[Mowsie]

About five years ago, I had a medical crises, had surgery and was off work for nearly a year. In that time, 3 or 4 credit cards went down the tubes and the medical bills piled up. On top of it, the insurance decided to play games with paying the hospital bills.

The end result was a disaster. The hospital sued ME and got a judgment against me. Years later, they finally coughed up the money and now, I have a "satisfied judgment" on my record. However.. its rightfully not my bill in the first place.. it was the insurance.

This year, my husband and I tried to get a home loan and found my credit needed some repairing. Before I could even get started, it seemed to have poked the hornets nest. It seems that just the act of trying to secure the loan has drawn unwelcome attention? Suddenly, old creditors were coming out of the woodwork. By April, I had another judgment slapped on me. I made arrangements with them and paid it off. Last month, I had another summons and today, I opened up my mail box to an envelope with a default from a medical group I've NEVER even heard of before. The address was WRONG and the post master had written a note on the envelope "this looks important so I thought I'd hand deliver it.. you may want to contact and correct". So.. if this company had sent me letters before.. I NEVER got them. Wrong address all along. It appears to be some medical thing dating back to period when I was hospitalized? That's my guess. I'm hoping I can get out of this judgment somehow?

So.. all told.. in the span of just a few months, I've managed to rack up a staggering three judgments out of nowhere! I'm shocked and practically beside myself. I don't know what to do, where to turn or how to even begin to repair the damage.

I have one satisfied judgment that technically (in my opinion) shouldn't even be there already.
Another satisfied judgment that I have the letter I can file with the court (Haven't done so yet but will).
Another judgment (500 dollars - medical) that I knew nothing about until just now when it was hand delivered to me by by the postman who physically knows me - it had been mailed (and I'm assuming all other correspondence) to the wrong address.
And one judgment that unfortunately, is mine to chew on for the rest of my days or figure out how I'm going to pay. ::Sigh::

So.. anyone out there with some comforting words, advice on how to dump some of the judgments or at least give me some kind of idea as to what this is doing to my credit score right about now?

Thanks a bunch and sorry for the long post. I'm just a bit overwhelmed right now.

~Mowsie

[Steve from Yellowstone]

Ok, lets take these one at a time.

1. first judgment, the one that's satisfied. That shouldn't prevent you from getting a home loan. In reality, most mortgage co's will accept a settled judgment in order to continue an application.

2. You don't just get a judgment slapped on you. Presumably you were served and defaulted. As for this one, unless you weren't properly served, or there is some type of excuse for the default, you are going to have to satisfy this one in order to get a home loan. I recommend that if it was a medical bill you contact the hospital to look into their charity care programs, or if they are willing to settle it. Most of them will in the presence of extenuating circumstances. Don't tell them you are going for a mortgage though. It gives the impression that a. you can afford to own a home, and b. that you really want to settle and will settle for a higher amount than you otherwise would.

3. Since this one is only $500, I would recommend just settling it, It would be cheaper and less aggravating than trying to have it vacated. Also, this process will take some time. Others will maybe suggest going through the steps to vacate but in my opinion, some fights aren't worth pursuing on principal.

It's not as bad as it looks. see what you can scrape together and offer it as a one time offer. you may be surprised.

best of luck.'

ps. you may need to be more specific to get a more detailed plan.

[Enigma]

This is not going to be what you want to hear, unless you had an HMO and depending on your state insurance laws, your medical bills are your responsibility. Insurance is a contract between you and your insurer. The medical provider agrees to accept assignment and they expect to be paid timely.

[Hedwig]

Enigma said exactly what I was going to say. The bills are your responsibility. You have insurance to cover them, true, but the insurance is only a payment mechanism. The responsibility rests with you. If the insurance doesn't pay, it's up to you to pay (and then recover from the insurance company).

People make the same mistake with car accidents. They think they can sue the insurance company. Not so. You sue the person responsible, then the insurance will pay if appropriate. Otherwise, it's the responsibility of the person being sued to pay.

[Mowsie]

Apparently I didn't explain things correctly?

The medical bill/judmement for 500 that I am referring to DID get "slapped" on me. I presume I was served at some point... at an incorrect address. How could I have responded to a summons I never saw? The only correspondence I have received from this medical bill is the letter of judgment. And that came my way ONLY because my regular postal carrier decided it looked important enough to deliver to my correct address. On the outside of the envelope, he'd written a curt note about how I should contact them and notify them of my correct address because the documentation looked important and a substitute postal carrier wouldn't know "who and where" to deliver this to.

And, as for who is responsible for medical bills, that wasn't the basis of my question either. I'm fully aware of the deal of that, and the extenuating circumstances of my 17,00 medical bill that drug on forever .. my insurance company trying to placate myself and the hospital with promises to pay if I just sent in "one more document to substantiate that it was not a pre-existing condition", the company my husband worked for dropping that insurance carrier and going with another BECAUSE of the claim trouble they had with multiple employees, etc.. (I'm sure they were dragging heels in hopes of the statute of limitations for claim payment would wear out). What it boils down to is this. The claim was finally paid by the insurance company AFTER it was defaulted on in court but now.. this ghost of a claim has surfaced with an incorrect address. I would have dealt it before it went into default, had I known about it.

[Enigma]

As to the first judgment, the one you have knowledge, no matter what your insurer does or claims it needs, payment or payment arrangements still are your responsibility. You maybe able to dispute the entry off your CR's.

As to the judgment you had no prior knowledge of, if you were not properly served, and your can prove that you never lived at the address the summons was served at, you may have grounds to vacate the judgment. You will need to research your local Rules of Civil Procedure. Or, purchase an hour of an attorneys time and let him/her guide you as to what to do.