What is a Judgment?

A judgment is a legal case of action taking against someone by a creditor who has not received payment. If a person goes an extended period of time without paying their debt to the creditor, the creditor has the right to sue to recollect the debt. Those who are served with court papers as the result of debt should never ignore them. When the case goes before a judge and the debtor loses the case, the judge will place a judgment on the credit report to reduce the score and alert other creditors to the issue with the people who are being sued.

How Judgments Affect a Credit Score

Judgments are extremely negative on a credit report. They show potential creditors borrowers have not been responsible with their previous debt obligations, and as such, lower the score to a point where it is next to impossible to get credit extended.

It can be difficult to obtain credit for a credit card, an auto loan or even a mortgage if there are judgments on a credit report. As each judgment could reduce the score by up to 100 points, even one has the potential plunge excellent credit to fair. Fair credit will almost always plummet to bad. As time passes after the judgment, it will not affect the score so adversely, though it will still cause difficulty when applying for credit.

Depending on the state a debtor lives in, and the statute of limitations for that state, the judgment may stay on a credit report for seven years, or the length of time allowed by statute, whichever is longer. In California, for instance, a judgment may stay on file for 10 years, and be renewed for another 10 years, for a total of 20 years.

Credit Repair Options after a Judgment

Just by paying off a judgment doesn’t mean you will improve your credit scores. Satisfied (or paid) judgments can be removed from a credit report, but this does not mean they will be automatically removed. This is why many people who have paid all their judgments still suffer from a bad credit rating. Even non-paid judgments can be removed from your credit if you know how.

While it is possible for a person to do his or her own credit repair, it is a difficult process to undertake alone, which will entail a lot of time and research.  Dealing with the credit bureaus directly does not usually prove helpful for most private citizens. This is why many people hire a credit repair firm to assist with removing judgments to improve an overall credit rating quickly.

Lexington Law Firm has been in business for over 19 years, having served over 500,000 clients in that time. They have removed 1,013,469 negative items from their client’s credit reports in 2009 alone. Here are some of their statistics from last year:

Items removed from credit reports:

• Bankruptcies: 9,713
• Charge Offs: 158,531
• Collection Accounts: 485,147
• Foreclosures: 2,567
• Judgments: 28,564
• Late Payments: 213,538

Visit Lexington Law’s website here or call 800-496-3604 to speak with a credit professional from Lexington law about your situation now.

What is a Collection?

A collection is an unpaid bill, passed off to a collection agency by the original creditor. After the original creditor has attempted to collect the debt on several occasions, the company will “charge off” the account and send it to a third party collections agency who will then continue to collect the debt. Debts in collections can often be negotiated for a lower portion of what a person owes, though they may be charged income tax on the difference between the amount owed and the amount paid. Collections should not be confused with judgments, as this the stage before the creditor takes the debtor to court.

How Collections Affect a Credit Score

Collections are negative on a credit report, though they are not as harmful as judgments.  It can be difficult to obtain credit for a credit card, an auto loan or even a mortgage if there are collections on a credit report. If the debtor makes an effort to pay off the collections, the credit score will improve.

Depending on the state a debtor lives in, and the statute of limitations for that state, the collection may stay on a credit report for seven years, or the length of time allowed by statute, whichever is longer. In California, for instance, collections may stay on file for 10 years, and be renewed for another 10 years, for a total of 20 years.

Credit Repair Options after a Collection

One of the biggest mistakes that you could make when trying to repair your own credit would be to simply contact the collection agency and pay off an old collection account reporting on your credit report. By paying off a collection, the collection agency will label the collection as paid in full on your credit report, but this also updates the last date of activity on the negative account. Lets say you had a two year old collection reporting on your credit. If you pay it off, your credit report will change to reflect a RECENT paid collection. Your score will actually lower instead of raise!

The best way to deal with collection accounts on your credit report is to hire a professional. We recommend the Lexington Law Firm. Lexington Law Firm has been in business for over 19 years, having served over 500,000 clients in that time. They have removed 1,013,469 negative items from their client’s credit reports in 2009 alone. Here are some of their statistics from last year:

Items removed from credit reports:

• Bankruptcies: 9,713
• Charge Offs: 158,531
• Collection Accounts: 485,147
• Foreclosures: 2,567
• Judgments: 28,564
• Late Payments: 213,538

Visit Lexington Law’s website here or call 800-496-3604 to speak with a credit professional from Lexington law about your situation now.

What is a Charge Off?

