My question specifically relates to the reporting to CRA's. I sort of have the opinion that if I were to be sued by any of my old creditors, they would easily win and I would then have judgement(s) added to the chargeoff entries already on my report. If you are being sued, is there any way to avoid this scenario, such as paying before the court date, immed. after court, etc. It seems to me that you should not have to carry around the judgement if you paid it off in a responsible way (which would be something the judge would decide). I can understand being punished if the judgement is not paid off. I would welcome any education here. I would like to be prepared in the unlikely event ofa suit.
Paying it off just before or after court is not paying responsibly. If you think you are about to be sued, you should probably contact the creditor and try to work out some type of arrangement PRIOR to being sued.
I agree that it's best to work something out before being sued. However, it is entirely possible to pay and even to negotiable a reduced settlement amount after a suit has been filed; but before a judgement has been entered. In that case, the payment is conditioned on DISMISSAL of the case by the plaintiff (creditor). Many times, creditors will take these deals to avoid the hassle of a case and the hearings supplemental that are usually needed to actually colllect a judgement. Further, there is the danger that a judge would order repayment terms that are a hassle for the OC. Greg
Say I accidentally backed over a neighbors' vegetable garden. I apologized and offered to pay the outrageous sum of $5000, just to prove how sorry I was and compensate him in every way he could have possibly been harmed. He says "nope, I want $20,000!" He takes you to court and wins $100 in a judgement. You don't have any problem with that, so you promptly hand it over. It seems crazy and terribly unjust that you would be punished for 7 years! How would this be any different from the charge-off scenario? Something must be terribly wrong with my logic, because I just do not understand how having a judgement should affect your credit unless there is an outstanding balance or late payments have been made. I have never had one. I don't see them as any big deal. Any average person could easily encounter one or more in a lifetime.
If you have a judgment, it means that a creditor had to chase you down and haul you to court to get you to pay. That, is much worse than a chargeoff. It shows you won't pay until the legal system forces you to pay. That's hardly an inducement for a potential creditor to lend you money.
Well said. And that is why it is on your reports for 7 years. So other potential creditors know what they may be getting themselves into.
Judgments are on your "credit reports" EFFECTIVELY for longer than 7 years in most States. They are PUBLIC RECORDS and anyone who wants to see if you are a good credit risk can look you up on the internet -this includes nosy neighbors, co-workers potential emplyers, lenders or ANYONE- no permission is needed. Not to mention that at any time the judgment can be enforced by garnishing your pay, seizing your newly paid off car or attaching your bank account.
What do you mean by EFFECTIVELY for longer than 7 years? Are you refering to states sol that may be longer than 7 years?
Not true! I have 3 judgments from a slumlord who refused our rent unless mailed RRR. She would then sue us in court for the monies she claimed never to have received. Long story but although the Judge found in our favor, we had judgments against us because we posted the rent monies with the court! Does this sound "fair" to you?
Yes, if you are in a 10 or 12 or 20 year State for the judgment to stay on file, that is how long EFFECTIVELY in can be easily looked up by anyone.Which, in my oinion is a LOT worse than a low "score".
Or maybe you weren't served properly and didn't know that you were being sued. Say this debt was you old boss's debt and you were just the contact person. They mail the papers to the employer, not you, since you've not worked there for over 6 months. They get a default judgement because you didn't answer the complaint or show up in court. Presto! You've got a judgement. Your sleezy boss went ahead and paid the judgement, but you personally still have a judgement against you. I believe that things like this happen too often! I know it happened to me! Sirrowan
1*Paying it off just before or after court is not paying responsibly. 2*If you think you are about to be sued, you should probably contact the creditor and try to work out some type of arrangement PRIOR to being sued. LKH ====================== 1*You don't always have this option. 2*Same here as many times the issue can only be resolved by the court as there is no way to determine liability or responsibility prior to the litigation. *******This is why lawsuits and judgments aren't legitimate items to report and have no business being on anyone's report. BUDGET HOMES CO.
Correct why chat. Since this information is so readily available then there is hardly any need or excuse to report it on credit reports is there! BUDGET HOMES CO.
