Hi, I'm new here. Cannot find this subject already posted anywhere for forgive me if I am not looking properly. I have just discovered that a judgement against me which I paid almost immediately that it was passed, a year and a half ago, has just shown up on my credit report. I know it's a recent addition because I have been researching mortgages and have been on top of it lately. The judgement on my report notes the court where it was passed and the person who won it. I called the court and they say that they do not place anything on people's credit reports. I am afraid that I think the (evil realtor) woman who won this judgement has just placed this on my credit report, probably out of sheer vindictiveness. My mortgage broker tells me that it is illegal not to remove a judgement when it has been paid. I have contacted Equifax to find out if indeed this person did just place this on my report. I have proof that it was paid promptly. Can anyone tell me: Do you know the legality of this situation? Is there a place that I can look for the exact law governing this (if it exists) Does anyone know any course of action for prosecuting someone for doing this? I think I can probably take care of the error on my report, but I don't want to let her get away with this. Thanks.
Not sure what your specific goal is, but if the mortgage is your primary objective you really ought to be using the documentation proving the judgment was paid to have your mortgage broker do rapid rescoring of your credit score(s) for the best interest rate. After that you can use your states Rules of Civil Procedure to learn how to file a motion to vacate the judgment. Your local county clerk is usually the best one to guide you about how to do this, if it is appropriate and fitting. Beyond that you can do basic disputes with each CRA by writing a simple letter which says this item is inaccurate, please delete it from my report.
Judgements usually end up on reports due to companies, such as Lexis-Nexis, that the CRAs hire to collect information from the courts. The courts do not directly report anything.
