Money Matters
kelley198721
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Question about my credit report
So here's the background. I was irresponsible as a teenager with two credit cards. Capital One and Citibank. Citibank has since been paid off but I'm still paying off Capital One. I'm 26 now.
In 2009, I received a judgment against me for not paying Capital One. My account was sent to a lawyer's office. I now mail money order payments to that lawyer every month.
I actually started making payments toward Capital One in early 2013. You may be wondering why so late? Well, it was a combination of me not realizing that I really needed to fix my credit and plus I was not really in a good financial position to start making payments.
But a year ago, I got serious about trying to repair my credit. So I called the lawyer and set up a payment plan. When I started in January 2013, I owed about $1,900.
As of January 21st, 2014, I now owe $1,210!
I am so excited about making a dent in my credit card debt! Once I pay this off, the only debt I will have left is my student loans and my car loan. And I have never missed a payment or been late on my student loans and car loan. 
Anyway. I've gotten a little off track here.
I have heard that judgments fall off your credit report after seven years. So the judgment was in 2009 and it should fall off my report by 2016, right? Or will it fall off after I make my very last payment?
Also, I live in Georgia, if that matters. I'm not sure if the laws vary in each state or what.
So should I expect my judgment to fall off my report in 2016? Or will it fall off seven years after my last payment?
Re: Question about my credit report
You should talk to an adviser at a local bank, and then keep in touch with them. When you have poor credit and are trying to repair it, it really helps to make connections with smaller financial institutions that will look beyond the numbers and the papers to see someone who is trying to repair past mistakes rather than see a 530 FICO score.
I deal with a small, local bank specifically for that purpose. That doesn't mean I only deal with them. But it does mean that I get some really honest answers and the time of day that a larger firm wouldn't give to someone who carries higher risk. I do have one small loan with the local bank, but I mostly just keep in touch with them for credit monitoring and advice.
I also have some older collections, all smaller amounts, on my report from about 2008-09 when DH and I had a bit of a job crisis. One credit card I will be finished paying off next month, but the other accounts I was told to leave alone at least until after we purchase a home because settling/paying those debts now would bring them current, thus lowering my credit scores.
Also, have you ever heard of www.creditkarma.com? They have some good advice on there. Some good, some not so good. But generally, I have found that most of the blurbs on there are pretty accurate. Dave Ramsey is another great source to look up if you're trying to reduce your debt.
It never hurts to ask, but it has been my experience it is usually a big no.
The strategy I would use if I were in your shoes is, since you are trying to pay it off faster anyway, is when you are in a position to totally pay it off...before sending that final payment (but make sure you do this well enough in time so you don't miss a payment due date)...contact the attorney and negotiate. Something like, "I've really been trying to improve my credit over the last few years. Since I have been faithfully paying off this debt on time since Jan. 2013 and only have $XXX left, if I agree to pay off the account in full by X date, would you be willing to drop this judgment off my credit report once you receive that pay-off payment?" If he/she agrees, ask for that agreement to be given to you IN WRITING.
The advantage of this for them is...they are then almost assured the debt will be paid off within those x number of days. However, if you wait until AFTER you've paid it all off, then there is no longer any incentive for them to do anything for you.