Guide To Disputing/Removing Judgments

[Trish]

This seems to be coming up more and more. So I wanted to put this post in a place where people can find it easily.

I am pulling part of this from a previous post...


**Please be sure to opt out and delete/update ALL personal information on your reports FIRST.

You must first determine if you have an actual filed, entered and recorded judgment.

Just because there is an entry on your credit report of a judgment does NOT necessarily mean that you actually have a recorded judgment. Sometimes, the CRA's will report the CASE-FILE where you were sued, together with the statement that a default judgment was issued, when in fact the case was never completed, and there is NO "real" judgment on record.
Your first step is to either go on line or go to the Court and obtain a copy of the RECORDED JUDGMENT. This is NOT the same as getting a copy of the case-file. Most Counties will have it available on line under RECORDED DOCUMENTS.

If you have a RECORDED judgment, get a CERTIFIED copy from the Court. Examine it very carefully for ANY discrepancy between what is on your reports and what has been recorded.
If you find a discrepancy, or if you find that you have NO actual recorded judgment, you can send the following dispute letter to the CRA's.

Dear CRA,
My name is xxxxx xxxxxx , my SS # is xxx xx xxxx.
I am sending this dispute certified mail # xxxx to make sure you receive it.
My report # is xxxxx.
There is no such judgment of record # xxxx from this Court for this date for this amount from this creditor.
I have certified documentation from the Court that supports my dispute of this erroneous entry on my report.
If this entry is verified, please send me the name and address of the provider or furnisher providing this data, and the manner in which it was provided in order that I may pursue additional legal remedies.

Very truly yours,

xxxxxx

Make sure you HAND ADDRESS the envelope, use personalized stationery and purple or teal font, ( preferably italic). DO NOT send it RR
~courtesy of Why Chat's Credit Confusion

Now......that would be great if that takes care of it. Then you're done.

If not, and it comes back verified, you will need to then send the CRA a PR (procedural request) letter asking them how they verified the information.

Dear CRA:

Your company recently investigated and verified a judgment that I disputed on xx/xx/xxxx.
This letter is NOT a request to reinvestigate. This letter IS a formal request for the description of the procedures used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the disputed information, including the business name, address, and telephone number of any furnisher of information contacted in connection with this investigation.

You have failed to maintain reasonable procedures to assure complete accuracy in the information you publish, and insist you comply with the law by providing the requested information within the 15 days allowed by Federal law.

For your benefit, and as a gesture of my goodwill, I will restate the relevant dispute:

*insert original letter here*

As already stated, the listed item is inaccurate and incomplete, and are a very serious error in reporting. This letter IS a request for the procedures used to determine the accuracy of the above accounts. It is NOT a request to reinvestigate. I look forward to correcting this error in the most expeditious manner possible.


Sincerely,

Me
SS# and credit file number


It is almost guaranteed you will get a BS response form letter of how they conduct their investigation. They will most likely tell you to contact the furnisher of information. So that is what you will do. The deal is.........is that the FOI listed on your CRs is the courthouse. The courts don't verify information with the CRAs. They usually get it from 3rd party furnishers like Lexis Nexis. :rolleyes:

Ok,.......so, next you send a letter to the courthouse where the judgment is filed. You need to ask them what their procedures are for verifying records with the CRAs. (The courts rarely verify public records with the CRAs as it is not theri policy) Be sure to enclose a self addressed stamped envelope. You need to make is as easy as possible for them to write you back. Otherwise, you will probably will not receive a response.

The clerk will send back a letter stating that they do not verify records with the CRAs........and there you go. That is proof that the CRAs DID NOT properly investigate your dispute.

You then send another letter (CM but not RR) to the CRAs along with a copy of the letter from the court house........demanding that they delete the judgment immediately. Stress that you ARE NOT disputing........but demanding deletion of the public record and request an updated copy of your report.
**Be sure to send all of these letters Certified Mail!! It's very important you have a paper trail/proof of correspondence.

9 times out of 10, that will do the trick.
I have known many people to have success doing it this way......including myself.


If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer.

[Trish]

Dear Clerk of the Court,

I would like to know the procedure you follow when verifying information which is reported by you to the credit bureaus. Recently I noticed there was an erroneous listing on my credit reports, which I disputed and and was informed by the Credit Reporting Agency that you verified the information as correct.
Please provide me the procedures used by you to verify this information.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Your name

It's a pretty simple letter and you can reword it if you want to. You just need to ask them what their procedures are for verifying public records with the CRAs.

*Be sure to include a self addressed stamp envelope. You want to make it as easy as possible to respond to you.