A charge off is what happens when a creditor has written a debtor’s debt off as a loss for the company.  Though it is easy to believe this is the creditor “canceling” the debt, this is not the case. All debtors are still responsible for the debt even after it has been charged off. A charge off usually happens after there have been 6 months, or 180 days of either no payment, or less than minimum payment made on the account. A charge off happens before the debt is sent to collections, which happens when another agency attempts to continue collection efforts on the debt. When an account is charged off, this means the borrower no longer has access to it to continue using it.

How Charge Offs Affect a Credit Score

Charge offs are negative marks on a credit report. When borrowers allow a lender to run their credit report, they will be able to see all the charge offs, and will use this record to determine whether or not they should lend to the applicants. When a creditor sees a lot of charge offs, they will not be able to extend credit because it shows the applicants do not have a good payment history. Though circumstances may have changed, most creditors won’t take the time to listen or see how applicants are different and dedicated to their debt repayment now than they were the when the account was charged off. The more recently the account was charged off, the worse it is for the credit score.

Depending on the state a debtor lives in, and the statute of limitations for that state, the judgment may stay on a credit report for seven years, or the length of time allowed by statute, whichever is longer. In California, for instance, a judgment may stay on file for 10 years, and be renewed for another 10 years, for a total of 20 years.

Credit Repair Options after a Charge Off

Even if paid, charge offs will stay on a credit report, marked “settled” or “paid as agreed” to show that the person eventually settled the account and paid off the debt. Even though the debt was finally paid, it can still have a detrimental effect on the credit rating. With a bit of professional help, charge offs can be removed from a credit report all together so it looks to potential future creditors as though they never happened in the first place.

Lexington Law Firm has been in business for over 19 years, having served over 500,000 clients in that time. They have removed 1,013,469 negative items from their client’s credit reports in 2009 alone. Here are some of their statistics from last year:

Items removed from credit reports:

• Bankruptcies: 9,713
• Charge Offs: 158,531
• Collection Accounts: 485,147
• Foreclosures: 2,567
• Judgments: 28,564
• Late Payments: 213,538

Visit Lexington Law’s website here or call 800-496-3604 to speak with a credit professional from Lexington law about your situation now. They will help you get all your charge offs taken care of with ease.

A Bankruptcy is a federal court order obtained by a debtor (individual or corporation) to obtian protection from creditors. Traditionally whenever a person is unable to pay his or her debts they “voluntarly” file bankrtuptcy declaring their inability to repay their debts.

How does a bankruptcy affect your credit rating?

After filing a bankruptcy, the majority of your creditors will write off the debts and report the accounts as “included in bankruptcy” on your credit reports. However more than likely a few accounts will still have an overdue and open status, and or balances.

The actual bankruptcy public record will stay on your credit report for 10 years from the filing date. The credit report should be updated to include the discharge date of your bankruptcy as well. This is not always the case.

Having negative and inaccurate information on your credit report after filing bankruptcy will add to the damage that your credit score has already taken from filing. It is your responsibility to repair your credit reports so that they are accurate.

What are your credit repair options after bankruptcy?

Essentially you have two options when dealing with a bankruptcy on your credit reports. You can handle cleaning and repairing your own credit report or you can hire an expert. Anyone can repair their own credit with enough information and time. If you do not want to learn the ins and outs of the consumer credit laws you should seek out the help of a professional credit repair company.

If you are interested in repairing your credit yourself check out this credit repair self help guide.

Which credit repair company should I hire?

We recommend Lexington Law Firm. Lexington Law Firm has been in business for over 19 years. They have served over ½ a million clients in that time. The shear amount of negative items they have removed in that time is staggering. In fact, they removed 1,013,469 negative items from their client’s credit reports in 2009! Here are some of their statistics from last year:

Items removed from credit reports:

* Bankruptcies 9,713
* Charge Offs 158,531
* Collection Accounts 485,147
* Foreclosures 2,567
* Judgments 28,564
* Late Payments 213,538

You can visit Lexington Law’s website here or Call 800-496-3604 to speak with a credit professional from Lexington law about your situation now.

A late payment is simply any payment made after the due date has passed. The lender may or may not report your payment late to the credit bureaus. Most creditors also don’t report the account as “late” until after it is 30 days late.

How will a late payment affect my credit score?

Late payments stay on your credit report for 7 years from the date of the initial missed payment. Payment history is 35% of your overall credit score… just one late payment can decrease your credit score over 100 points!

What are my options once I have a late payment?

Your first option is to try and remove the late payment yourself. Most creditors will forgive one late pay, no matter what the reason, just as a matter of good business. The first thing you might want to try is simply calling them or writing them a letter asking them to remove it. It doesn’t work most the time, but sometimes it does.

