What happens to collection accounts after 7 years?

Question

I had some credit card debts and 1 car repo a long time ago. Almost 10 years ago in fact. I never filed for bankruptcy but since it's been more than 7 years my credit score is perfect now and none of those negative things are on my report. However, I still receive some collection notices for some of them.Can they still come after me? If I buy a house can they put a lien on my property still? Can they garnish my wages? Please help. Thanks so much to those who will reply.

Answer 1

Collections accounts (not judgments) will fall off the reports paid or not after 7 years. Creditors can't sue after the statute of limitations - google "debt statute of limitations" to find a chart, then look up your state. A credit card is a written contract. They can't garnish or put a lien unless there's a judgment and they can't get a judgment after the statute expires. Student loan debt that is federally guaranteed (Sallie Mae) is exempt from the statute of limitation. BTW - freecreditreport.com is a commercial site where they will try to sell you something. I recommend annualcreditreport.com which is the site put up to comply with the federal law (FACTA). You don't need to purchase a score. It doesn't really matter. It's the detail you want to check out. I hope this is helpful...

Answer 2

I would recommend you go to www.freecreditreport.com and request a free copy of your credit report. If there has been no reporting action on your credit report for more than 3 years.....it won't affect your ability to buy a house. Some creditors continue to report just because they know that if you try to finance a home...legally they HAVE to be paid...it's really confusing, but....you need to find out if they are still reporting to the credit agencies. Also, the only way they can garnish your wages is to file a suit against you in a court of law. If they've not done so by now....chances are...they have no intentions of ever doin so. If the vehicle you had repo'd sold at auction for equivalent to or more than you owed....it will just show as a write off. Which by now, is probably gone from your report completely. Don't know if I answered your question or not...but I hope this helps...best thing to do, would be to contact a mortgage company, if you have found a home your interested in...have them pull your credit report and see what they say..they will work with you and tell you what needs to be paid and what is or isn't being reported on.

Answer 3

From what I know, after they (your debts) exceed the staute of limitations in your state, they are no longer collectible, and they cannot appear on your credit report as valid debts. That is not to say that they still won't try and collect. That just means they cannot sue you and attempt to get a judgement against you -- the debt is no longer legally collectible.

If in fact you know your credit score is perfect, then keep monitoring to see if any of these debts appear on it, and disregard the collection notices. You could challenge them based on your state's statute of limitation and the type of debt (credit card, installment loan, etc) if they do pop up on your credit report.

I'm not saying that's the moral thing to do, but we're not here to judge everyone's moral compass (or lack thereof).

Answer 4

There may be a statute of limitations on collectors in your state. In other words, if they haven't taken you to court yet, you don't have to pay the account (this does not take into account the ethics of not paying back an owed amount, however).

Also, you can ask them to cease and desist all contact. You probably have to do it in writing. This goes for all states, because it's from the federal Fair Debt Collections Act.

Answer 5

As Kevin says...your credit does no longer without delay bounce to super. you ought to start NOW by skill of changing your credit. that could advise getting a mastercard or another style of credit to start putting up a credit historic previous.