To start off, a little over a year ago I recieved a summons to appear for an old credit card debt. I didn't know what to do and contacted the party listed. They put me intouch with the law firm handling this. I called them and worked out a payment plan. I paid so much up front and the rest would be on monthly payments. I asked about going to court and my understanding was as long as payments were made I wouldn't have to worry about it. Well I did make the payments (14 months now). I checked my credit report for the first time in a really long time and found that there was a judgement against me about 1-1/2 months after arraingements were made and payments were sent. If arraingements were made prior to court can they still go and get a judgement?
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Found a judgement on credit report
- Thread Starter ewellman
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mightymoose
Moderator
You were bamboozled.
You received a summons to court and should have appeared when directed to... or otherwise confirmed with the court that the hearing was canceled.
You made an agreement with the creditor but they also followed through and obtained a default judgment against you. As soon as your debt is paid in full they are supposed to notify the court that the debt has been settled and the judgment should disappear.
In short, what you describe sounds legit.
You received a summons to court and should have appeared when directed to... or otherwise confirmed with the court that the hearing was canceled.
You made an agreement with the creditor but they also followed through and obtained a default judgment against you. As soon as your debt is paid in full they are supposed to notify the court that the debt has been settled and the judgment should disappear.
In short, what you describe sounds legit.
fredrikklaw
Moderator
Sounds Familiar!
Yep! That sounds just about the same way I learned a very valuable lesson about litigation which was not to rely on a verbal agreement with the opposing factions and to get every stipulation in writing come what may. But the big difference here is that the law firm you dealt with or are still dealing with including the attorney in question have also committed out and out fraud and you should (I personally hope) absolutely take them to task on this one and not let them slip under the radar.
This is what took place…
The law firm files suit via attorney of record on behalf of the credit card company and serves you with the summon and the complaint in response to which you call the attorney and make a payment plan of so much dollars per month for so many months; an agreement which you honored fully. You were then fed a line by an absolute shyster (who I hesitate to even call an attorney) that as long as you kept up payments you did not have to worry about the lawsuit, when what he should have said instead and actually proceeded to do was to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Well, not only did the attorney NOT dismiss the case, he waits thirty days and then applies to the court for a default judgment claiming that you had not appeared in the case and had failed to answer the complaint (which was technically true). The motion is granted and a default judgment is accordingly entered into court records against you at around the 90-day mark.
You can of course file with the court a motion to vacate the default judgment which under the scenario you have outlined is going to be a slam dunk and definitely granted. Another more pressing matter than the judgment showing up on your credit report is if in fact the default judgment was recorded with your locale's County Recorder's Office as a lien called an Abstract of Judgment. Because while an Abstract of Judgment can be cancelled or recalled, its actual foot print can never, ever be erased from the county records. So if it has been recorded with the county, there will be an entry as evidence of it having been recorded and then another evidencing its cancellation.
You might want to check on that.
fredrikklaw
Yep! That sounds just about the same way I learned a very valuable lesson about litigation which was not to rely on a verbal agreement with the opposing factions and to get every stipulation in writing come what may. But the big difference here is that the law firm you dealt with or are still dealing with including the attorney in question have also committed out and out fraud and you should (I personally hope) absolutely take them to task on this one and not let them slip under the radar.
This is what took place…
The law firm files suit via attorney of record on behalf of the credit card company and serves you with the summon and the complaint in response to which you call the attorney and make a payment plan of so much dollars per month for so many months; an agreement which you honored fully. You were then fed a line by an absolute shyster (who I hesitate to even call an attorney) that as long as you kept up payments you did not have to worry about the lawsuit, when what he should have said instead and actually proceeded to do was to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Well, not only did the attorney NOT dismiss the case, he waits thirty days and then applies to the court for a default judgment claiming that you had not appeared in the case and had failed to answer the complaint (which was technically true). The motion is granted and a default judgment is accordingly entered into court records against you at around the 90-day mark.
You can of course file with the court a motion to vacate the default judgment which under the scenario you have outlined is going to be a slam dunk and definitely granted. Another more pressing matter than the judgment showing up on your credit report is if in fact the default judgment was recorded with your locale's County Recorder's Office as a lien called an Abstract of Judgment. Because while an Abstract of Judgment can be cancelled or recalled, its actual foot print can never, ever be erased from the county records. So if it has been recorded with the county, there will be an entry as evidence of it having been recorded and then another evidencing its cancellation.
You might want to check on that.
fredrikklaw
Thanks. I'll check into that. I did get a letter from them stating the payment agreement. I pay so much down and so much a month until it's paid off. There was no mention in the letter of still pursuing the court case, my mistake for not looking into it more after the agreement was made. I will continue to make the payments since I don't think there is any other option at this time. Lesson learned on my part. I put an application in for an apartment and I'm hoping it doesn't get turned down because of this.
postdreams77
New Member
I think that too often, lawyers take advantage of the hard to understand legalize that laws are written in. They twist things around, and you end up paying more than you actually owed to begin with!
I would definitely continue to make those payments, but look into getting the rest of it straightened out. You may want to find a lawyer as well, to prevent the other party's legal team from bamboozling you again. Good luck!
I would definitely continue to make those payments, but look into getting the rest of it straightened out. You may want to find a lawyer as well, to prevent the other party's legal team from bamboozling you again. Good luck!
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