Judgements, Liens, and Other Legal Issues

Judgements, Liens, and Other Legal Issues

In the field of debt collection and delinquencies, judgments and judgment risk factors are a very real concern. Will a creditor sue and seek legal judgment against me? If he does, what type judgment might it be? What exactly is a judgment and what can I do about it? These are just some of the questions answered in this judgment article. But please note. The content of this article is for consumer knowledge of judgments and legal lawsuits only and it is adopt the reader will act responsibly towards his/her debt.

RISK FACTORS

Collectors must stay by the their state’s Statute of Limitations (SOL) for the amount of time to sue a debtor for payments. Therefore a consumer’s first step is determine if the SOL for collecting a debt has past.

If the SOL has not passed, the consumer must weigh the risk bourgeois of a judgment against them when determining if they should pay a delinquent debt. A judgment could grant the creditor to garnish consequence or hire an dominance to come get your property. However, it is doable it might not be in the creditor’s ideal interest to do so. Sometimes it is simply too much time and expense for a creditor to take action against you. But the possibility does exist.

As said at Credit Info Center: “The risks of judgments, garnishments, and property seizures must be properly balanced against the likelihood that such drastic collection measures will ever happen. The risk, and the decision to take that risk, are entirely yours if you’re in such a position.”

DEFINITIONS

JUDGEMENT – a decision issued by a court at the end of a lawsuit. If in the favor of the creditor it not only verifies the debt but can increase the debt by adding interest, court costs, collection fees, and attorney fees an might extend up to 20 years on a credit file. A decision in favor of the debtor makes the debt uncollectible and might include reimbursement of legal costs to the debtor.

JUDGEMENT PROOF – a debtor has tiny or no property that a creditor can legally take to collect in the foreseeable future.

PRE-JUDGEMENT ATTACHMENT – a legal procedure which lets an unsecured creditor tie up property before obtaining a court judgment.

DEFAULT JUDGEMENT – If a consumer is sued and does not file papers in response to the lawsuit in the prescribed time limit, the plaintiff can ask the court to enter a judgement against the debtor and is an automatic loss of the case. A default judgment can be set aside but this is uncommon and circumstances must be notable to justify such a turn.

LIEN – a lien is a notice that a creditor has attached property. The consumer can't sell the property without paying off the creditor because the lien makes the “title” cloudy.

SECURED DEBT Property that is bought using the property itself as collateral on the loan is considered secured. Credit cards are considered unsecured but tax debt is considered secured.

What can a creditor do?

Creditors from secured debts might be healthy to obtain a judgement for repossessions. Mortgagors can depose and landlords can evict. Garnishment or taking of consequence is an option of any creditor. The decision to sue a debtor is usually based on the amount owed (usually over 0), the cost of getting it back, and whether there is a reasonable expectation that something can be collected.

If the matter can be sorted out with the mortal making the claim before it goes to court, it will be cheaper. If you lose in court, you risk having to pay the other side’s costs. Even if you concur that you owe the money but don’t concur on the amount, you can try to negotiate the matter before it goes to court. If you reach an agreement, you will need to submit an agreement as to judgment form in the court, which tells the court that there is no need to have the matter heard.

Some judgments can be fought by challenging their validity. For example, default judgments at times can be reversed by claiming the debtor was never served or was ignorant of the facts. Before reversal, however, you must back up the claim with facts. Judgments which include selected stipulations, can be reversed if the debtor can establish coercion or misrepresentation. Of course winning an appeal in a higher court can reverse a decision as well.

Payment of Judgments

Once a judgment has been issued, settlement might still be an option if the debtor and creditor can come to terms. This is often the case when dealing with a temporary judgment-proof debtor who will have assets freeing in the future. The creditor might want the debt cleared sooner and might be willing to settle.

Contrary to favourite belief, a judgment can be removed from a credit file by the creditor. This requires a clean amount of work and therefore the creditor would have to be motivated to do so in some way.

Readers will probably be interested to know Mike, the author of this article, also offers a free debt elimination mini-course via e-mail. You can enroll at Debt Free In 7.5 Years.

Credit Report and Repair Scams

Credit Report & Repair Scams Newspapers, radio, television and the World wide web are filled with advertisements that offer for a fee to erase accurate negative information in your credit file. The credit repair scam artists who run these ads can’t deliver. Only time, a deliberate effort, and a plan to repay your bills will improve your credit history record. This section is designed to help you comprehend credit reports and credit repair scams.

Credit Reports Does your credit report accurately represent you? A current study conducted by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) found over 70% of credit reports contain errors. Among the principal findings of the report were the following:

- Twenty-nine percent (29%) of the credit reports contained serious errors that could result in the denial of credit.”

