Can a company buy a debt from 20 years ago and then send you a letter demanding payment?

Question

My husband got a letter in the mail saying he owed $400 to them. When he called to ask what for they said he had a jc penny card 20 yrs ago and that they just bought the company or the debt from the company and if he didn't pay them it would go on his credit report. We assume this debt was already on his credit report for 7 yrs and then dropped off. It doesn't seem fair that the same debt can go on the credit report for another 7 yrs. We're a paycheck to paycheck family and we don't have $400 bucks to just send away to every person that sends us a letter. How do we know these people are for real? This is 20 yrs old, he doesn't even remember this. Is that legal to put it on his credit report again?

Answer 1

To the first part

Yes they may buy the debt ( nromally for about 2 cents on the dollar or less) so they may have paid 2 dollars for this note.

And yes they may send you a collection letter every day if they wish and call you to collect.

Since the statue of limitation has ran out, they can not sue you in court unless you confirm the debt with them.

So you can not agree that you owe the debt or make a payment on it, This is how they trick many people into re-affirming the debt with them.

And if they collect 40 bucks on it, they will have made a good profit anyway.

There are also fraud companies, that look up old debts and them pretend to have bought them to try and get you to pay them money on a debt that they don't have any right to collect.

Answer 2

First off, there is usually a statute of limitations on debt.... these collection companies buy the really old debt for CHEAP, and hten try to collect in full, hoping customers dont know this. Contact a lawyer on the phone and just ask real quick-- theymigth let you konw for free.

Second, watch your credit reports-- they are NOT ALLOWED to report this again. A collection can only be on your report for 7 years from the date of FIRST DELINQUENCEY ON THE ORIGINAL ACCOUNT. THey cannot report it again like its new-- so dispute it the second it goes on there if it does.

A good thing to do would be to order your free report at www.annualcreditreport.com -- but only order one bureau and then do the next one in 3 months and the next one 3 months after that....to be sure it doesn't report later.

Answer 3

It depends on your state, but the statute of limitations for credit card debt is always less than 20 years. The longest for credit card debt is 6 years. Tell them they they forfeited the loan because the statute of limitations on the debt has expired, and that they cannot legally report it to a credit agency. If they still do, you can report them by calling the credit report company.

Also, almost all credit card companies use escalated calling; if you are speaking to someone who refuses to help, ask to speak with a supervisor. Keep doing that until someone helps you, or there's no one left to transfer you to (the shift lead or call center manager).

Answer 4

That debt, if he defaulted on it, has long been written off by JC Penny as noncollectable. I would talk to an accountant or lawyer in your area (each state is different) as if they can effect your credit that would be a bad thing. I would also send the dunning letter to your local councilman as well as the State Attorney General's office and complain about this attempt to intimidate you. Also, get a copy of your recent credit report and see what it says for yourself.

Answer 5

OK what you do is just wait it out and see if it goes on his credit. After a while you can go to annualcreditreport.com and get all three reports for free and see if its on there. One of the credit reporting agencies will have a button you can click for a dispute and then it will ask you for the reason for the dispute and all you have to do is click the one that says over 7 years and they will take care of it.

Answer 6

The guy that fisrt answerd the question did a great job answering it so pay attention to it and i would say that you are right you don't have to pay that old debt if you don't want to they can not sue you for it. However people don't realize that once you do something like this it can haunt you literally forever and thats what they are counting on to get you to pay is the fact thatthey may never go away for good.

Answer 7

Well what state was the debt accrued in, is that the same state you live in. It could be a time barred debt. Go to this website for more info that is accurate http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/coninfo.htm. Also will tell you how to deal with creditor, and give sample letters, tell you how to get a creditor to validate the debt. In other words, prove the debt is his.

Answer 8

credit report company are sloppy sometimes and if this collection agency will tell them to put negative account on your credit , they will do that without validating. check your credit in a couple of weeks, if they will still bother you and you should not have problem to removed this account from your credit.
tell this collection agency if they call you, that you don't wish to talk to them and you will only talk with jc penny. if they will make any treats towards you- take name, phone number, address from them and tell them ,that you will call and complain to your attorney general and file formal complain against them ( if you can record the conversation with them or at list tell them you did ) this should end your " relationship" with them forever.
collection agencies are breaking so many laws so it will be good if you show them you are not walking blind and are scare of them . good luck.

Answer 9

Of course it's legal. The only question for him to answer is whether the debt was fraudulent. Did he owe the money? I'd go after him too.

Answer 10

Check the small print of the contract your husband signed. There must be stated the "life term" of the ageement.