old creditor trying to collect after selling debt

i received a call from a seven year old debt today asking for me in my maiden name. the account is a repossession. it's been sold two or three times to other creditors, but whomever called today said they were from the original creditors. they threatened legal action where they never did before if i didn't pay the 30 percent of the balance owed as full settlement. is this a scam? why now? and why after they've already sold the debt to someone else?

alli

Have you contacted the original creditor? Please provide us with the state that you reside in and someone can check the statute of limitations on it for you.

I wouldn't pay anything without a dv ltr to them first of all.

i'm in texas. what's a dv ltr? it seems weird to me that all of a sudden they want to offer a settlement.

ok, first off, the statute of limitations in TX is 4 years across the board, so unless you've made a payment on this account within the last 4 years, this debt is past the SOL. This means that their threat to sue you is an empty one--but only if you use the expired SOL. If you dont bring it up, neither will the judge if they sue you, and the court will allow the suit to proceed. What you need to do in this case is simply tell them to get bent, because this seems really fishy to me. I have never heard of the OC buying an old debt back like that, sounds to me like someone's error or some scam. I would tell them to go ahead and sue you if thats what they feel they should do, and when they do, you'll just use 'expired statute of limitations' as your affirmative defense, and the judge will send them packing. Tell them all of that. There is nothing that will counter the SOL defense, as long as the SOL really has expired. They cannot get around it. They also cannot restart the clock on reporting it on your credit bureaus. Then, send them a certified letter--a cease and desist order. That basically is you telling them that they are no longer allowed to contact you in any manner regarding this matter. By law they have to abide by it or they can get sued by you for breaking it.

thank you so much for that info. the debt has been sold three times, so i couldn't see how paying the original creditor was going to do anything for my credit or settle the debt, and it was confusing. i was terrified of having them put lien on my house or something, but they never have. the debt is from 2003, so it's definitely outside the sol. thank you again. you've given me peace of mind. a