My judgment has been satisfied, what does this mean for my credit reports?


My judgment has been satisfied, what happens with my credit reports?

credit reports

When we’re dealing with credit reports, questions about how to deal with judgments arise.

Specifically, what it means to have a satisfied judgment.

First of all, check your credit reports.

When a judgment has been satisfied, the debt is no longer owed.

This means that if it is on your credit reports, it should show a zero balance.

If there’s no judgment on your report, then you should leave it alone.

If it’s still on your credit report, then the credit reporting agencies are being deceptive if they don’t show it as being paid.

Let’s say you have a $5,000 judgment on your report, and it’s been paid off.  But the agencies keep it on there as owing $5,000.

So if you see that the judgment is on your reports, but it is NOT showing as being satisfied, then consider disputing this false information.

We talk about disputing false credit reporting in detail in other articles and videos but here’s the gist:

  1. Write a letter explaining why the judgment should show “satisfied” or “paid”
  2. Ask that the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, etc) fix this.
  3. Send it by certified mail so they will take it seriously and you have proof they received it
  4. Give them copies of the original judgment, and the satisfaction of judgment.

If they fix your credit report with no problems, then that’s great.

If they haven’t fixed your reports after investigating, then you need to take action.

Unfortunately credit reporting agencies will look at your reports, the original judgment, and the satisfaction of judgment, and then they won’t do anything about it.

If they do this with your account, then you need to look into suing them under the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) for false credit reporting.

“Why should I take action?”

Because these companies are smart enough to find your judgment and put it on your credit report.

That’s fair.

However, once you’ve given them proof that the judgment is paid, then they must take update your report.

If they doubt you or the documents you send them, then they can do to the court where they found the original judgment and see it for themselves.

If they see the satisfaction of judgment and they refuse to fix it, that’s a bogus investigation.

Contact Us.

If you have any questions and you live in Alabama, give us a call at 1-205-879-2447.

You can also fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

I look forward to talking with you!

Have a great day.

-John G. Watts

 

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