If you contact the court within 14 days from when a default judgment is issued, you can ask the court to set aside the judgment. A default judgment is an automatic judgment resulting from a defendant’s failure to file an Answer or appear in court.
It is harder to dispute that you owe the debt if a court issues a judgment against you. It can be very difficult to get a judgment changed or set aside once the case is over. You have a much better chance to fight a collection in court if you defend the case than if you wait until a judgment is entered against you.
For some judgment creditors (creditors who have a judgment against the debtor) it might be difficult to collect judgments, especially if the debtor does not have assets that can be garnished. You can consider offering to settle a judgment for a lesser amount or by arranging a payment plan. Tip! Get any agreement in writing before you pay. Make sure the agreement spells out all the terms of the settlement, including that the creditor will discharge the judgment once you have paid the agreed upon amount.
Of course, it is preferrable to work out a compromise or settlement by negotiating with the debt collector before a court makes a judgment, if you know the debt is yours and the statute of limitations (4 years) has not passed.
