Hello everyone! I have been reading this board for quite some time and have been slowly soaking all of this information in! This is a terrific forum and I hope to be able to offer some great advice in the future. For now though, I need some help! I figured I would start by signing up for PrivacyGuard and obtain both myself and my husbands credit reports. I started first with my husband. EEK!! We haven't pulled a CR for roughly 2 years, I could just kick myself that we hadn't! He has a Public Record judgement against him! I am so outraged I could spit nails right now! What happened was we bought a new car at the dealer. When they asked us how much we owed on the trade-in we said about $9500. We get the new car and life moves on. Fast forward to a beautiful morning when I hear a knock on the door and a Sherrif serves my husband Superior Court papers! The car dealer apparently says we owe them $118.84 for the difference between the trade-in's actual balance and our estimation of the balance. I immediately call the dealer and deman to know why they are suing us instead of sending us letters, or even calling us to inform us of the payment owed. I would have gone down there right away to pay IF I HAD KNOWN!! She says they had sent a couple letters. I do remeber getting envelopes from the dealer in the mail but I tossed them since I assumed they were the usual "Thanks for buying" "Rate Our Service" Etc. I ask her what we can do to alleviate this matter. She says I pay them before the court date, they don't show up, we don't show up and the whole thing drops. So I immediately sent them a check and thought that was the end of it. In the mail a few weeks later we get a notice from the court that a judgement was won against my husband. I was livid and I called the dealer and gave them a piece of my mind. She apologized and said she would take care of it. Now I pull his CR for the first time since 2001 and see that both EXP and TU have it listed as a public record. EXP says: Judgment satisfied Date Filed: May 29, 2002 Reference #: xxxxxxxxx Court: MY TOWN MUN COURT Plaintiff: xxxxx xxxxx Liability: N/A Asset Amount: N/A TU says: Paid civil judgement Date Filed: May 1, 2002 Reference #: xxxxxxxxx Court: Municipal Court Plaintiff: xxxxx xxxxx Liability: $118 Asset Amount: $0 We never went to court, I paid them before the court date. What can we do?? I am getting ready to call them soon but don't want to spout off without some good advice. To make matters worse I believe that public record is the reason why my new car loan rate is so high. We had also bought another new car from the same dealer last year. Matter of fact, we have purchased 4 cars from that dealer! Sorry so long, didn't mean to get winded . . . I just really need some good ol' help! Shana
Did you get a receipt from the dealer the day you paid? Do you still have the canceled check? Did they hold it until after the court date to cash it? Go to the court house and get a copy of the entire case file...not just the summary. If everything is as you say then do what Bill said and see an attorney!
A little off topic but this question is for Bill about how a judgement is listed on TU. If a judgement was won in Municipal Court but TU reports it as being won in Circuit Court.....Is there a big enough difference in the two to dispute as inaccurate?
Since I almost never dispute with credit bureaus I'm a pretty poor one to ask about them. I really don't know the answer. I guess it says that if it is inaccurate you can dispute it.
Hardly. Municipal Court is a court run and operated by a municipality, a city or other local government. A circuit court can be either state or federally run. The only thing they have in common is that they are courts of inferiory jurisdiction. Some claim that a municipal court is an Article III court and higher courts than that are Admiralty courts. Or something like that anyway. I never paid all that much attention to the matter to know for sure about those arguments.
Hi, Thanks for all the responses. I was never sent a receipt, I do have my bank statement and it shows my check clearing my bank 6 days after the judgement date. I'll bet that's what they did, hold my check until after the court date to cash it. I called and left a message with the accounts manager. I basically said that I had a copy of my husband's CR and it listed the judgement. I mentioned that they were paid before the court date and that I thought it to be illegal to report it as they were. Also said that I would like a call back immediately and would like the TL removed from his CR immediately. Haven't heard anything yet and of course it's Friday so I guess I won't hear anything until Monday. Hopefully this gets resolved quickly! Oh, I noticed the 0 posts thing too, weird! Shana
The account manager is not going to be of much help getting the Judgement deleted. Judgements are a matter of public record and are not reported to credit bureaus the way late payments are on a credit card. Once it becomes public record the credit bureau has the right to report it. You need a lawyer to get this judgement vacated. Too bad about the receipt...this would have nailed their hydes to the wall. Just what was the gap in time between the date the check was written and then cashed?
Most lawyers won't even waste their time trying to get a judgment vacated. It happens so seldom it just isn't worth their fiddling with it. In fact, what I've seen posted around is that most lawyers don't even think it's possible. And I've seen them argue that on my message board too.
Re: Re: My husband has a judgement!!?? I would have to get the actual check to see what date was written on it. I know that the day he was served I called and sent the check out the next day. If memory serves me right the court date was like 20 days from the day he was served. If the dealer doesn't have any authority to get that deleted from his account what should I do? Dispute it with the CRA's? Go down to the court myself and see what can be done? Thanks in advance, Shana
Re: Re: My husband has a judgement!!?? It does not matter what the lawyer thinks. What matters is what the Judge thinks. You don't know the outcome until you try and I see no reason for a lawyer to refuse to provide a service so simple as filing a motion in court if they are being paid to do it. That's my opinion anyway....as unfounded as it may be.
Re: Re: My husband has a judgement!!?? That is exactly right and it is a point I make a lot. It don't make the least bit of difference what I think, it's what the courts have ruled that counts. I don't either but nothing can force them to take a case if they don't want to.
Re: Re: My husband has a judgement!!?? You can try to dispute it with the CRA's but chances are slim they will delete. Public record is fact and that's all that they need to report. What you have to do is find a way to get the facts to disappear and only a judge can do that. Sounds like you need to speak to an attorney about your options. In the meantime...find that canceled check
Re: Re: Re: My husband has a judgement!!?? Thank God there are so many of those rascals to choose from....LOL
Re: Re: Re: My husband has a judgement!!?? I thought it to be illegal to report it as they were Shana ========================== The car dealer is not reporting the judgment. Is the judgment listed as paid or unpaid on the reports and at the court house? If it's listed as unpaid you may have to pay out this money again. The END ************************* LB 59
Re: Re: My husband has a judgement!!?? We have purchased 4 cars from that dealer! ShanaD =============== Boy talk about a glutton for punishment ! ! ! ! ! ! The END ************************* LB 59
