Expert: John Hall - 7/19/2006

Question
Hi John,

Thanks so much for the advice.  I will definitely send them a letter but as of now, repo is off his credit report.  I just worry that they could put it back on again and if they have a judgement on him.  How do you know if you have a judgement?  Also, can they put a lien on our property for the debt?  what if I dispute the validity of the debt and they send back verification that it was valid, can they collect money for that debt still?  I know he never received a summons but then again, we were moving a lot the past couple of years that they may have sent a summons and we never received it.  
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Followup To

Question -
Hi John,

Our situation is that my husband had a car repossessed in 1998.  It was on his credit report for 7 years and hasn't been on his credit report for at least a year now.  Since 1998, he's been cleaning up his credit and has been in good standing for at least 5 years now except for that repo which was finally gone last year.  Just this week though, we received a letter from a collection agency saying that they acquired the balance due on this account which was originally $5300 and now is $15000 because of interest and fees.  I know that for California the statute of limitation is 4 years so they can't sue him anymore but what should he do next?  Can they put it back on his credit report as deliquent? Does he need to write them a letter?  They stated that if he doesn't write them a letter within 30 days of notice, they will consider the debt valid.

thanks,
Sheila

Answer -
Send the letter to them as they requested and demand that they take the entry off.  Threaten them by sayhing that if they do not remove the entry that is too oild tob e on the credit report under the federal Fair Credit REporting Act, that you will initiate an action against both them (the credit reporting agency) for violating that same law.   Also, send a copy of the same letter to the colleciton agency telling the same thing, that is that you will bring a federal lawsuit agaisnt them for refusing to direct that the negative credit entry bae removed.

If they give you any flack, call me back and we can discuss what you can do next to encourage them to get this off of the credit report.

Call me if you like.  I will not charge you just to talk on the phone and we can discuss this in more detail.   214  779-3427

Answer
Thanks so much for the advice.  I will definitely send them a letter but as of now, repo is off his credit report.  I just worry that they could put it back on again and if they have a judgement on him.  How do you know if you have a judgement?  

sometimes they send you a copy when they get it.  Another way to check is to get a copy of your credit report.  Civil Judgments are usually designated as public record entries and they are automatic.


Also, can they put a lien on our property for the debt?

A civil judgment automatically is a judicial lien against your house, if you have one.


 what if I dispute the validity of the debt and they send back verification that it was valid, can they collect money for that debt still?  

That happens all the time.   The way to dispute the failure to validate is to bring an action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

I know he never received a summons but then again, we were moving a lot the past couple of years that they may have sent a summons and we never received it.

It is not at all uncommon for a sheriff's deputy or a process server to say you were served when you weren't