I have a judgement on my credit report, for medical bills and I want to know how I go about getting it removed from my credit report.
I have a judgement on my credit report, for medical bills and I want to know how I go about getting it removed from my credit report.
#1 by spalmer on 11/30/2011 - 1:08 PM
Are these actually your medical bills and are they (or were they) past due? If so, then you cannot get it removed from your credit report. You can only remove false items from your credit report and you do so by writing to the credit bureaus to inform them of the error.
#2 by CatDad on 11/30/2011 - 1:18 PM
Accurate negative info stays for 7 years. This is why we have a credit history.
#3 by SPIFIMAN1 on 11/30/2011 - 1:58 PM
The only way to remove a judgment is to go back to court and have it vacated by the courts.
To do this you must be able to prove that these debts are not yours or that you were improperly served if you can’t then there is no way to remove the judgment until either 7-years or the statute of limitations runs out whichever is longer.
#4 by Judy on 11/30/2011 - 2:23 PM
You may be able to get it removed by paying them.
But.. you don’t necessarily have to pay the full amount.
You can negotiate with them, and tell them you only have a certain amount of money and offer it to them.
Ask for a pay on delete by mail before you make payment.
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#5 by golferwhoworks on 11/30/2011 - 2:35 PM
if the debt is yours even if paid the judgment will report in the public records for 10 years.
Once paid it does not hurt your scores after about 4 months
#6 by Ryan M on 11/30/2011 - 2:57 PM
If the posting is ACCURATE, they cannot be removed…..PERIOD. They can only be removed IF you never received the services OR you paid the debt in full BEFORE you were sent to collections. Sorry, but you cannot have accurate postings removed just because you want a better credit score.
#7 by Credit Trauma on 11/30/2011 - 2:59 PM
The first thing that I’d do is find out what the Statue of Limitations is in your state to collect a debt. If the judgment is older than the Statue of Limitations for your state, then you can dispute it with the credit bureaus and get it off that way.
If it’s still within that time frame, the credit bureaus will keep this item on your credit for 7 years. Then the next step I’d take is to dispute it directly with the credit bureaus to prove it’s a valid debt.
If it comes back that it is still within that time frame, you’ll need to contact the lawyer who originally filed the judgment. If you have a copy of the Judgment itself, this information will be located in the top left hand corner of the Judgment. If you don’t have a copy of the judgment, you should be able to get the information from your credit report. You can get a free copy from all three bureaus once a year at http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com. You can dispute right there on line when you get your report as well.
Once you contact the lawyer, you can ask to settle the debt for less than you owe. I’d start negotiations at .20 on the 1.00 and go from there until you reach an agreement. You can also negotiate to have the judgment deleted from your credit report while you’re in negotiations. Usually this will work if you can come in with a lump sum payment. If you cannot, and have to make payments, they probably will not negotiate with you on that issue, but it can’t hurt to try!
Whatever you do, make sure you get all terms you agree to in writing before you ever pay a dime. That way you have proof of what your arrangement was and can use it later to dispute any mis-information with the credit bureaus should the need arise.
Once you’ve paid off the Judgment, you’ll need to get a “Satisfaction of Judgment” from the lawyer. It’s very important that you get this document, and file it with the County Clerk where you live, or make sure the lawyer has filed it. If they do the filing for you, make sure you get the original recorded document back in your hands. This is the only document that releases you from the debt legally and proves it has been paid. Keep it with your important papers.
There are a bunch of free letters you can use to negotiate settlement of your debt or pay for deletion at http://www.credittrauma.com/free-letters/
#8 by Beverly S on 11/30/2011 - 3:06 PM
They don’t get removed, however if you pay them, they will be marked paid.
#9 by jlf on 11/30/2011 - 4:03 PM
You cannot get a court judgment removed from your credit reports – it’s a public record. The only way it could be removed is if the court that granted it was to rescind it.