Being sued by a debt collector can be very intimidating. If you are being sued, never let a default judgment be entered. You have nothing to lose by disputing the validity of the judgment or even settling it out of court to avoid that nasty record landing on your credit reports.
The statute of limitations (SOL) on judgments is very long; usually 12 to 20 years. More and more collection agencies are starting to seek litigation simply for the fact that judgments are renewable. Once they get a judgment, it may be renewed if the creditor files a new suit seeking to renew the judgment prior to the expiration of the original judgment) therefore, technically, a judgment could follow you around for life.
Even if you pay a judgment you will be stuck with a 'satisfied judgment" for 7 years from date satisfied not filed! This can be a hopeless situation so avoid being sued at all costs!
However, if you already have a judgments reporting on your credit report, there are ways to have them removed. There are many strategies and options one could use to remove a judgment from their credit report. You have more rights and are protected by more federal and states laws than I could ever write about in one article. The most common is disputing it with the credit bureaus. Another way is simple to negotiate with the creditor. Many people use "pay for delete" letters when negotiating. It's always important to get the agreement between you and the creditor in writing as once you have paid; they have no other motivation to remove it from your credit report.
