can a collection agency collect or sue you for an account thats 13 years old?

Question

there is a collection agency harrassing me about a debt thats 13 years old and hasnt showed up on my credit report for 5 years. im getting letters from original collection agency and now this new collection agency. is that legal and remember the debt is 13 years old. and i disputed that it wasnt even my debt.

Answer 1

Is this for cc debt or other

The longest SOL for collecting cc debts that I have seen is 10 years.

The only thing that could extend the collecting SOL is if you live in or had lived (during that period) in a state that allows the SOL to be updated if you make a payment or charge.

There are two ways that states regard collecting SOL's. They either start the first time you became 30 days late and never brought the account current leading to the charge off (which is the same as the reporting SOL)

Or, the SOL starts from the last payment or charge made on the account.

Go to the site I've listed and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click on your state and do some reading.

++++edit

If you find that you are indeed out of SOL, you should first send a debt validation letter - send it certified mail return receipt.

After you receive a response or in 35 days after they signed the green card, send them a SOL letter (certified mail return receipt)

There is an excellent SOL letter template on that site. (If you live in Oklahoma you would have to remove the TILA references)

There is also some debt validation templates on that site, and you might check the second site I've listed to find more.

No matter what state you live in for collecting SOL - they CANNOT re-age the debt and place it on your reports !!!!

If they do, sue them for placing an illegal account on your reports and violating your rights, plus if you have been denied credit because of it, the better it will look in your suit.

Answer 2

There is almost always a statute of limitations on debts which should have expired in your case, unless you have made payments recently, in which case the statute of limitations would be measured from the date of your last payment. Collection agencies sometimes dig up old debts and start asking for payment in the hope that you'll pay up because you don't know your rights or just to avoid the hassle, but if you do that, you'll be voiding the statute of limitations and acknowledging that you are responsible for the debt, and will be legally required to pay the rest of it.

Answer 3

As long as the company has been assigned the debt - meaning that they actually own it, aren't just collecting on commission - then they can sue you. You may have a valid defense - such as statute barred (more than 6 years since date of last activity on the debt) or proof is wasn't you, but you would still have to prove that to the court to win the case. I'm going through that process right now; expecting to win but boy what a waste of my time!

Answer 4

First, debt collectors don't care about statute of limitations, they care about the commission check, so don't even waste your time about that. Find out as much information as you can.
For instance, how long have they had the account, where did they get it, and NEVER GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION ABOUT YOU, YOUR JOB, NOTHING. If they don't like it too bad. What I am going to explain to you is not pleasent, but it is the real world and this is how it works.
First and foremost, DO NOT EVER CALL THEM. ONLY FIND INFO OUT WHEN THEY CALL YOU...Every time you call them, they can, through a little known law, can change the date of last action to the day you contact them... (you can find this info under full faith and credit laws. Findlaw.com is a great help for the layman)
Here's the problem, and believe me there are groups lobbying for changes to this crap.
You have a bad debt that goes to collections. A collection agency tries to get you to pay, you don't and after awhile they sell your account to another credit collection agency. There is a little loop-hole in the law...
The loop hole is that when the first collection agency gets the account, you have a charge off on the original lender with a "date of last action" 1-1990, for example. The collection agency that takes it over now has the same debt, under their name with a new "date of last action" 1-1993.

What is happening here is that you now have the original creditor showing a charge off on your credit for 1990, and the collection agency has the debt on your credit for 1993. The 7 years statute of limitations starts with the first creditor in 1990, removable in 1997. THe collection agency has you from 1993, removing you in 2000. Can you see the pattern here? It happens often; 1 debt 3-4 derog's with different companies with different dates, keeping the damn thing on your credit for well over 7 yrs... Getting them removed, is like having ice cold lemonade with the devil...
Collection agencies have gotten smart, sort of. They keep selling these old accounts before the statute of limitation is up, thereby keeping the same bad account on a person's credit for years, litteraly.
The one saving grace for the consumer is that after the original creditors time is up, 7 years, the collection agency, depending on your individual state laws, usually cant sue or garnish your wages for the balance owed.
You must be aware, that every state has different laws. The federal law that governs this is the FDCPA,(Federal Debt and Collections Practices Act) and the Full Faith and Credit laws of the US.
Keeping the above in mind filing BK will potientially eliminate debt, but with the recent changes of the USC Chpt 11BK codes in order to file chapter 7 (total liquidation) your income must be below your individual states poverty levels. For a 13, you have to have income enough to satisfy a percentage of debt over 5yrs, known as the "plan".
Unless this collection agency intends to sue, which they can, depending on the above information, and you lose, they can then garnish your wages. (these laws are an entirely different subject, and they are so different state to state) Should that happen, some employers will discharge you, making it difficult to pay other bills, like house, rent, car, utilities, etc, and THAT may force BK. In addition, if the collection agency is trying to collect on back child support, and some states will use that method, BK will not be helpful as child support CANNOT be discharged through any BK filing, 7 or 13. Another important note on this is if the collection agency is collecting on what is known as a deficiency balance that can hold on a credit report indefinatly, depending on state requirement.
It is important to understand a basic premise with FDCPA and Full Faith and Credit laws of the federal government. They set the minimum standards to which every state must abide by, however, every state has an option to expand upon those minimum standards and that is why some things vary from state to state. On a national level, a BK will stay on your credit for a minimum of 10yrs, federally speaking, however, when it comes to future large purchases like a home, in some states it will never go away.
I would suggest for you to contact your local credit reporting agencies, Transunion, Experian, and Equifax and find out how they are required to proceed under your state laws. Also, the web has extensive information, state by state on this as well.
A tip: If the collector intimidates you, threatens you, or otherwise violates any collection practice laws as set by FDCPA, you can sue them, and let me tell you, if you can provide proof of this you will win big-time... Proof requires recordings, written letters, documentation, and if you are on SS or are disabled and over the age of 62-65, they can't sue you period.

Answer 5

10 year statute of limitation, your answer NO. Just ignore them, hang up on them... They're trying to retrieve money by harrassing you, because they know that's the only way they can get it. I onc was hasselled by a collection agency trying to get me to pat one of my ex-husbands bills, one that he had before we got married. It wasn't even my bill, but they harrassed and carried on for many months before they finally gave up.

Answer 6

This is a business to business website, but some of the information applies to consumer credit too. It has a section about the statue of limitations.

http://www.creditmanagementworld.com/legal.html

Answer 7

Sending a cease and desist letter does not renew the SOL. Paying any money, even one cent, or agreeing to do so, even by telephone does renew the SOL. Do not communicate by telephone, only in writing, and save copies of all communications.

Answer 8

Honey, I was sued for a debt that was 20years old, so yes, they can ,So by all means at least pay whomever at least 1 dollar ,If they accept it, they can't sue you! G.L

Answer 9

Yes they can . Visit DaveRamsey.com and on radio to learn what they don't want you to ever know.

Answer 10

wish them a lot of luck