How to Take a Judgment Off My Credit Score

There are three major credit bureaus that monitor your credit: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each bureau maintains its own reports, which are scaled slightly differently from one another, but each bureau should have the same credit information on you. If a lender reports you as defaulting on a loan, that report goes on your credit report. To remove a negative report, you'll need to prove it's a mistake and dispute it.

Instructions

Disputing a Claim

1

Check your credit report from all three bureaus. A negative claim on one bureau's report may not be on the others, but you need to check all three of them to be sure. Get a free copy of each report once a year from the Annual Credit Report website.

2

Gather evidence that proves the credit report isn't correct. Find receipts, print off bank statements showing payments and collect any letters or emails you received from the lender. Make copies of everything; you'll need one copy for each credit bureau report the negative claim is on. Don't send original documents.

3

Write a dispute letter. Explain in detail why the negative claim should be removed from your credit report. Print the letter and sign it; you'll need one copy for each credit bureau that has the claim on its report. You can find a sample dispute letter on the Federal Trade Commission website (see "Resources").

4

Mail your letters and proof to each credit bureau. Send everything "return receipt requested" to ensure the documents are received. The credit bureaus will investigate and get back to you within 30 days. If the investigation comes back and you're told the claim will not be removed, you can still request that your dispute be kept on file so others can see you disputed the claim.

Filing a Motion to Vacate

5

Gather your evidence and prepare your explanation for wanting the judgment removed so you can file a "Motion to Vacate." A judgment is a decision that was upheld in court, and the only way to get rid of it is to go back to court. In your motion, you'll need to have the name, date and case number of the judgment.

6

File your court papers, get a court date and notify the lender you're taking them back to court. Usually, the courts will send a sheriff out to serve the plaintiff.

7

Hire a lawyer to assist you. Attorneys can be expensive, but they know the ins and the outs of the system, which is important if you're trying to overturn a judgment.