mbuell Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I really don't know what to do about this and I'm getting a little sick to my stomach. Here are the details:I had a judgment in 2005 from Citibank. I don't remember the exact balance, but after I was served the papers, I negotiated a settlement with the attorneys. I paid it off with a certified check. Fast forward to 2012. I have been receiving calls from a collector and then received a letter from them. It is the old Citibank account, now at around $13,000.00, more than double of what I initially owed them. I called the collector, who told me the file was just given to their office. I called Citibank and finally heard back from someone today. I told them it was paid off, but they have no record of this. They told me they could call the attorney and find out if they have record of payment. I received a message this afternoon that nobody has record of my payment and that the burden of proof is on me. I do not have the papers stating that the balance was paid. That was my fault, I know, but after so many years, I cleaned out that file and do not have records anymore. Will the bank have records back that far? Even if I did produce proof that this was paid, how will that prove the settlement amount? I checked my credit, and there is nothing on there from Citibank. It used to be, but fell off apparently at some point. Any advice on what to do next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simpleaim Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Did someone file a judgement satisfaction with the court? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbuell Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 A judgment satisfaction? I only remember receiving the letter stating that the balance has been "paid". I also remember checking my credit reports over the next couple of years and the account was there, and that it was "paid". I don't believe anything officially went back to court. I didn't even have to go, as the judgment was made without me being there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simpleaim Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I know here in Missouri that a satisfaction of judgement needs to entered showing satisfaction. You might try checking with the court where the judgement took place just to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbuell Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I will certainly try that tomorrow morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rej Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 What is the SOL if from 2005? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denita Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Has that judgement been renewed?Apparently the judgements only last 5 years in PA, but they can be renewed for any number of additional terms of five years each. However, the renewal must be done no earlier than 90 days before the expiration of the judgement. Pull a copy of the public records for both the original issuance and the renewal. Its possible that the renewal was not done correctly and you can get it vacated if you can't locate the Satisfaction of Judgement. BTW, the Satisfaction should have been recorded in the public records at the time the payment was made in order to protect you from this type of event. I'm not an attorney, so check out the information in your public records first and get with a consumer attorney in your area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coltfan1972 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Did someone file a judgement satisfaction with the court?Someone better have our the OP is up the creek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Pilot Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I really don't know what to do about this and I'm getting a little sick to my stomach. Here are the details:I had a judgment in 2005 from Citibank. I don't remember the exact balance, but after I was served the papers, I negotiated a settlement with the attorneys. I paid it off with a certified check. Fast forward to 2012. I have been receiving calls from a collector and then received a letter from them. It is the old Citibank account, now at around $13,000.00, more than double of what I initially owed them. I called the collector, who told me the file was just given to their office. I called Citibank and finally heard back from someone today. I told them it was paid off, but they have no record of this. They told me they could call the attorney and find out if they have record of payment. I received a message this afternoon that nobody has record of my payment and that the burden of proof is on me. I do not have the papers stating that the balance was paid. That was my fault, I know, but after so many years, I cleaned out that file and do not have records anymore. Will the bank have records back that far? Even if I did produce proof that this was paid, how will that prove the settlement amount? I checked my credit, and there is nothing on there from Citibank. It used to be, but fell off apparently at some point. Any advice on what to do next?CommencementThe four-year statute of limitations for credit card debt in Pennsylvania commences at the time the cause of action occurred, according to Chapter 55, Title 42, Section 5502(a) of the Pennsylvania Statutes. In other words, the credit card company or associated collector has four years to file a lawsuit against you from the date of the last credit card statement for which the credit card company received no payment.Maybe this is one of the few times a Debt Validation might be helpful but I doubt it. You could have one hell of a FDCPA Complaint here. Check the complaint. Plaintiff must have somehow re-aged the account. SOL should have tolled sometime in 2009. Somethings fishy. You should be able to fight this off.Did you pay a bogus collection agent by chance. It's been known to happen. Time to research all the old records you can subpoena and details you can find out of various archives. It's there you just have to dig.HP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbuell Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) I totally agree that somethings very fishy here. Ugghh!!If the account were somehow re-aged, wouldn't it already be on my cr?The original attorney/ca was *****right here in Pa. I will start digging this morning and post what I find.Thank you all for the help.*Edited to take out collectors name. Edited February 28, 2012 by mbuell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denita Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 The problem is it is long past a DV stage/SOL stage. It is already a judgement. Judgements operate under an entirely different set of rules. OP, you need to be looking in the public record section of your county to get the judgement paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbuell Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) I just came back from doing some digging. This is what I found:I called the District Court this morning and after doing a quick search, I was told there is something from 2005 that a judgement was settled. I went to the court to pick up a copy only to discover that it was indeed from the same period, however, it was from Discover Card, not Citibank. I did have two judgments at the same time. The clerk checked again and said that there are no records of any other judgement in my name, at all. Now, I am not stupid. I clearly remember this and it's coming back to me more each minute. There was a judgment, the person I spoke to at Citibank even said so. There is nothing on record now. What could have happened??Next, I stopped by my bank. We had to take out a personal loan in June of 2005 to pay off Discover, Citibank and a couple of smaller debts. Discover and Citibank were the largest. They now have to do a search that will not be done until Friday to get the hard copies of the cashier checks that were written. As I sat in the bank office, I remembered having the names of each creditor I had to list off, and the checks were made out to each of one them. I then took the checks and mailed them to the appropriate creditors. This is so bizarre! So, I guess right now I have to wait for the records to be found, and to see if the check was indeed cashed and by whom. Oh, and also, there is a research fee - $20 an hour - to find this information. I was told it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. I will gladly pay it at this point. I'm still wondering though, if that will be enough to satisfy Citibank and the collector. Edited February 28, 2012 by mbuell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denita Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Excellent progress! Sounds like you have the method to prove the debt is paid. Hopefully it won't take too long for the bank to come up with the records showing the payments.Check in the PA statutes to see if there is a burden on the creditor to have recorded the Satisfaction of Judgement when they received payment from you. Not only do you want to have the Sat recorded you want damages....IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomnTex Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I would think that this would be a lesson to all: NEVER, NEVER, EVER throw away any records on payoff to any creditor no matter how long it's been. The snakes have a habit of crawling out of the grass when you least expect it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbuell Posted February 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 Indeed and well said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kutuzov Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 What a pain...I guess you got to have the paperwork handy when needed. Anyway if you are like me and never paid your cc or the jdc knowing that even if they sue me and win they won't get nothing (no assets, no wage garnishment, or freezing my bank... THANKS FLORIDA!), you don't have to worry about it Good luck, but you did the right thing by doing everything with cashier checks from your bank that now you CAN track. They will find them sooner or later and you will then know where the payment went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legaleagle Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 Consumer Tip: DEBTORS' RIGHTS IN FLORIDAI don't know where you get this stuff you're telling people up here, but you are completely wrong. Wages can be garnished in Florida. Maybe not in your case if you don't have a job, but it is part of the law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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