The second option is to hire a professional credit repair company to handle repairing your credit scores. Most professional credit repair companies have years of experience dealing with creditors and the credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union). Not only can they remove late payments, they also can remove:

• Bankruptcies
• Charged off credit cards
• Judgements
• Repossessions
• Foreclosures
• Collection accounts
• Medical collections

Which credit repair company should I hire?

We recommend Lexington Law Firm. Lexington Law Firm has been in business for over 19 years. They have served over ½ a million clients in that time. The shear amount of negative items they have removed in that time is staggering. In fact, they removed 1,013,469 negative items from their client’s credit reports in 2009! Here are some of their statistics from last year:

Items removed from credit reports:

• Bankruptcies 9,713
• Charge Offs 158,531
• Collection Accounts 485,147
• Foreclosures 2,567
• Judgments 28,564
  
• Late Payments 213,538

You can visit Lexington Law’s website here or Call 800-496-3604  to speak with a credit professional from Lexington law about your situation now.

Our Top 3 Credit Repair Services:

#1 Lexington Law Firm

19 years experience, online since 1995 Network of 22 lawyers $50 couples Discount Cost: $99 Set Up – As low as $39.99/mo. Perfect BBB Rating

Service Review:

Lexington Law has established itself as the top choice in credit repair and has been the trusted leader for over 18 years. They have helped over 500,000 clients improve their credit. Their clients have seen an average of 8.7 removals from their combined credit reports by month 3, and 28.6 removals by month 12. In 2009 they removed over 1 million negative items from their clients credit reports!

Visit Lexington Law Now or Call 1-800-496-3604 for a FREE Credit Consultation

#2 DSI Solutions Credit Repair

Service Review:

DSI Solutions offers a unique approach to personal credit repair. They are one of the only credit repair organizations that attain your credit report for you, thereby eliminating a step in the setup process. They offer two payment options, either paying the entire cost up front, or breaking it up into smaller payments. There is no ongoing monthly charge.

Visit DSI Solutions now

#3 Sky Blue Credit Repair

Service Review:

Sky Blue combines awesome personal service, meticulous attention to detail, and a total mastery of the laws that govern the credit bureaus, creditors and collectors. If you’re married, they offer a special discount when you and your spouse sign up at the same time. This is a simple, affordable, effective solution for those who need professional assistance with credit repair.

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Conclusion to Our Review:

Honestly, credit repair is such a powerful tool that you wouldn’t go wrong choosing any of these top 3 credit repair services. That being said for most people going with the proven industry leader, Lexington Law Firm, would be the correct choice. Simply put they have helped more people to repair their credit situations then any other advertised credit repair company.

Managing your finances is not easy, especially if you have not been educated on how to do so. Throughout my life, I have learned how to manage my finances throughout a series of mistakes that have taught me valuable and costly lessons. I am sharing my story with you in the hopes that you can avoid some of the pitfalls that I experienced.

I learned that when you are young, financially naive, and making the least amount of money, that creditors are happy to extend you credit. Since your credit report is clean, lending institutions and credit card companies are willing to take a risk on your ability to manage money and use credit responsibility.

Before I was 28, I had a hefty car loan, three credit cards, and monthly bills that I could not afford. I ate macaroni and cheese and worked as many hours as I could to keep my head above water. Despite my good efforts, I became delinquent on my bills and my credit report suffered as a result.

I spent some of my hard earned money on a credit counseling service, but all they had to offer was a repayment plan that made my credit file even worse as it compromised the debts. They did nothing to increase my credit scores. At times, it almost seemed like they were working for the lenders. By the time I was ready to move on, they had taken over $400 of my money, and done nothing to improve my situation. Oh, and did I mention, they offered no guarantees, nor refunds.

My story is not a unique one. Managing lines of credit is difficult and many people fall short of success. I was able to help my situation by working with credit repair professionals. They worked tirelessly on my behalf to clean up my credit report.

They contacted my creditors and collection agencies and helped me settle old debts for pennies on the dollar. They also challenged the negative items on my credit report with the lenders. As it turns out, some of those black marks could not be verified as accurate and they were removed.

In the end, I learned that sometimes good people have bad credit. A poor credit report is nothing to be ashamed of unless you do not do anything to correct it. The best way to take control of your credit file is to hire a professional to increase your credit scores correctly.

The first step in repairing your credit is having a complete picture of your credit file and obtaining a copy of your credit report from the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union.

