Can old eviction hurt my credit?

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Can old eviction hurt my credit?

by Jennifer
(Lodi, CA, San Joaquin County)

My husband and I were evicted from a home we rented in Modesto, CA back in July of 2001. I saw that the judgment fell off our credit record last year. Now we are receiving notices from a new collection agency trying to collect the debt (almost 10 years after it was incurred). My question is: will this new activity from this new collection agency cause the debt to show up back on our credit record. They sent us an official looking paper from the court but I noticed that the paper is not embossed with the court seal, is not signed by a court official, and has "Legal Solutions Plus" printed on the bottom, which leads me to believe that the paper was produced by the collection agency.

However, I do not know the actual legality of being served by mail with this paper. Any information concerning what I have stated will be helpful and appreciated.

Thank you,

Jennifer

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Can old eviction hurt my credit?

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Mar 16, 2011

old judgment on credit
by: DebtCollectionAnswers.com

Jennifer,

If the judgment has fallen off your credit reports, I don't see any way it could reappear unless the collection agency tried to manipulate the data to make the account appear new.

It would be a good idea for you to check your credit reports at least once a year using AnnualCreditReport.com and to even consider a credit monitoring service to alert you to changes. But I wouldn't get too worried about that.

What I would be more worried about is getting this resolved. In most states, judgments can be renewed indefinitely, and judgment creditors have more avenues for collection than collectors who do not have court judgments.

In addition, the notice you describe sounds potentially problematic. Collectors are not supposed to impersonate the courts to collect debts.

If I were you, I'd consider consulting a consumer law attorney to find out a. what the collectors can and cannot do to collect the judgment, and b. to find out whether that notice was potentially illegal.

You can find a consumer law attorney with expertise in consumer credit cases, or you can reach out to Robert Brennan, the attorney who coauthored the California edition of our ebook (www.SocalCreditDamage.com).

Do let us know what happens!

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Can old eviction hurt my credit?

Comments for Can old eviction hurt my credit?

Comments for
Can old eviction hurt my credit?