Remove a Judgement to Clean Your Credit Reports

It can be terrifying and confusing to be sued by a debt collector. However, sometimes life gets in the way and it just happens. If this is happening to you, you can prevent judgments on credit report by disputing it or settling out of court.

Because the statute of limitations (i.e. period of time something is to stay on your credit report) on judgments is longer than most, a judgment can end up on your credit report from anywhere between 12 and 20 years. And because a judgment can be renewed, it has the potential to land on your credit for life. (Creditors can file a new suit renewing the judgment before the original one expires. They can keep doing this over and over, therefore essentially ruining your credit for life.) And if that's not bad enough, once the judgment is paid, a "satisfied judgment" will be on your credit report for 7 years after it has been satisfied. Not from the date it has been filed, but from the date is has been actually satisfied. There could be years in between leaving you with a mark on your credit for much longer than you had anticipated.

Even though all of this sounds ominous, there are ways to have judgments removed and you can begin to repair your credit. It's important to know that as a consumer there are certain rights and federal laws that are put in place to protect you. You could consult a professional and get their advice on how to proceed and they could go over the technicalities of the laws. However, if you plan to attack the situation yourself, there are easier ways to go about getting the judgment removed. The simplest and most used procedures are to dispute a judgment with the credit bureaus or you could even negotiate with the creditor.

If you do come to an agreement about paying to delete the judgment, make sure that you get it in writing. This is called a "pay for delete letter". This proof will help you to remove the item from your credit and you can begin to repair your credit. Without proof the credit bureaus really do not have any reason to remove the judgment from your credit.

Once you remove a judgment, you are well on your way to a better credit report.