Paying Off a Judgement

[workoutguy]

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Minnesota

If a collector and i agree on an amount to settle for and I paid said amount, what protection do I have that they would not sue me or re-sell the debt.

I am also willing to pay more if they agree to remove the judgements from my credit report but i would have to pay by credit card. I make enough money that Im confidant i wouldnt get in the same situation with this card, I just dont have a large lump sum like they want. If I pay them by credit card do I have any assurance they can't use my credit care and keep racking up charges?

Do I just get a letter from them? If so what should I make sure that it says? Would a letter hold up in court if they came back at me i n the future?

Thank you so much!

[Branyff]

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Minnesota

If a collector and i agree on an amount to settle for and I paid said amount, what protection do I have that they would not sue me or re-sell the debt.

I am also willing to pay more if they agree to remove the judgements from my credit report but i would have to pay by credit card. I make enough money that Im confidant i wouldnt get in the same situation with this card, I just dont have a large lump sum like they want. If I pay them by credit card do I have any assurance they can't use my credit care and keep racking up charges?

Do I just get a letter from them? If so what should I make sure that it says? Would a letter hold up in court if they came back at me i n the future?

Thank you so much!

I'm not sure how different from NJ the laws are in Minnesota, but...

Your title and question are a little confusing. Have you gotten a judgment against you already or are you trying to get a settlement first?

If you already have a judgment, it's probably too late to ask for a settlement. You owe them what the judgment says you owe them and they are legally entitled to enforce it by way of wage garnishment, seizure of your assets, etc.

The question is, if you DO have a judgment against you, whether it was granted based on either a:

Summary Judgment (plaintiff asks the court to enter a judgment without your right to a trial, based on the assumption that the plaintiff has a preponderance of evidence...they will likely enter the judgment if you don't file an objection with the court)

or

Default Judgment (plaintiff sues you and you never answer the suit, and a judgment is entered because you never replied).

In either case, you can likely get an attorney to file the proper motions to have the judgment reversed and the case heard as long as you have a strong enough argument to support it.

If you haven't been sued yet, you can ask an attorney to work with the plaintiff's attorney to work out a settlement. Or you can call the plaintiff's attorneys yourself and work it out. Just make sure you get something signed, in writing, that you made an agreement with them. If you're worried about them holding up their end of the settlement and not selling the debt or suing you later, your best bet would be to get an attorney to help you with the terms of the settlement. That way you also have a 3rd party witness.

Hopefully you can settle that way before you're actually sued. As long as you pay according to the terms of settlement, you'll be fine. Remember it costs them money and a lot of time to sue you. They'd rather settle and collect their money quickly than go to court, which can take months.

If you've already been sued, you can still request a settlement. However, at this point, I would definitely hire an attorney to help with the settlement agreement. If a settlement is reached, the plaintiff will issue a Stipulation of Settlement, which will stop the court from entering a default or summary judgment and will take your case off the trial calendar. Once the settlement is paid, your attorney will file a Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice and the case is closed and they cannot sue you for the same debt again. Although there will be a record of a law suit filed against you, you will not have a public record of a judgment.

I've gone through this myself but I am not an attorney. I would always advise you seek the help of an attorney first before you do anything.

[Zephyr]

So What is the best way to deal with a DEFAULT JUDGEMENT that is already in place and if I am not sure about the identity and was necever served as I was not in that state when the judgement was issued. This is back in 2003 and I recently came to know about this by checking my credit report.