QUESTION
I have a judgement on my credit not showing as paid. It was paid in full two years ago. Do I have grounds for legal recourse?
Asked on Aug 24th, 2013 on Debtor and Creditor - New York
More details to this question:
I went to housing court in 2011 for back rent I owed. I took care of my obligation and paid what I owed. I handed the checks over to their lawyer. He filled out the stipulation and wrote that the "proceeding was discontinued and warrant judgement to be vacated". Now two years later I am in a new state and am trying to do better with my life. I applied for a home loan and the judgement came up. I did not even realize it was on my credit in the first place which is my own fault. However, it does not reflect as being paid. I just lost out on a part time job opportunity due to my credit check and that judgement was the information the credit bureau sent to me as what they provided to the company I applied to. I feel like they did not do whst they were obligated to fo and report accurately. Now I am suffering two years later and they already were paid. If I were to take legal action would I even have a case? Monetary compensation or even just having it removed from my credit all together.
1 ANSWER
Thatcher Stone
Generally speaking, if you cleared up a judgment or debt that is still showing up on your report, you have two potential opportunities. The first is contact the credit reporting agency and insert your own statement about the item, such as, Debtor states that this amount was paid in full on [date] and has the records to prove it. Send the agency on their form or at their site the stuff they request to show the debt was paid.
Second, in some cases you can sue either the credit agency or the creditor if the data was incorrect and they continue to post or report it after knowing it is all cleared up. You should write to the lawyer that you paid, and tell him the debt keeps showing up as unpaid, and you demand he fix it or his client fix it. He'll get the message.
That should do it. If you have copies of the paid judgment, I would reach out to the employer and establish your good name.
If they continue to post the debt as unpaid, sue them.
All the best.
Answered on Aug 24th, 2013 at 4:49 PM