Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Old debt

I have an old credit card debt which I have stopped from making

payments since Jan 2001 due to personal reasons.

The credit cards were established in NY state.

Since then, I have moved several times (even getting evicted of late payments),

and lost all of the credit card information (acc.number,contact info).

I was relying on each creditor to contact me, which they did

and I have paid off all (at least I thought I did).

I moved to WA state from NY state March of 2006.

And when I checked my credit report to get my vehicle refinanced,

it's showing one of the creditor i've missed paying off entered and won the judgement against me.

I was shock. They never contacted me regarding debt I owe to them.

They just went to court and suit me. I never received any letter from the court either.

If I have, I would have done something. Is there anything I can do to have this judgement removed?

I've been WA state resident since March 2006 and the Judgement was established in

Jan 2007 in NY State court.

Thank you for reading and please help.


Asked on 4/14/09, 6:09 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Starr Starr & Starr, PLLC

Re: Old debt

Judgment stays on credit report for 7 years, but is enforceable in NY for 20 (yes - twenty) years. Judgment bears interest at 9% a year. If filed as a lien at the county level in NY the lien is good for 10 years and can be renewed for another 10. Judgments have a negative effect on your credit report.

A creditor with a judgment can both garnish the judgment debtor's wages and levy a writ of execution against the judgment debtor's bank account (or just restrain the account pursuant to a restraining notice).

Please see the prior posting on our Blog (newyorkbankruptcylawyerblog.com) on the topic of dealing with a default judgment. The posts are:

Help A Collector Has Frozen My Bank Account in New York, Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn! http://www.newyorkbankruptcylawyerblog.com/2008/10/help_a_collector_has_frozen_my.html

- and -

What Can I Do If a Default Judgment Has Been Entered Against Me in New York? http://www.newyorkbankruptcylawyerblog.com/2008/10/what_can_i_do_if_a_default_jud_1.html

The foregoing is intended as general information of interest to readers of this website and is not intended as legal advice for your situation. You should consult with an attorney.

Best regards,

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Answered on 4/14/09, 8:51 am


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