can i be sued if i didnt pay a credit card that is over 5 years old and can they call my work and get more information on me?
2006-06-28 08:11:03 · 11 answers · asked by Victor R 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
First, they can not automatically take money from your checking account. They will have to sue you in court and have the courts approve wage garnishments. Since I owe a number of credit card companies, all 4 plus years ago, they will never go through that route. That is too much time and additional money (unless you owe them like $100,000 on one card) for a credit card company to sue you. Anyway, if you are able to send any money, write them a letter and let them know you will be sending a certain amount every month. In the letter, also state that as a condition of your monthly payment, they will need to report this to all 3 Credit Bureaus. Then see what happens. In the end you have the last say in if you will or will not payback a credit card company. Of course your credit will suffer, but damn it you are the master of your life.
2006-06-28 08:22:06 · answer #1 · answered by Resse 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The age of the card has no bearing in this, it is the time from when you missed a payment and never got current on the account that matters. (date of first delinquency)
You need to check the statute of limitations and exemptions for your state.
You also should order each of your credit reports. If a collection agency starts reporting on your reports without first notifying you that they are trying to collect the debt, that is a violation.
A collection agency cannot take money from your check unless they have a judgment against you. And, if your state allows it. Some states do not allow garnishment.
While trying to collect a debt without a judgment, a collection agency cannot talk to a third party about your debt. They cannot call your work, your home, your neighbors etc and discuss it with anyone but you. They cannot dip their fingers into your bank account or pay. If they do, they are violating your rights.
As for suing, yes they can sue as long as they sue within the statute of limitations. It is a violation to file a suit on a time barred debt. (but that fact doesn't seem to bother most collection agency's)
I would suggest going to the site that I have linked and do some reading. It is a "free" do it yourself credit repair site.
Learn your rights.
2006-06-28 19:07:43 · answer #2 · answered by echo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, don't worry about it. Other than shred your credit rating there's not much they can do.
I know from experience, I had a situation where I owe around $9k over 4 different credit cards. They went to collections all around 7 years ago. Other than sending threatening letters, nothing so far has been done other than killing my credit rating.
Maybe it's different if you owe a TON of $$, but in my case (average card had approx $2k on each) nothing as of yet 7 years later.
2006-06-28 15:14:56 · answer #3 · answered by jatheney 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The creditor may call your place of employment unless you notify them in writing that doing so may endanger your employment.
The collections agency to whom the debt has been assigned may garnish your wages if they go to court and obtain a judgment. The judgment is good for 10 years and renewable for another 10. The judgment will have a negative impact on your credit report scores and will remain on your record for 10 years.
Pay them off. In may cases they will make arrangements to settle for less than the entire amount due if you pay it all at one.
2006-06-28 15:17:35 · answer #4 · answered by mazziatplay 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
echo's response is excellent.
Check out the links below for more info. You need to know what the statute of limitations for your state is. Most states are around 6 years.
The start of the SOL is the last transaction period. When was the last payment you sent them?
Also read the Fair Debt Collections Act. It explains what they can and can't do. They can't call you at work if your boss doesn't allow it. They can call around to get information about you. Read the link about all of this.
2006-06-29 15:40:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They cannot take money from your checking account without going to court first. The only ones who can do that is student loans and the IRS. It is rare that a credit card company goes to court. They may threaten but it is rare.
They can call your work but if you tell them not to plus send them a letter telling them to stop then by law they have to quit calling you at work.
2006-06-28 15:22:59 · answer #6 · answered by dutchfam7 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. they will collect and use any information they can to obtain payment for the collection. remember, the collection agency doesn't get paid until you start to pay. so they'll hound you for a long time. eventually, they'll give up and sell it to someone else and the process starts over again.
2006-06-28 15:19:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yepper - the sheriff can garnish your bank accounts too, and they can levy on your personal property - sell it - to pay off the credit card. you may want to contact the credit card company -NOW - and try to make arrangements to pay.
2006-06-28 15:15:57 · answer #8 · answered by Eclair 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
2006-06-28 15:14:32 · answer #9 · answered by luckyaz128 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you are liable for all of your debts, past and present
2006-06-28 15:25:09 · answer #10 · answered by scwihm 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