When I was going to school in St. Louis, I lived in an apartment. I left school and subsequently left my apartment with my 'trustworthy' roommate for the last month. 3 years pass... I go to get an apartment. They say they wont rent to me with a $700 unpaid judgement against me. Huh?!? I contact the apartment complex. They direct me to their CA where everything is handled. I arrange to pay the CA $1200 over 6 months by check which I completed. I didnt realize at the time that I had other options. 3 years pass... The Collection agency didnt remove their negative tradeline like they said they would ( no it wasnt in writing =\ ). The judgement still shows as unpaid and there has been no satisfaction of judgement filed. It is on all three of my credit reports. I have sent in a letter to dispute any obsolete addresses. Any advice any can offer in this situtation? Thank you all in advance! Parul
22 views and no replies. Wow. I'll take a stab at it although my way of handling it may not be what others might suggest. You could do one of many things: 1) Dispute this with the credit reporting agencies by saying: This item is not mine. I DO NOT have and UNPAID blah blah blah with so and so. It's the truth. You paid it. So you don't have an unpaid bill with these people. The CRAs may simply delete it. 2) Write to that apartment building office and threaten them with a lawsuit for reporting false information as this was paid and they failed to have that noted on your reports. 3) Call the apartment building office and said, "Hi there. Remember about three years ago when I paid you the $1,200 to settle my account? Could you report that information to the credit bureaus because I'm getting turned down for jobs because of this error. Tape the call so your ass is covered if they don't do it. I'm not by any means a pro at this so I hope others will post if my advice is good or not, or perhaps give you an even better way to handle this.
I have 2 concerns really - The judgement is still unsatisfied from the courts point of view - not good since I already paid. - If I dispute the judgement, whatever the reason, the judgement is updated to satisfied and they report it again. What about the collection agency - they reported paid collection versus deleting... I didnt have it writing, but can I now get them to delete with an estoppel letter? Thanks for responding Shirley - I appreciate your input. Parul
I also would call the apartment mgmt and tell them they need to update the judgment as satisfied with the court - TODAY. As far the cra's go, you've already disputed obsolete addresses. When they are removed, dispute the judgment itself. On the positive side, it has now been at least 6 years and it can only be reported for 7, so it should be coming off in the near future.
Will the update of the status of the judgement reset the 7 year clock with the CRA's? Thanks in advance. Parul
LKH- Why not just send an intent to sue letter, naming the apartment complex and CA? By not updating it to PAID it's false reporting. PLUS, he/she has been denied an apartment in the meantime, plus possibly even faulty service? I don't know maybe I'm jumping the gun, but in the words of Lbrown "these CA's need to be taught a lesson" :ff my soapbox::
No, the 7 years start with the date filed, not the date paid. § 605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681c] (a) Information excluded from consumer reports. Except as authorized under subsection (b) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information:... (2) Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period.
Thank you both for responding so quickly. Have I gotten myself into a pickle by paying the CA instead of the Apt complex? The Apt complex is the one who took the judgement out against me, but they were the ones that directed me to the CA (over the phone). Thanks again! Parul
