How to Stop Judgment Collections

When a creditor tries to pursue you to satisfy a debt, one of the creditor's options is to file a civil lawsuit against you. At this point, the creditor can take you to court and get a judgment against you. Once a judgment is issued by the court, the creditor can use several options to try to collect the debt from you. When you are faced with this situation, you can try a few different things to stop the collection actions.

Instructions

1

Appeal the judgment with the court system. If you have a legitimate reason to appeal the debt, such as you did not accumulate it, you could win the appeal. If you do not have a legitimate reason to appeal, this is simply a way to delay the inevitable payment of the debt.

2

Pay the debt within 30 days of the court judgment. Typically, when you have a judgment issued against you, the court gives you 30 days from that date to pay the debt. If you can come up with the money in some way within that time period, you will not be subjected to further collection actions by the creditor. For example, you might be able to take out a personal loan or use money from a credit card to repay the debt you owe.

3

Work out a payment plan with the creditor. After the creditor has a judgment, you must do something to resolve the debt, or the creditor has the legal right to take further action against you. The creditor might be willing to accept payments from you to pay off the debt.

4

File for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with your local court system. If you have no way to pay off the debt, bankruptcy might be your only legitimate option. This should only be used as a last resort as it can lead to serious financial problems in the future. When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it eliminates any outstanding debt and judgments that you may have against you.