[grn910]

When I sent the courts a letter asking how they verify info w/ CRA's they sent me back computer print outs of 2 judgements, one of which was on my CR & the other wasnt but there is one on my CR that isnt in public records. How do I dispute them now. The ones on my CR both came back verified about 2wks ago. Should I send the "recently investigated" letter? Also I know the courts sent me the wrong thing but when I called them to explain what I needed they said the computer printouts are what they send anyone that asks for it b/c theyre public records. If the CRA did this is, is this considered verified?

[Trish]

Originally Posted by grn910

When I sent the courts a letter asking how they verify info w/ CRA's they sent me back computer print outs of 2 judgements, one of which was on my CR & the other wasnt but there is one on my CR that isnt in public records. How do I dispute them now. The ones on my CR both came back verified about 2wks ago. Should I send the "recently investigated" letter? Also I know the courts sent me the wrong thing but when I called them to explain what I needed they said the computer printouts are what they send anyone that asks for it b/c theyre public records. If the CRA did this is, is this considered verified?

What idiots. :mad: Sometimes I really wonder what the requirements are to work in the clerk's office. UGH.
No, that's not good enough.......and not at all what you asked them for.

You're going to need to send another letter. You could do what nitro suggested in this thread and put the letter attn: to the court administrator.

Ok, so it looks like we need to dumb it down for them. :rolleyes:
In your PR letter, stress that you are not asking for proof of your judgment but you are asking what their policies and procedures are. Do they report these to the CRAs?
We know that court records are public information (duh) and anyone can find out/verify if you have a judgment.........what you need to specify in your letter is you would like to know if the courts report this info to the CRAs.

I can't believe how difficult some of the courthouses make it for us!

[griffin]

Hi Trish,

I have 2 quick questions.

1. In your first post you state to delete/update all personal details. I have opted out but not sure how to delete or update all personal details on the credit reports.

2. I am having trouble finding web sites where I can find the actual court records, there seem to be a lot of scam sites out there - any suggestions?

Thanks for all the useful advice in these forums, I am trying to delete a 5 year old BK and a 2 year old foreclosure in CA.

J

[jjgross]

Originally Posted by griffin

Hi Trish,

I have 2 quick questions.

1. In your first post you state to delete/update all personal details. I have opted out but not sure how to delete or update all personal details on the credit reports.

2. I am having trouble finding web sites where I can find the actual court records, there seem to be a lot of scam sites out there - any suggestions?

Thanks for all the useful advice in these forums, I am trying to delete a 5 year old BK and a 2 year old foreclosure in CA.

J

The sites are Pacer and lexius nexius,When you dispute the bk go through your paper and find any error wrong amounts etc.So when you do dispute with the cra,they can not verify unless they open sch f and that should be done in person,they cannot verify if they don't personally look.

[CreditCrisis]

A company that we rented from in 2007 put a $5,400 judgement on mine and my husbands credit. The problem is, this amount is owed to them by 4 different people (it was a lease with 4 of us on it) now the company has put the full amount on each of our reports.

Back in December 2008 I sent the owner a letter explaining that each individuals responsibility was only $1,066 after the deduction of the security deposit and that i would pay $700 to have him it remove it from my husbands report only. He signed and agreed. Now i'm wondering, couldnt i send a copy of this letter to the CRA's and highlight all of the info that says what each of our responsibilities are and such. do you think this would be enough proof to either get this judgement removed because its incorrect? or would it at least have the judgement be corrected? Any advice?

[jjgross]

Originally Posted by CreditCrisis

A company that we rented from in 2007 put a $5,400 judgement on mine and my husbands credit. The problem is, this amount is owed to them by 4 different people (it was a lease with 4 of us on it) now the company has put the full amount on each of our reports.

Back in December 2008 I sent the owner a letter explaining that each individuals responsibility was only $1,066 after the deduction of the security deposit and that i would pay $700 to have him it remove it from my husbands report only. He signed and agreed. Now i'm wondering, couldnt i send a copy of this letter to the CRA's and highlight all of the info that says what each of our responsibilities are and such. do you think this would be enough proof to either get this judgement removed because its incorrect? or would it at least have the judgement be corrected? Any advice?

Have you contacted the other 3 people about their response to this.Send him a copy also see if he responds to your request,If you have a signed agreement now, since he's in violation of it.Demand he take it off both or bring legal action as a last resort.Tell him you want to resolve this with out court action.An any agreement will not be disclosed to any other parties involved.

[CreditCrisis]

well the other people involved are my mother, ex father in law and husband. i should sent him a letter that says he needs to remove it from my husband and my account because its erroneous?

[jjgross]

Originally Posted by CreditCrisis

well the other people involved are my mother, ex father in law and husband. i should sent him a letter that says he needs to remove it from my husband and my account because its erroneous?

Yes you can send a letter with your evidance.Sorry family problems are sticky.It's hard to resolve things when family gets involved.My brother in law costs us our house and mother in laws condo.