what is the statue of limitation for a charge off on my credit?

Question

i have a credit card bill that is 16 years old that a collection company is calling me for. is it still collectable after this time in the state of ohio?

Answer 1

I normally agree with Spifiman, but Ohio is 4 years.

It falls under Open and not Written. There is a definition in the Ohio Code that excludes credit cards as written contracts.

The 4 year SOL statute --
§2305.09
An action for any of the following causes shall be brought within four years after the cause thereof accrued:

(D) For an injury to the rights of the plaintiff not arising on contract nor enumerated in sections 2305.10 to 2305.12, 2305.14 and 1304.35 of the Revised Code.


The written statute exclusion is extremely lengthy so I'm not going to post the text. You might look them up and read them

Ohio code
1335.02 Loan agreements with financial institution.
§1109.18 Revolving credit agreements
§1317.01 Ohio Retail Installment Sales Act



There is also Ohio case law that defines credit card accounts as open and not written accounts --
Asset Acceptance V Davis Ohio
(a partial summation)>>
In Appellant’s discovery responses she admitted to receiving a credit card agreement and using a Citibank credit card.
{¶49} Pursuant to R.C.1335.02(B) a loan agreement does not include a promise, promissory note, agreement, undertaking, or other document or commitment relating to a credit card.

Appellee’s cause of action involved a balance due and owing on a credit card not a loan agreement.


You might look those statutes up and include them in a SOL letter to the collection agency.
To learn more about SOL letters, for SOL letter templates and help in locating your statutes, you might click on my profile and do some reading in the last link I have listed. (everything on that site is free tor read and use)

Answer 2

Echo is right. Ohio's law on credit card SOL is not well written. Even the darn judges don't know it!

We recently had someone in this very situation fighting with a collection agency who was suing them over a 10 year old debt. After the folks here on Yahoo Answers supplied him with the legal info, he managed to get the case dismissed. (One of our success stories here!)

Send these guys a demand to validate and get some proof of what the dates are.

Answer 3

The law states: A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. There is no time limit on reporting information about criminal convictions; information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than $75,000 a year; and information reported because you've applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance. Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.

What to do if you are contacted by a creditor and the debt expired under the Statute Of Limitations

The only thing you need to say to the collector is, "I have an absolute defense because under the Statute of Limitations, the debt has expired."

Just remember that The Statute of Limitations does not cause your debt to disappear after it has expires. If a creditor files a civil lawsuit, the person has an absolute defense to use against the creditor in court. They must present the new evidence in the court to avoid a potential judgment. You file the proper papers to the court to support the claim of a absolute defense. If the creditor tries to sue ,in a court of law and you do not prove to the court that the Statute of Limitations has expired, then you will have automatically lost lawsuit and a judgment will be issued against you.

Answer 4

S.O.L. in Ohio is 15-years, so if it is truly 16-years old then no they can not legaly do anything to you.

I stand corrected, thanks Echo and Studly, I learn something everyday from you two.