Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New Jersey

The law requires the creditor to provide you with a "Satisfaction of Judgment" that you can file to remove the judgment from the records of the upper courts in New Jersey, if it was docketed in the Superior Court, Law Division in Trenton. Special Civil Judgments are not ordinarily docketed in the Upper Courts unless and until the creditor obtains a statement of docketing and forwards that to Trenton to make sure that the judgment shows up in any Upper Courts judgment search. You should write the Plaintiff a letter requesting that they send you an original Satisfaction or provide proof that they have filed the satisfaction themselves. Give them a deadline to comply. Photocopy the letter, keep a copy and send the letter by certified mail return receipt requested AND by regular mail.

Alternatively, since you had a docket number, you may attempt to file a motion to get them to satisfy the judgment of record under that docket number - I don't know off hand the statute which requires a creditor to file a satisfaction once he or she is paid off, but you would request that the court order that creditor follow that statute.

Also, just because a credit reporting agency shows you have a judgment against you does not necessarily mean that you owe it. Include in the letter to the creditor that they must contact the credit reporting agencies to let them know it has been paid off. You should also contact the credit reporting agencies and put in a dispute, which you can do online - even in a trial period on various sites where you do not need to pay any money. I do hope this was helpful. Depending upon the creditor, they will not deal with the debtor directly unless the debtor is represented by an attorney. Often, I have had to "pull teeth" to get a response from creditor's attorney's as well. Keep going, though, and you will be victorious.