Finding out that you have a judgment against you can be one of the most stressful things that you can deal with. Usually, the default judgment is issued by the civil court because of a credit card or medical bill or some other reason. Sometimes you don’t even find out until your wages are being garnished or your bank account is frozen. Worse yet, judgments stay on your credit report for up to 10 years and can make it expensive to obtain a mortgage, personal loan, auto loan, or insurance, and can even prevent you from getting a job.
Most people will usually want to pay or settle right away and will call the creditor to make a payment arrangement. But beware: the collection companies almost never tell you that paying off a judgment does not mean that it be removed from your credit report. Usually, it simply means that it will stay on your report and be marked “satisfied.” This is not good. A satisfied judgment has almost the same detrimental effect on your credit score as a non-satisfied judgment.
The only way to get the judgment off is to have the civil or district court vacate or “cancel” the judgment. Only the court issues judgments, so only the court can vacate the judgment. Once the judgment is vacated, you can still make your payment settlement. The judgment can be removed from your credit report even while you are still making your payments.
You should always call an attorney to represent you to vacate a judgment. The debt collection companies have sneaky lawyers. They may have you sign papers which would cause you to give up many important rights that you can use to get the best possible settlement. You can always call the Law Office of Abel L. Pierre, Attorney at Law, P.C. to take care of your judgment for you. We can get the best and lowest settlement for you. In some limited cases, we have even been able to get the entire judgment dismissed! If you have a judgment, call Abel L. Pierre today.