can credit card debt from november 2000 be turned over to the IRS?

Question

I received a call from a collection agency today. They told me a credit card debt from November 2000 was going to be turned over to the IRS.
I have never heard of this happening.
Before all you haters start freaking out on me like I ran up some debt and didn't pay up, there are private circumstances that I will not discuss here.
Can a debt over 7 years old be turned over to the IRS?

He would not tell me his name and hung up on me when I asked for the name of the company to be repeated.
He also started yelling at me telling me that because I ran and hid doesn't mean I don't have to pay. I did not run and hide.
He also said that even though it is over 7 years old, they can still take me to court up to 20 years.

He DID say something about a 1099.
I have no clue what this means...

Answer 1

Someone is bullying you into paying a debt that you may or may not legally owe.
The IRS has nothing to do with your debts, unless you receive a 1099-forgiveness of debt form. Then you would have to report it to the IRS as income. I don't believe that is what this caller was referring to.
There is something called the Statute of Limitation (SOL) on debt. In can be as little as 3 years in some states, but in most it is no longer than 6 years. Credit card debts are open accounts. For your state's SOL check link below,
http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html
After the SOL has expired you no longer have a legal obligation to pay the debt. However, the collection agency can try to collect from you forever banking on your ignorance of the law.
Next time the collector calls, tell him that he can no longer contact you by phone and that he has 5 business days (by law) to send you a letter telling you why he is calling you.
After that fire back with a "Debt Verification Letter" making the collection agency verify that the debt is yours and that they have a legal right to collect from you.
If the SOL has expired, include a paragraph informing them that the SOL has expired and that you are aware of your rights as a consumer. Send the letter by certified mail.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Without a doubt he is using a scare tactic as the IRS does NOT have anything to do with collecting debts. The IRS only deals with taxes, and they only go after people who dont pay taxes. Now I must say that this guy has crossed a line with saying that he is with the IRS. If he calls back again, I would write down his name and company, and call the IRS and tell them that he is saying that hes with the IRS. They can go after him if they want.

Also, a 1099 is a form used to file taxes. Thats all. They have nothing to do with debts.

Last, I have never heard of a debt collector hanging up on someone b/c they asked for his/her name or company name. This may be a identity thief who is trying to get your credit card number, social security number, and personal info. DONT GIVE OUT YOUR PERSONAL INFO. This guy could be a scammer.

Answer 3

The only debt IRS will handle is debt owed to IRS....so unless you were paying back taxes due using your credit card to the IRS, that is the only way the IRS would handle it.

No other type of debt is handed over to the IRS.

Debt that is over 7 years old can stay on your credit history. Technically companies are to remove debt over 7 years old. But for some reason if you tried to open new credit within that time frame, the people you owed 7 years before can be alerted to recent activity and can keep your history on file up to 10-15 years.

Answer 4

Basically he is wrong, and using a scare tactic. The debt for one is past the statute of limitations, and legally there is nothing he can do. His threat would be valid if not beyond the SOL in that it could be construed as income because they wrote it off and yes you would of been eligible for taxes on that amount. but as of now you are not. If they call again first state you want the debt validated that it is yours, next say even if it was it is past the statute of limitations, so go ahead and take me to court, which you must do first and I will state that the SOL had expired, and then have you reported to the FDCA (federal debt collection agency) as violating the rules and shut your business down. Be calm as they will have an answer for everything, but play thier bluff. As long as it was not a mortgage foreclosure that was written off you should have no problems if it was let them turn in the 1099 it will still be cheaper then what they are trying to collect

Answer 5

no. Debt Collectors use all kinds of shady and deceptive practices to try to collect on old debts. Typically after 7 years the debt should be off your credit report but that is 7 years after the last time the file has been opened. Often a company will sell off old debts for pennies on the dollar to recoup something from their loss. That is what might have happened with you.

You do have rights and you can file a complaint if they harass or threaten you.

http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27-debtcoll.htm

They can sue you for your debt and have your wages garnished but they would need to go thru the court system to do that.

Answer 6

Unless it was tax related I can't see how the IRS would have anything to do with debt collection.

If its standard debt that you still haven't paid, the only thing they could legally do is forcibly liquidate any of your assets (although I'm totally clueless on the legal process of this) to pay the owed amount, and/or massively damage your credit score.

Although I'm not fairly knowledgeable on the IRS and what they can or can't do in terms of debt outside of government owed.

Answer 7

You would be better to open a new card to tranfer the debt and during the 0% APR period try to pay off the money little by little. But, make sure that you will not use anymore on the new card and plan to pay it off as soon as possible; dont' wait till the last minute to pay and then worry about another solution to pay. Or, if your parents have extra money ask them to loan you some money and pay them back when you work in the summer. If you choose to do this one, make sure your parents get their money back when you work and earn $$$, I mean do not forget to pay back. You want your parents to trust you and see you as a responsible son or daughter. :) Good luck.

Answer 8

They lied to you and that's a violation of the FDCPA which they have to abide by, get the name of the person that talked to you and call an attorney you can have them forgive the debt and even put them out of business. Also if it's been 7 years I wouldn't even pay it because it's not even on your credit report..so don't pay. YOu can also contact the FTC and report this. They have a website. You can sue and get a nice sum of money over this.

Collector's will lie and do anything for that money because they get commission for it. I've heard some go on to lie and say that they will,"call the cops and have you arrested" in order to get the bill paid.

Let them know this is out of "statute of limitations" and,"I'm not paying!" and then say,"what are you going to do about it"?" they can't do anything..but defenitely contact a local attorney and who knows maybe you can even go on a cruise to the bahamas after sueing them.....

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm

FDCPA varies from state to state, what state are u in?

Answer 9

Turned over to the IRS? That doesn't make sense. The IRS deals with taxes, not your private debts.

Are you sure you didn't hear them wrong?

Answer 10

just ignore him... the IRS has nothing to do with it... he is just a bully and knows that what he is doing is ILLEGAL... did you get a caller ID on the call??? i