What happens to old debt? Serious answers please.?

Question

Remarried on the rebound ended up in divorce and it was just ended annulled type thing, but legal divorce however no bills were addressed. Whatever it is, what it is not going there about divorce just over and done.
But there were bills and it has been over 5 years for most.
There was an auto repossession that shows negotiated to 900 owed just and late. It had been a new car sold 12,000 short of bill. on the credit report understand.
There was a charge card for 3000. I never hear from them.
A celular phone plan that was bogus but anyways.
and a dental bill. They still send threatening letters but that is all I never hear from the others.
Don't tell me to pay them on my wages that is just impossible. I don't have enough for groceries or car repairs let alone past debt created by the ex on my name.
I am NOT filing bankruptcy. Hubby number one did that on me. It has been 8 years and credit companies still site this as excuse for not giving me a credit card for auto tire

Answer 1

I need to correct some bad answers here...

The reporting period for debts on your credit report is 7 years. It begins on the day of the delinquency. NOT the last transaction. NOT the day it was reported. Any other reporting date is called "re-aging" and they can be sued in court for $1000 if they do it. So pay attention to the reporting date.

What's answer is incorrect, because they can NOT continue to list a debt on your reports longer then 7 years...period!

Contact me if you need some advice on how to proceed. I am not a lawyer ro credit counsoler, just someone who has been down this road and has helped many others deal with creditors.

Answer 2

First of all, the statute of limitations doesn't always kick in after 7 years -- sometimes it's 5, sometimes it's 9. Second of all, creditors have the right to report unpaid bills for 7 years AFTER the statute of limitations runs out -- just because they can no longer force you to pay doesn't mean that they can't tell other proplr that you didn't pay them. Third, the statute doesn't apply to how old the debt is, it applies to the last time that you made a payment or even PROMISED to make a payment. If you're so sure that you won't file bankruptcy, you're just going to have to pay off the debt, go to court to get it split between you and your ex, or pray that a collection agency doesn't find you for another half-decade (at least).

Answer 3

If I understand your question, you are wondering why you haven't heard from many of your old creditors. Chances are they "charged off" the old debt, that is, wrote it off as uncollectable and ate it. This will of course appear as a black mark on your credit report. If you haven't looked at your credit report, you should; go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com and download a copy of all three of your credit reports. You will have to work this off over time by obtaining what credit you can and using it judiciously.

Answer 4

Get a credit report free by using annualcreditreport.com Check to see if you have any of the debt deal with the debt. Call to make a settlement. DO not put yourself in that situation again.


LC

Answer 5

the debts are removed from your credit info after 7 years. you may have to remind the creditors or crdit company to do this. it is the law. it is your right.
they cannot be collected after about 4 years or so due to statutes of limitations on lawsuits.( different in each state)
the 7 years starts to run when they REPORT it , not when it was incurred ( yeah I know, its a bummer)

Answer 6

Dealing with old debt
By Lucy Lazarony • Bankrate.com
Don't let an old debt come back to haunt you.


Some debt collectors are unearthing old debts, debts that are five to 10 years old or more, in the hope of squeezing some fresh money out of unsuspecting consumers.

"I had one guy who got a call on a debt 14 years later," says Gerri Detweiler, author of "The Ultimate Credit Handbook."

A collection call on an old debt can be tricky to handle, and if you handle it wrong it could lead to big trouble down the road.

First off, it's important to realize that an old unpaid debt can't hurt you nearly as much as a new unpaid debt.

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An unpaid credit account will mar your credit report for seven years. But once your debt passes the seven-year mark, you're in the clear.

With newer debts, debt collectors may call and threaten to sue you day in and day out. With an older debt, any debt collector that threatens to take you to court is breaking the law.

That's quite a difference and it all hinges on whether the debt a collector is haranguing you about is beyond the statute of limitations for delinquent debt in your state.

Once a debt is older than the statute of limitations for debt in your state, a debt collector no longer has the right to sue you for payment. You may still have a moral obligation to pay back the debt, but you can't be sued over it.

"They can still ask you to pay, but they can't threaten to sue. If they do, it's a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," says John Ventura, a consumer attorney in Brownsville, Texas, and author of the e-book Stop Debt Collectors Cold.

Let's say you still owe some money on an old credit card account left over from your college days, 10 years earlier. And let's say the statute of limitations for credit card accounts in your state is five years.

A debt collector may call you and ask you for payment for this forgotten account, but he can't take you to court or threaten to sue you over it. If he does, he's violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

And since the debt is more than 7 years old, it's no longer listed on your credit report.

Watch your step

Even though a debt collector won't ever admit it, you're the one with the advantage here. But one little misstep could change all that.

In some states, making a partial payment to a debt collector or even acknowledging that you owe the money is enough to make an old debt new again.

If this happens, the five-year statute of limitations on your debt starts all over again. A debt collector has five more years in which to sue you for payment. And a non-payment on your new-again debt could be reported on your credit report. Then the advantage transfers to debt collectors.

The best way to handle a collection call for an old debt is to say as little as possible. Don't agree to pay. Don't acknowledge the debt.

In her book, "Money Troubles: Legal Strategies to Cope With Your Debts," attorney Robin Leonard offers the following advice:

"You should never talk to the collection agency about it at all, even if they call at a permitted hour of the day. Just hang up the phone or put the receiver down and walk away."

The best way to respond to a collection notice on an old debt is in writing.

Under the law, a debt collector must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money you owe and the name of the creditor. If within 30 days of receiving this collection notice you write a letter back disputing the debt, a debt collector may not contact you.

It's a good idea to send this letter via certified mail so you'll have proof that the debt collector received it. Under the law, a collector may only renew collection activities if proof of the debt, such as a copy of a bill, is sent to you.

"Definitely seek a verification," says Mary Fons, a consumer protection attorney in Stoughton, Wis. "If they can't prove it, you don't pay it."

Old debt gets passed back and forth so often by debt collectors that there's a good chance some account records, including yours, could be lost.

Answer 7

it normally takes 10 yrs to clear that off your report

Answer 8

AFTER 7 YEARS. YOU CAN REMOVE IT FROM YOUR CREDIT REPORT. I FORGET THE LAW CITE.