2007-01-25 08:07:32 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
A collection agency will pursue a debt as long as they feel it is profitable for them. If they feel that your debt is not going to be collected, or is going to cost them more than they are willing to expend on your account, they will sell it to another agency for a percentage of its value.
As long as the debt is actively pursued by a reporting agency, it will show on your report and the former collection agencies holding your debt will sit on your report for 7 years.
This will go on until one of the agencies decides it is in their best interest to take you to court and lawfully force you to pay the debts.
2007-01-25 08:43:21 · answer #1 · answered by dougzinboston 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A collection agency can pursue a debt until one of four conditions are satisfied.
1: You pay the debt.
2: They no longer wish to pursue it. This will usually happen when they have decided it is no longer profitable for them or they have put more money into trying to collect the debt than they will receive from payment.
3: You declare bankruptcy and declare that debt in your bankruptcy.
4: The originating company writes off the debt and is paid for the loss by their insurance company. At this point the company no longer has a legal claim to your debt. This is what usually happens with the debt but the company and the collection agency will not tell you if this has happened because they want to collect the money from you. It is illegal for them to do this but since there is no oversite on this aspect of collections they usually get away it if they continue to attempt collection. As a general rule if the debt is more than five years, it is likely that the debt has been written off.
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2007-01-25 12:45:00 · answer #2 · answered by nebula7693 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A collection agency can pursue the debt pretty much forever, unless they take you to court and lose.
So, the question now is how can they lose the case, relative to a time limit?
There are limits to how long a creditor can legally collect on a debt. The time limits vary by type. They also vary by what state you are living in. If you were living in two different states at different points after you stopped paying on the debt, and if one state has a greater time limit, you may find yourself having to follow the one with the greater time limit.
My state (New York) has a six year limit on collecting on a credit card account that has defaulted (no longer paid). This limit is called the Statute of Limitations.
This statute of limitations doesn't mean that the collection can't sue me in ten years. They can! But, if they do, I can go to court and simply assert the truth: the statute of limitations passed. If the collection agency goes with the truth, they will have to admit that I stopped paying ten years ago. They would lose the case and THEN they would be prevented from being it up again. Well, they can bring it up again, but they would still lose.
The thing about suing is that anyone can pretty much sue anyone. Whether or not they win is another thing entirely.
The statute of limitations doesn't prevent being sued. It just offers a legal and valid defense.
So, to answer your question, they can pursue it forever...unless they take you to court and lose.
The seven year period for a negative mark on your credit report doesn't mean that this is the limit for collection. The limits are the statutes of limitations.
The link shows the statute of limitations by state and by what type of debt.
2007-01-25 16:32:46 · answer #3 · answered by nyc_1oo14 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It takes a long time. The best thing to do is pay it off as soon as you can. They will call you day and night until it is payed off. What they do is the company will sell it to an agency to collect the debt if they are unsuccessful after a while it will go to another then another and so on....
2007-01-25 08:30:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anthony P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends upon your state's statute of limitations. Go to http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/statuteLimitations.shtml to read up. Pursuing a debt and having the debt on your credit report are two different things. A collection account will remain on your report for 7 years no matter where you live; however, it will depend upon the state on how long they have to collect the debt.
2007-01-26 07:54:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They can pursue a debt as long as you owe it. After 7 years, it does fall off your credit report, but you are still legally responsible until it is satisfied.
2007-01-25 08:21:31 · answer #6 · answered by YSIC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
first of all, bankrutpcy isn't a life-time cloud. It lasts 7 to 10 yrs and your credit might properly be geared up back up. a collection company can persue you lots longer than that because of the fact it will be offered to a distinctive company and on and on. financial disaster is a final motel yet now and returned this is the only way.
2016-11-01 06:59:24 · answer #7 · answered by gripp 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
either by garnishing your wages or at the end of the year when your taxes are due, they usually go for your wages as suppost to taxes only because people can control in a way if they get a return or if they owe to the irs, good luck
2007-01-25 08:16:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
For a looooooooog time! They never give up. I had some after me for years for medical bills I just can't afford to pay. They don't get it. I will be filing BR pretty soon.
2007-01-25 08:17:17 · answer #9 · answered by Shari 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
until they get your money! They don't give up.
2007-01-28 16:24:15 · answer #10 · answered by luciousgreeneyedlady 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