Judgments. The very word strikes fear in the hearts of renters, potential home buyers, and anyone contemplating a credit-based transaction. Even though judgments are very powerful and could have a impact your ability to obtain credit, most people really do not understand what a judgment is or what it does. Hopefully, after reading this blog you will have a better understanding of what a judgment is and how it can hurt you.
Basically a judgment is a final decision by a court that a person owes a sum of money to someone else or a company. The most common form of judgments are obtained as a result of credit card lawsuits, medical billing lawsuits, lawsuits stemming from auto loans or other type of loan transaction. The loan company goes to court and files a summons and complaint or other court papers basically telling the judge that you failed to pay. Many times, the banks and collection companies and hospitals get judgments because they do not even serve you properly. Meaning that they will get a judgment in default, and you will be none the wiser.
Judgments are bad because, once a collection agency has obtained a judgment against you they can garnish your wages, meaning they can take money from your paycheck. They can also put a freeze on your bank account, and if you own a home the judgment can be considered a lien against your property. A Judgment can also prevent you from getting a mortgage, getting a good rate on a car loan, or even being able to rent an apartment. When you have judgments on credit reports it lowers your credit scores and causes you to have to pay higher interest rates and more money than we would have ordinarily needed to pay.
If, you find out that you have a judgment against you, all is not lost. You need to hire an experienced attorney such as Abel L. Pierre to go to court and fight to have the judgment removed. Sometimes, people try to do this by themselves, but they get tricked into signing documents that they do not understand by sharp collection attorneys. These collection attorneys will not fully explain the documents to the client and the consumers, unfortunately, waive many critical legal rights when they sign these papers. If you have a judgment, do not attempt to handle it on your own.
Removing a judgment is similar to getting repair work done on your car. Unless you have some major experience with repairing a vehicle, most people take their cars to the shop. It is the same thing, if you have a judgment you have to call an attorney that knows the ins and outs of the court system, has appeared in every Civil Court in New York City and in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and knows how to fight in order to get your judgment overturned and vacated.
In some cases, an experienced credit card attorney can even get the case dismissed altogether and win damages on your behalf. If you have a judgment or if your bank account is frozen or your wages are being garnished or money is being taken from you call Abel L. Pierre today at (866) 682-2165