I learned that due to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report every 12 months or when they are denied credit based on information that is included in a report. There is a website, toll free number, and mailing address to order all three reports from.

Once I had my credit reports, the next step was reviewing the information contained in them. This is where it got difficult. I saw items in collections, short payments, and 30-60-90 day late payments. I am unsure how these were determined and how to verify if they are accurate.

I owe the local telephone company a bill for $300, that has been sold to two different collection companies over the past 3 years. That debt was listed three times! (once as a debt to the phone company, and one for each collection agency.) I was confused to say the least.

It was about this time that I called a professional that specialized in credit repair and consumer law. After an initial consultation, I learned that the information on my credit report had to be accurate by law. I also learned that it was the responsibility of the credit reporting agencies and the lending institutions to ensure that the information was accurate, not me.

The credit repair professional assured me that any formation that was not verified as accurate, would be removed by the credit reporting agencies. I was able to rest easy and let the professionals do the work for me.

It took about three months from start to finish for the entire process. In the end, the collection agencies were sent running, and my credit report was updated to reflect accurate information. The lending institutions were forced to respond to my attorney’s requests for information regarding the payments I made to them as far as four years ago.

I am completely satisfied with the outcome. While my credit is still not perfect, all inaccuracies have either been removed or updated on my credit report. Some of the creditors neglected to respond to my company’s requests for information in a timely manner and the negative information was removed from my report by default. After months of being denied credit, today I received approval on a modest size car loan. This is certainly the first day for the rest of my life.

Press release: The latest in a series of credit scams has hit the internet. Overseas credit card companies are offering credit cards, with no credit check, and the promise of rebuilding your credit file and restoring your ability to secure additional loans. They charge a large fee for what is actually a prepaid credit card, disguised as a personal line of credit. The line of credit is determined by the amount of deposit you send. The set up fees range from $100-$300, in addition to the deposit money. Consumer protection and watchdog groups are receiving reports from thousands of defrauded consumers who learn that their ‘credit cards’ do not provide any credit history as no line of credit is actually extended. The so called secured line of credit is all smoke and mirrors.

This is only one of many reported consumer scams that unsuspecting consumers are fooled into believing. So many people are desperate to establish even small lines of credit, that they are willing to believe these too good to be true offers.

The truth is that there are no easy fixes for poor credit. Building credit takes time and good financial management.

One thing that you can do to quickly impact your credit ranking is to have a credit repair company assist you in correcting errors on your credit report. It is estimated that 8 out of 10 credit reports contain errors. Given the overwhelming amount of bad debt and high unemployment, creditors are barely able to manage the reporting that goes along with default accounts. Errors are bound to happen as the lenders struggle to keep up with the increasing number of loans that are in late or default status.

Luckily for consumers, there is legislation in place which provides a clear cut method for disputing and correcting such errors. Credit repair professionals are well versed in the consumer laws that govern credit reporting in the United States. Hiring a professional and experienced credit repair company ensures that your requests for error resolution will be taken seriously. It takes a professional to effectively manage the credit repair process.

Do it yourself kits, sold for upwards of $500, offer nothing more than an outline of the process that you can locate for free on many consumer and government websites. If it was so easy to do it yourself, then the credit repair industry would not exist.

Maybe your credit is not so bad. You have some late payments, but overall you pay your debts. Even in this situation, you spend thousands of dollars additional in interest fees as a result of your poor credit score.

Depending on your unique situation, there are methods to improve your credit score. If you have no unpaid obligations, a few late payments and seeking to improve your score overall, you can do the work yourself.

• Pay down your credit cards – Paying off your installment accounts has an immediate positive impact on your credit score. The reason for this is because you are demonstrating to potential lenders that you can manage credit lines responsibility. The theory is that just because you have available credit, you do not need to use it.

• If you do need to utilize your revolving charge accounts, instead of charging on one card, spread the same amount over several accounts. The reasoning here is that while you are using your credit lines, you are not at the limit for any card. This method is easy to manage as you can log onto your credit card company’s websites daily to track your charges and stay within your monthly budget.

• Call your creditors and ask if they would consider removing the late payments from your credit file. If you have been current within the last 6 months and ask nicely, they have been known to grant this request, once.

If your credit report is way beyond this type of repair, your best option is to hire a professional to assist you with negotiating with the creditors. A professional can effectively communicate with the credit provider in a way that gets their attention. Credit repair companies take care of all the communication with the credit card companies. They are experts in their field and are generally very effective. You can also choose to hire a law firm specializing in credit repair. Either option will create a strategy based on your unique situation.