that was repealed in 1967 as though it was never repealed). http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN...079d4a7ab47ebb2b85257029006f2e54?OpenDocument Presumably the reason Credigy would do this is to try to cause the judgement to get picked up again by Lexis/Nexis and hence by the CRAs, since there is apparently nothing regarding actual enforcment efforts that could be affected by such re-recording. In short, Credigy appears to be pursuing the path of least resistance in Florida, but pursuing nonetheless. That may or may not be how they're doing things in CA. P.S. -- Credigy's assignment documents are often a weak point ... they perhaps border on fraud and forgery. In essence, they (likely) have a blanket assignment and apparently they create individual assignment documents after the fact as needed and tack the same signature page to them.
Thank you very much for your reply. I examined the 2- page assignment documents sent by the lawyers of First Select . It was signed by an individual stamped as " Designated Agent " of First Select. There is a notarized statement in the second page of the name of a certain person acting in an "authorized capacity" but it does not specifically state that she is an agent of First Select. Are these documents good enough or they can be grounds for contesting a renewal ? Also if the judgment reappears in the credit reports after renewal - can it be disputed with the CRA's on the ground that it is the same old case ? I find it hard to believe that judgment creditors are allowed to re-report an old case. Anyway , don't get me wrong folks - I would prefer to settle this once and for all . I just wanted to know what my options will be for me and for all others in a similar situation so that we will not be taken advantage of again by these greedy collectors.
