Can collection agencies try to collect a debt that is eight years old?

Question

I received a call from a collection agency trying to collect on a debt that is 8 years old, dating back to 1998. My state's Statute of Limitations for debt is seven years. Can they still collect on this even when the Statute is expired?

Answer 1

yuppers the collection agencies are crooked and it ill show up on your credit report as well. Get an eggplant, shark, pond scum sheister or what ever you decided to call an attorney and tell him/her/IT what is going on.

The only exception to this is bankruptcy if you filed they cannot touch you and that is a FEDERAL offense.

Answer 2

It depends on the debt. Student loans and child support never expire. Taxes are usually 10 years regardless of state law and federal debts might not fall under state jurisdiction.

I disagree with the assertion that creditors may not sue after the statute runs. Creditors can always sue. Whether or not they will win the suit is another matter but they just might win if circumstances are right. Don't push your luck-your rights are only as good as your ability to demonstrate them to a sober, unbiased and competent court. If you don't know what I am talking about, just say the word, "Sears" to any bankruptcy attorney. Judges and courts routinely ignore the law-especially if the debtor is not good at presenting it or does not have the funds to adequately provide for their defense-a common problem of debtors.

BTW there is another special statute on judgements which is usually a bit longer so if you have been sued already, your statute is restarted.

Choosing a laches defense can be useful if the creditor has been negligent in attempting to collect and then has suddenly decided to start bothering you again. If the creditor has gone years without so much as attempting to find you, let the judge know this.

Answer 3

Lots of poor answers, but a couple of very good ones. Check out WhiteFangs and furshluginer's.

bijan, you are a classic collection agent idiot! With luck, and more work on my part, people will become more educated on the law and stop listening to your silly BS answers!

Send the collection agent a "cease and desist" letter, and inform him the SOL has expired and he's just wasting his time and postage stamps bothering you. If he continues to try and contact you or send you more nasty letters...well, look at it as winning the lotto!

A small claims suit only costs $25-$50, and you will win $1000.

The reason these people get away with it is because you don't know the law. This is WAR! They are armed! Your only weapon is knowledge of the law! So read the links below and defend yourself!

furshluginer is absolutely right. I've been in court many times (course of business) and I've sat through lots of court cases that I wanted to jump up and correct these people being sued for debts.

Example, one lady was sueing a collection agent for damages because she had a loan turned down, and ended up paying much larger interest fees. Reason? A default judgement was entered against her. She appealed and had it overturned, but nobody removed the judgement from her credit history.

She lost her case.

1) She didn't come with any proof of damages. The judge told her to file another case and bring back evidence that proved her interest rate was caused by the credit report, and prove how much the damage was.

2) She was suing for the wrong thing! She totally screwed up by not knowing the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and not following the dispute procedures exactly, and not keeping proof of notifications. If so, she easily could have sued both the collection agency and the credit bureau for $1000 each!

The law is not difficult to follow! Lawyers don't want to fool around with small cases like this, and if they do they will charge you a fortune! That's why small claims is such a nice place.

Just read the law, follow the procedures exactly, and you will easily win a FCRA lawsuit.

Answer 4

What you describe is known as a time-barred debt. This means that the statute of limitations has expired in which the creditor may legally sue to collect on the debt. The time period varies from state to state, but 4 - 6 years is typical. After the statute is expired they can not sue in small claims court or place a negative entry in your credit report. (After 7 - 10 years the debt is supposed to fall off your credit report, but you often need to notify the credit reporting agencies and ask them to remove it.) In short, once the statute has expired, they can no longer take measures to collect the debt other than simply to ask, "Pretty please, will you pay?"
Now, you STILL owe the debt so they can still try to collect, even though they have no recourse if you say no. I've received calls on a debt from 20 years ago. There are rules that govern their collection practices, however. They can not threaten you, harass you, talk to others of your debt, call you at work, threaten legal or criminal action, call outside normal business hours, etc. If they do any of these things, you can file a complaint with the FTC (www.ftc.gov) or file a small claims suit against them (for up to one year after the offense).
Now, you may be thinking it's hopeless because these people will just call you for the next 80 years despite the fact that you keep telling them to buzz off. Lucky for you, "Buzz off" is legally enforceable. Well, sort of. When they call, inform them that you no longer wish to be contacted about the debt. If they persist, send them a certified letter stating again that you do not wish to be contacted. Once they receive your letter, they can no longer contact you except to send a letter stating that they will no longer contact you. (They can only do this once. They can't send you a weekly reminder that they are not contacting you.) From that point on they can only contact you to notify you of action taken on your account. Of course, since they have no course of action once the statute of limitation has expired, they have no reason to ever contact you again. Keep in mind, however, that they can sell your account to another agency and then you need to send a letter to the new agency.
One final and important warning: Do not make a payment. If you make a payment on the account, it may reset the statute of limitations. Many states count the age of the debt from the date of the last activity on the account. Therefore, if you don't ever intend to pay, don't pay. Just don't expect to borrow a $20 from me anytime soon.

Answer 5

There are often exceptions (such as child support), but typically once the 7-year statute of limitations has expired, the debt collector cannot legally enforce the debt. In some states, the statute is stopped when a payment is made on the debt. Try checking out the website I listed below for more info about your particular state.

Answer 6

if the debt has been on your credit report for over 7 years, with no payment and no other 'action'-then no they cant collect on it. By law , it has to actually be removed ...
Call the credit reporting agency(Trans union,Equifax, or Experian) and tel them to remove it ...
Good luck
PS) i was a claims adjuster (collections clerk) for 6 years **

Answer 7

yes. the debt never goes away. they can try to collect but they have no means of forcing you to pay. you can just ignore them.

Answer 8

I don't believe they can if you're sure about the statute in your state.

Answer 9

They can collect it, even if its 50 years.
I know because I collect debt from people. And some are from 10 years ago.
------------------------------------------
http://www.bestcreditrates.net

Answer 10

They can try. Ignore them.