Judgement from 2002 now in debt collection

[mbakunin]

Hi, nice to have a forum to ask questions. Hope this isn't a stupid one. I received a letter from Rausch, Strum, Israel, Enerson & Hornik, LLC (Wisconsin). Requesting payment for a debt charged off in 1999. There was a judgment in 2002 against me in Michigan. I had long since moved from Michigan and was living in Oregon at the time and never received notice of the suit. I now reside in Ohio. Is there any thing I can do to make this go away? I live on disability benefits (SSDI) that don’t even cover my bills. I have sent a debt validation letter requesting information including the judgment, which I found on my own this morning. My other question is how will this affect my credit rating? It’s almost 7.5 years? Will this show up. My credit rating is over 700 right now. I don’t know why this is just popping up. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[ualbany18]

I hate these situations the most because they are the biggest pains in the rear end to deal with as the consumer. If you want to judgment vacated you'd have to go back to the court with original jurisdiction in Michigan to prove you were never served process. That is just the beginning.

[nascar]

I live on disability benefits (SSDI)

Your income is exempt from creditor claims. Make sure your bank is aware that your account contains protected funds, and send a letter to the firm attempting to collect informing them of the same. You are in the driver's seat, so don't feel like you have to listen to their debt collection crap.

[mbakunin]

Thank you both!