How long can collection agency chase after you?

Question

How long can collection agency try to get money after you? if there a time frame they will stop calling ? and if you dont pay at all, are they going to give up the account eventually?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Legally they can come after you until you die.

Weather they can collect is another thing. After the statute of limitations runs out they can still sue you but it will be thrown out in court when you show that the S.O.L. has expired.

It will stay on your credit for 7-years from the date of first delinquency and then it will drop off.

So, if you can wait out the S.O.L. and the 7-years for your credit to clean up there is nothing they can do except call and ask you to pay them.

O.B.T.W. after it drops from your credit, no body is going to come back and say you have to pay it if you want to buy a home because it will not show on your credit so they will not know about it.

I swear some people that answer these question work for collection companies.

Answer 2

Collection agencies can chase after you till they catch you or to the grave, which ever comes first.

The original creditor will charge off your account and sell it off to a collection agency. The negative will remain on your credit report for 7 years and 180 days from the date of last activity (DOLA) which is the delinquency date.

Collection agencies will attempt to collect and can sue, get judgment, atttach your bank account, garnish wages, attach property. Your account can be sold to other collectors -- some specialize in very aggressive methods.

There is a statute of limitations (SOL) which varies from state to state and the type of debt. Collectors can still call if it's past the SOL. If they take you to court, it's an affirmative defense.

Eventually you're going to want to buy a house and that debt you didn't pay will jump right out and bite you. Work out a settlement now.

Answer 3

Forever! Or until it's paid off. The Statute of Limitations may prevent it from suing you but it does not make the debt invalid.

A helpful tip: if the collection agency is just a hired gun for the creditor, and does not own the debt, you can make it go away by giving it a written notice that you will not deal with it and it must stop contacting you. For more information go to the FTC's website (below) and look up the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Good luck.

Answer 4

There is a statute of limitation (SoL) also called "time barred" on the enforcement of debts. Although a debt's SoL has expired, that does not prohibit creditors and collectors from attempting to collect the debt. It just means the courts cannot be used to force you to pay the debt through legal actions such as judgments, liens, wage garnishments and so forth.
Every state has different SoL. You can contact your state's AG's office to verify your state's SoL.
Then you can send a certified letter to collection company.

Be advised that I consider any contact not in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act a serious violation of the law and will immediately report any violations to my State Attorney General, to the Federal Trade Commission and, if necessary, take whatever legal action is necessary to protect myself. Be advised that I tape record all phone calls and violations of the FDCPA can result in you or your company being personally fined up to $1,000 per incident.

I hope this would help..

Answer 5

Well, that depends on the type of account they are collecting. I work for a collection agency that focuses on medical collections. We can try to collect a bill for 7 years from the date of last service. If you dont pay we are able to do an assett search, run a credit report, verify employment, verify banking information, if we do this and think you are able to pay we can file a lawsuit on you, garnish your wages, place leins on your property, do a non wage garnishment(place a hold on all funds in your bank account.) All of these are possible options we can take. If you work with the collection agency most will let you make payments.