- “Serious” errors included false delinquencies, public records or judgments that belonged to a stranger, or credit accounts that did not belong to the consumer; Seventy percent (70%) of the credit reports contained mistakes or errors of some kind, also including the following:

- Forty-one percent (41%) of the credit reports contained incorrect individualized demographic identifying information; Twenty percent (20%) of the credit reports were missing major credit cards, loans, mortgages, or other accounts that are critical to demonstrating consumer credit worthiness. Consolidate debt your debt now free — quote now! One of the first steps to credit repair, is understanding credit reports. When applying for mortgages, home loans and refinances, one of the most important factors in determining whether or not you will be approved is your credit.

This is true for other important factors as well, such as obtaining lower interest rate auto loans and credit cards. Good credit can open many doors. If you have had credit issues in the past, or are currently in a situation that will affect your credit, be prepared to address these issues upfront. The mortgage industry has its own language when it comes to your credit report. Mortgage lenders get their study from the grading system they use. Items that determine your credit rating (A+ to D-) are payment history, amount of debt payments, bankruptcies, equity positions, and credit scores. Credit scores are also known as “FICO” scores, and are used by the mortgage industry to determine credit risk.

The higher the credit score, the superior the credit risks. FICO stands for Fair Isaac Company, the company that created the original scoring system. Each credit agency has its own one-of-a-kind system that grants them to offer a score based solely on the contents of the credit bureau’s data about an individual. A numerical score at one agency is the equivalent of the same numerical score of another. For example, a score of 700 from Experian indicates the same creditworthiness as a score of 700 from Trans Union or Equifax.

However, the calculations used to determine these scores are different for apiece bureau. FICO scores range from 375 to 900 points. A score of 650 or above indicates a very good credit history. However, lenders do not necessarily give the same value to a particular credit score, and they do not necessarily use credit scoring! FICO scoring places a value on the types of accounts you hold, as well as your credit history. The formula that determines your scores, however, is not disclosed to the consumer.

The 5 most important factors to determining your credit score are:

• Your payment history
• The amount of outstanding debt you have compared to your credit limit
• Your credit history
• The types of credit you use
• Negative information

Remember, FICO scores range from 375 to 900 points. A score of 650 or above indicates a very good credit history. Credit Repair Scams You’ve seen it in newspapers, maybe even heard it on the broadcasting or television — Erase accurate negative information in your credit file! — The credit repair scam artists who run these ads can’t deliver. Only time, a deliberate effort, and a plan to repay your bills will improve your credit record. This section is designed to help you comprehend the two top credit repair scams that are circulating newspapers, television, magazines and radio.

Credit Repair Scam #1 – File Segregation If you filed bankruptcy, you might be the target of a credit repair scam called “file segregation.” In this scam, you are promised a chance to hide unfavorable credit information by establishing a new credit identity. That might sound like a good intent but, file segregation is illegal. If you use it, you could grappling fines or even a prison sentence.

Credit Repair Scam #2 – New Credit Identity If you have filed for bankruptcy, you might receive a letter from a credit repair company warning you about the inability to obtain credit cards, individualized loans, or any other types of credit for 10 years.

For a fee, the company promises to help you hide your bankruptcy and establish a new credit indistinguishability to use when you apply for credit. These companies also make pitches in classified ads, radio, TV, and the Internet. When signing up for the service you will be required to pay a fee and might be directed to apply for an Employer Identification Number, commonly referred to as an EIN, from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Typically, an EIN is quite similar to a social security number and is used by businesses to report financial information to the IRS and the Social Security Administration. After you receive your EIN, the credit repair service will tell you to use it in place of your social security number when you apply for credit, inform you to use a new mailing address and obtain additional credit references. That might sound like a good intent but, using false information is illegal and considered fraud. If you use it, you could grappling fines or even slammer time.

Credit Repair Company’s And False Claims

Credit Repair False Claim #1: You will not be healthy to get credit for 10 years. Each creditor has its own criteria for granting credit. While one might reject your application because of bankruptcy, another might allow you credit. And, given a new reliable payment record, your chances of establishing additional credit could probably increase as time passes.

Credit Repair False Claim #2: The company or “file segregation” program is affiliated with the federal government. The federal government does not support or work with companies that offer such programs.

Credit Repair False Claim #3: The “file segregation” program is legal. It is a federal crime to make any false statements on a loan or credit application. It is a federal crime to misrepresent your Social Security number. It also is a federal crime to obtain an EIN from the IRS under false pretenses.

Further more, you could be charged with mail or wire fraud if you use the mail or the telephone to apply for credit and wage false information. Worse yet, file segregation likely would constitute civil fraud under many say laws. Your Rights Under The Credit Repair Organizations Act This law prohibits false claims about credit repair and makes it illegal for these companies to charge you until they have performed their services. It requires that companies tell you about your legal rights.

Credit repair companies must wage this in a written contract that also spells out just what services are to be performed, how long it will take to achieve results, the total cost, and any guarantees that are offered. Under the law, these contracts also must explain that consumers have three days to cancel at no charge. Finding Help for Credit Problems It’s a good intent to try to solve your debt problems with your creditors as soon as you foresee or realize that there is a financial problem.