Say I accidentally backed over a neighbors' vegetable garden. I apologized and offered to pay the outrageous sum of $5000, just to prove how sorry I was and compensate him in every way he could have possibly been harmed. He says "nope, I want $20,000!" He takes you to court and wins $100 in a judgement. You don't have any problem with that, so you promptly hand it over. 1* It seems crazy and terribly unjust that you would be punished for 7 years! 2*How would this be any different from the charge-off scenario? 3*Something must be terribly wrong with my logic, because I just do not understand how having a judgement should affect your credit unless there is an outstanding balance or late payments have been made. askaf ````````````````````````````````` 1* It is! You aren't being punished for 7 years, You are being unjustly forced to make Insurers and lenders rich for the rest of your life. 2* it's not! once you have failed to pay you have reached the bottom, What ever action the creditors take after that is akin to continuing to shooting a dead horse. The idea of holding one accountable for the actions of others is nothing short of preposterous! 3*Your logic is doing just fine! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Not true! I have 3 judgments from a slumlord who refused our rent unless mailed RRR. She would then sue us in court for the monies she claimed never to have received. Long story but although the Judge found in our favor, we had judgments against us because we posted the rent monies with the court! 1*Does this sound "fair" to you? Imp =========================== 1* It's anything but fair. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Or maybe you weren't served properly and didn't know that you were being sued. Say this debt was you old boss's debt and you were just the contact person. They mail the papers to the employer, not you, since you've not worked there for over 6 months. They get a default judgment because you didn't answer the complaint or show up in court. Presto! You've got a judgment. Your sleazy boss went ahead and paid the judgment, but you personally still have a judgment against you. I believe that things like this happen too often! I know it happened to me! Sirrowan ________________--------------=================***************** *****************================--------------------____________ quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by keepmine If you have a judgment, it means that a creditor had to chase you down and haul you to court to get you to pay. That, is much worse than a charge-off. It shows you won't pay until the legal system forces you to pay. That's hardly an inducement for a potential creditor to lend you money. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well said. And that is why it is on your reports for 7 years. So other potential creditors know what they may be getting themselves into. LKH ================== Let something like one of the things described by the above posters happen to you or keepmine and I bet you both would change your minds. BUDGET HOMES CO.
I have to disagree with you keeepmine. Just because you have a judgement does NOT mean you had to be hunted down to pay. What happened to a civil court and a judge determining who is right and who is wrong. There are plenty of situations where someone sues and a defendant fights and loses. As in all aspects of our lousy court system, it doesn't nessesarily mean it was a fair desision. And even if it was, the defendant was not hunted down, he was defending himself in court as our system was designed. A resulting judgement does not mean he is a deadbeat just that he lost! I do however agree there are those situations where you are right, but don't generalize. Kara
Good post Kara: Judgments never tell the full story. They are full of misconceptions false assumptions and inaccuracies. I thought reported information had to be accurate and complete so how do they qualify as being reportable? LB 59
Kara and IBrown, I disagree with both of you. I've sued plenty of people when I was in banking. I never once filed suit against anyone who had not breached a contract to pay. Also, before I carried them to court at least5 or 6 months if not more passed as we made repeated efforts to get them to pay. If you end up in court as a defendant there is a pretty strong likelyhood that somewhere along the line, you didn't pay as agreed. If you're going to defend a lawsuit where you are not preforming then, you darn well better win or, you made a bad situation worse. In any event, a judgment sure shows other creditors than in the past someone has had trouble getting you to pay for whatever reason.
I'm sorry but you have no clue what you are talking about. All of the CAs I have tried to work with are scumbags, hang up on me, insult me, will not try to at all to lower the "accepted" payment even though I have no funds to pay what they want. I do not have a problem with paying my debts with a reasonable amount that I can afford but apparently they do so they are supposedely filing a lawsuit. I am not refusing to pay, I just do not have the outrageous amounts they are asking.
What about judgments where no money was awarded or claimed ? Do you think it's fair to have them on reports just so lenders and insurers can charge you higher rates? If you have nothing against such judgments being reported then you wouldn't mind a couple on your reports would you?
IBrown, I know I'll regret asking this but, what in hell are you talking about? I have never seen a judgment returned where money was not an issue. In most small claims courts, money is the only issue. The judge has no authority for injuntive relief. All he/she can do is award monetary damages.
