How to Remove Judgments On Your Credit Report
If you lose a lawsuit to a creditor, the court awards the creditor a money judgment against you. A judgment not only puts you at risk of wage garnishment and bank levies, it tarnishes your credit rating. The Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that a court judgment will remain a negative feature of your credit history for seven years or the length of time the judgment is enforceable in your state -- whichever is longer. The credit bureaus sometimes make errors when collecting public record information from the courts. This could result in someone else's judgment showing up on your credit report and damaging your score. While you do not have the right to remove a legitimate judgment record from your credit history, you can and should fight an erroneous judgment record.
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Things You'll Need
- Credit report
- Judgment docket number
- Certified copy of judgment
- Copy of your photo identification
- Pen or highlighter
Instructions
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Request a copy of your credit report. You can purchase your credit history from any of the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, TransUnion or Experian -- or you can pull your free annual credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
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Write down the docket number of the judgment on your credit report. The judgment itself should appear in the "Public Information" section of your report.
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Visit the courthouse that originally awarded the judgment. Provide the clerk with the docket number and ask for a copy of the judgment. The copy of the judgment should list the name and address of the original defendant.
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Make a copy of the judgment for your own records. Make a copy of your driver's license or other photo identification that proves your identity.
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Write a letter to the credit bureau reporting the inaccurate judgment. Explain that the judgment does not belong to you yet appears on your credit history. Ask that the credit bureau immediately investigate and remove the item. Note that you are including a copy of your photo identification to verify that the judgment was not awarded against you.
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Circle or highlight the judgment record on your credit report. This helps the credit bureau locate the disputed record more quickly.
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Send your letter, the certified copy of the judgment, the copy of your photo identification and your credit report with the judgment circled or highlighted to the credit bureau whose record reflects the judgment. Federal law gives the credit bureau 30 days to investigate your dispute and delete the judgment from your credit history.
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Tips & Warnings
If the damaging judgment on your credit report legitimately belongs to you, making arrangements to pay the judgment helps you avoid unpleasant consequences such as wage garnishment or a property lien.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website approved by the Federal Trade Commission, as of June 2011, to provide consumers with copies of their free annual credit reports. AnnualCreditReport.com will not ask for your credit card information or require you to sign up for a credit monitoring service before you can access your free credit report.
While paying a judgment makes you less of a risk for potential creditors, doing so does not improve your credit score.
If an incorrect judgment appears on one credit bureau's report, its possible that another credit bureau is also reporting the judgment. Fixing the error with one credit bureau does not automatically fix the error on all three of your credit reports. You must file separate disputes with each credit bureau that is reporting the error.
References
- Federal Trade Commission: The Fair Credit Reporting Act (Section 605, 611/p.22, 46-50); July, 2004
- Michigan Office of the Attorney General: Free Annual Credit Reports...; Bill Schuette; 2011
- TransUnion; Credit Report Guide; 2011
- Federal Trade Commission: How to Dispute Credit Report Errors; September, 2008
Resources
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images
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Comments
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Looks like I'm doing this. SMH....
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I paid a judgment over two years ago and it still hasn't been removed from the court or my credit report. Is there anything I can do?
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Good post really.
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Debbie Morton
Mar 05, 2011
This is not as difficult as made out to be. I did it and successfully removed negatives from my credit report. Transunion had the most up to date processes and practices for handling disputes. Just a call or fax and received a response within 30 days. With Equifax and Experian you need to know their numbers issued for the disputed transactions and send a letter resulting in time consuming and less effective processes and practices.
