How to Find Out if You Have Judgments Against You

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How to Find Out if You Have Judgements Against You

Have you ever wondered ? If you have outstanding debt, you should be cautious about getting sued. It is possible to challenge judgments, but the complexity of the process causes many to give up.DoNotPay can help.

Once you find out that you have a judgment against you, use our Clean Credit Report product to remove the judgment from your credit report. We have vast experience in dealing with credit report-related issues. Read on to find out more.

Creditors Can Garnish Your Wages

A court can authorize a creditor to pursue other means of recouping their debt. Such methods may include wage garnishment and property liens. A judgment usually comes after a creditor wins a lawsuit against you for not satisfying your debt. A judgment may also include extra fees such as interest and attorney fees. One may receive a judgment in the following ways:

  • Failing to show up in court: Failing to show up in court when a creditor files a lawsuit against you will lead to an automatic lawsuit win for the creditor, and hence they can proceed to file a judgment.
  • When the debt is valid: If you file a countersuit but the court still finds you legally obligated to the debt, the creditor can file a judgment; Therefore, it needs much more than an inability to pay.

If the process is too tedious for you, let DoNotPay help.

How to Find Out if I Have a Judgment Against Me

Should you be the , you will receive notifications. You could, however, miss the summoning and therefore miss the hearing. Summons are either delivered personally or sent by mail. After moving, if you have not updated your address or if you lose your summons notification letter, you may miss the hearing. A judgment may be filed against you.

Additionally, a judgment check cannot be run on your credit history. You may conduct a judgment search through the County Recorders' office. You can expect judgments on your credit report to last for 5 to 20 years. As a result, you must check if one has been filed against you.

What To Do if You Have a Judgment Against You?

Usually, there is a period between the lawsuit and the judgment. During that period, you should make arrangements with your creditors to have an out-of-court settlement where you may have a pay-to-delete negotiation. However, if the creditor wins the lawsuit, a judgment becomes inevitable. However, you can attempt to remove the judgment from your credit report using the following methods:

1. Ask for Court Validation

The information on your credit report should be verifiable and accurate. If a creditor cannot verify a negative item, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the creditor to remove it. Therefore, you should ask the court to validate the judgment. You may do this by sending a validation request letter with your personal information and court case number to the court that issued the judgment. Consequently, you may also send it to the credit bureau if the court fails to validate it.

2. File an Appeal

Alternatively, you may file an appeal to have the judgment cleared. In such a scenario, the initial judgment is dismissed and, therefore, removed from public records. Ultimately, the judge will reevaluate your case and determine whether to vacate or uphold your initial dispute in the judgment with the Credit Bureaus Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. If the creditor fails to show up, the judge will rule in your favor. Also, keep in mind that the court may also rule against you. Despite this method not being the most effective, it is worth giving a shot.

3. Dispute the Judgment With the Credit Bureaus

If the appeal does not work, you may try disputing it with the three credit bureaus. The objective should be to find any inconsistencies between the three reports. Any inconsistencies may give you grounds to dispute the negative item altogether. You should look out for misspellings, wrong dollar amounts, inaccurate dates, etc.

If you find any inconsistencies in the reports, you should send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus like Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian through certified mail. If they cannot validate the information, they must remove it from the report. Similarly, if they cannot validate a judgment, they must remove it from the report. You can contact the three main credit bureaus here:

Credit BureausPhone NumberMailing Address
Equifax(866) 349-5191Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30348
Experian(888) 397-3742Experian, P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion(800) 916-8800 TransUnion LLC Consumer Dispute Center, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016

4. Pay For It and Wait for It To Come Off Your Credit Report

If none of these methods work, the best thing left is to satisfy your judgment and wait for it to clear off your report. Some reports may be cleared immediately if you pay in some states, while others may take up to seven years. In this case, however, a potential lender may be lenient to the satisfactory judgment in your report.

Writing formal letters to seek the may be a complex task for most. Additionally, the process can be time-consuming, making it difficult to follow through. DoNotPay can help. By uploading personal information and the proof for dispute, DoNotPay will file the forms for you and leverage its experience in the field to give you a breakthrough. To top it all off, this process only takes a few minutes.

Use DoNotPay To Clean a Judgment on Your Credit Report

DoNotPay's clean credit report product will leverage its vast experience to plead a worthy case for you. All you need is a few minutes of your time and we will do the heavy lifting for you. To get started, take the following steps:

  1. Search Clean Credit Report on DoNotPay.

  2. Prepare a recent copy of your credit report that you can use as reference.

  3. Let us guide you through the 4 potential options:
  1. If you've already paid off your debt, we'll help you file a Goodwill Removal Request to get it removed.

  2. If you notice any errors in your report (we have a list of common errors you can use!), we'll help you file a credit dispute to the creditor or major credit bureaus.

  3. If there are no errors, we'll check if you're still eligible to file a debt validation request. If they can't validate your debt, they're required to remove it from your report and they can't collect it!

  4. Lastly, if none of the above options work, we'll help you file a pay-to-delete negotiation letter. You can customize the amount you are willing to pay in exchange for getting the item removed.

Why Should You Use DoNotPay To Clean a Judgment on Your Report

  • Fast: Our product only requires a few minutes to finish.
  • Convenience: DoNotPay assists you in resolving your credit report clearance and many other issues, wherever and whenever you want.
  • Simple: Our products are simple to use. They have clear guidelines that help you save time.
  • Successful: We have broad experience in dealing with credit-related issues. We will deliver your desired results.

You’ll save so much time, money, and effort with the app.

DoNotPay Works Across all Companies With the Click of a Button

Our product deals with credit report issues across various groups, companies, and industries. Here are a few other problems that we can solve:

What else can DoNotPay do?

DoNotPay boasts a wide range of solutions across many different industries. Some of these solutions include:

Remove a Judgment From Your Credit Report With DoNotPay

When it comes to cleaning your credit report, DoNotPay's Clean Credit Report is your best friend. Using our experience, we will craft the most appropriate request letter to remove judgment from your credit report. In addition, our product is easy to use and takes a short time to complete. To get started, visit our product page.

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