Remove a Pennsylvania Satisfied Judgment From Credit Report When Judgment Creditor is Unable to Be
Full Question:
Answer:
You may file a request with the court to have a satisfaction of judgment entered. After the satisfaction is entered, if it still appears on the credit report, you may dispute the report as being inaccurate and the reporting agency must investigate and correct any erroneous information.
Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act, the information provider is required to investigate and report the results to the CRA. If the information is found to be incorrect, it must notify all nationwide CRAs to correct your file. If the investigation does not solve your dispute, ask that your statement concerning the dispute be included in your file. A notice of your dispute must be included anytime the CRA reports the negative item.
Erroneous information that is verified as erroneous must be dropped from your credit report after being disputed as erroneous. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), unverified information must be deleted. However, if a party is on record with the debtor as being liable for a debt and defaults in payment, the default in unlikely to be found erroneous unless the creditor had reason to know the party was no longer liable as a debtor on the account.
The following is from the Fair Credit Reporting Act:
§ 611. Procedure in case of disputed accuracy [15 U.S.C. § 1681i]
(a) Reinvestigations of Disputed Information
(1) Reinvestigation Required
(A) In general. Subject to subsection (f), if the completeness or accuracy of any
item of information contained in a consumer's file at a consumer reporting
agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency
directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of such dispute, the agency shall,
free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether
the disputed information is inaccurate and record the current status of the
disputed information, or delete the item from the file in accordance with
paragraph (5), before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on
which the agency receives the notice of the dispute from the consumer or
reseller.
(B) Extension of period to reinvestigate. Except as provided in subparagraph
(C), the 30-day period described in subparagraph (A) may be extended for
not more than 15 additional days if the consumer reporting agency receives
information from the consumer during that 30-day period that is relevant to
the reinvestigation.
(C) Limitations on extension of period to reinvestigate. Subparagraph (B) shall
not apply to any reinvestigation in which, during the 30-day period
described in subparagraph (A), the information that is the subject of the
reinvestigation is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or the consumer
reporting agency determines that the information cannot be verified.
(2) Prompt Notice of Dispute to Furnisher of Information
(A) In general. Before the expiration of the 5-business-day period beginning on
the date on which a consumer reporting agency receives notice of a dispute
from any consumer or a reseller in accordance with paragraph (1), the
agency shall provide notification of the dispute to any person who provided
any item of information in dispute, at the address and in the manner
established with the person. The notice shall include all relevant
information regarding the dispute that the agency has received from the
consumer or reseller.
(B) Provision of other information. The consumer reporting agency shall
promptly provide to the person who provided the information in dispute all
relevant information regarding the dispute that is received by the agency
from the consumer or the reseller after the period referred to in subparagraph
(A) and before the end of the period referred to in paragraph (1)(A)....
...(5) Treatment of Inaccurate or Unverifiable Information
(A) In general. If, after any reinvestigation under paragraph (1) of any
information disputed by a consumer, an item of the information is found to
be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, the consumer reporting
agency shall–
(i) promptly delete that item of information from the file of the consumer,
or modify that item of information, as appropriate, based on the results
of the reinvestigation; and
(ii) promptly notify the furnisher of that information that the information
has been modified or deleted from the file of the consumer.
The following is a PA law:
Rule 341. Request for Entry of Satisfaction; Service; Entry of
Satisfaction
A. If a judgment debtor has paid in full, settled, or otherwise
complied with a judgment rendered in a magisterial district court, anyone
interested in the judgment may request the entry of satisfaction of the
judgment by filing a written request in the office of the magisterial
district judge who rendered the judgment.
B. A request for entry of satisfaction by anyone other than the
judgment creditor must be served upon the judgment creditor in accordance
with the rules in the 300 Series regarding service of the complaint.
C. Within 90 days from the date of service of the request for entry of
satisfaction, the judgment creditor shall enter satisfaction in the
office of the magisterial district judge in which the request for entry
of satisfaction was filed.
Note: Subdivision A provides a mechanism for a judgment debtor, or
anyone interested in the judgment, to file a written request for entry of
satisfaction in the office of the magisterial district judge who rendered
the judgment. See Section 8104(a) of the Judicial Code,
42 Pa.C.S. § 8104(a).
Subdivision B is intended to provide a number of alternative methods of
service. See Rules 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312 and 313. When permitted,
service by mail should be at the option of the person filing the request
for entry of satisfaction. The requester shall be required to pay for all
costs associated with initiating entry of satisfaction.
Upon the entry of satisfaction, the judgment debtor may file a true
copy of the entry of satisfaction in any other magisterial district court
in which the judgment may have been entered pursuant to Rule 402. Nothing
in this rule is intended to suggest that it is the obligation of the
judgment creditor to enter satisfaction in any court other than the court
specified in subdivision C.
