What Is A Judgment?

What Is A Judgement?

Judgments are final decisions rendered by a court of law. In terms of credit reports and credit scoring, Judgments refer to a decision by a court holding one party liable to another for a specified amount of money in relation to some previous transaction, such as the extension of credit. If the bill collector has exhausted other remedies for collecting the funds from you, they may choose to sue you in court. A Judgment is the final determination on the dispute.

Judgments, like any other negative mark on your credit report hurt your credit score. They show future creditors that previously you were hauled into court over unpaid financial obligations. Knowing that it took a course of legal action and a determination by a court of law to attempt to collect on an account that you obtained may steer future creditors away from choosing to grant you credit. Furthermore, it paints you as a "risky" borrower. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to be able to obtain a mortgage or other loan if you have an open Judgment listed on your credit report.

A Judgment is considered "open" if it has not been dealt with and remains unsatisfied with the court or the creditor. One can determine the status of a Judgment by contacting the court in which it was entered. Usually the Clerk of the Court can be helpful in obtaining this information. Additionally, it is oftentimes easier to physically visit the courthouse and speak with the clerk rather than try to obtain the information over the phone. Depending on your jurisdiction and the local rules of the court, you may have to prove your identity before this information is released.

Depending on the Statute of Limitations in the State where you live, Judgments can stay on your report for up to 10 years, sometimes longer. However, like any other negative information on your credit report, Judgments can be disputed if they are incomplete or inaccurate in any way. You have the right to dispute this information if it is inaccurate or incomplete.

If you have a Judgment on your credit report that remains unpaid or unsatisfied, one course of action to take would be to attempt to satisfy the Judgment, if not have it removed completely. Oftentimes working with the original lender or creditor will help you to begin the process to have the Judgment satisfied or removed. Speak with the original creditor or lender and work out a settlement. If you speak to the original creditor and agree to pay them in full, they might agree to voluntarily dismiss or vacate the Judgment with the court. If you simply get the creditor to agree to list the Judgment as satisfied, you now have a right to dispute the status of the Judgment on your credit report. Depending on the investigation conducted by the credit bureaus, it might be removed altogether. It all depends on whether the new information is provided by the court and can be verified by the credit bureaus. If it cannot be verified, then it must come off of your report under the law.

The first step however, is to ascertain the status of the judgment. The clerk of the court is a good place to start, and from there you can work towards having the information satisfied on your credit report, if not removed altogether.

If you have a Judgment on your credit report and you are interested in working with a Credit Repair Attorney to assist you in deleting the judgment from your credit report, please contact the attorneys at http://www.Total-Credit-Repair.com. They have deleted judgments in the past, and they will work hard to delete your judgment too.