J
Legal
Judgement
A court order issued against you when a creditor successfully proves you owe an unpaid debt. A judgement appears on your credit report for five years and severely impacts your ability to obtain credit. In South Africa, you can apply to have a judgement rescinded if you pay the debt in full.
Usage Examples
"A default judgement was entered against him after he ignored the summons for an unpaid cellphone contract."
"The judgement on her credit report caused every loan application to be automatically declined for five years."
"After paying the full amount owed, she applied to court to have the judgement rescinded and her credit record updated."