Contacted by debt collector after 5 years

I am curious, I became sick in early 2001 and called the company to ask them if I could continue to make payments would they adjust the interest and they said no. I could not keep up so I just couldn't do it anylonger. It is now late 2006 and they have signed it over to a company who has tripled the original debt and are now suing me. I am considering bankruptcy as I cannot pay it. Do I have any recourse other then to file? Thank you so much

Lovestobake,
Happy Thanksgiving and welcome! A few more bits of information we need here: First off, how much was the debt, what kind of debt was it and what state are you in? The reason's that's important is to determine your state's laws and the Statute of Limitations on debt.

Legally speaking, you can make direct payments to the original creditor unless the debt is sold to outside collection agency. You need to call the creditor and verify the present status of the account. If they have your file, you can work out payment arrangements with them.

You also need to confirm if the CA calling you has your file with them. The debt is to be validated in writing mentioning the principal amount and the interest calculations. They should also send copies of the contract you signed with the original creditor.

The CA must send the information within five days after the first call. If you have not received anything yet, send a DV letter making your legal move.

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well, I sincerely appreciate your response, I have not been able to eat or sleep since this nightmare started.

The original debt which was from my Discover Card was $8900 and is now almost $20,000. I discovered through my credit file that it was sold to this agency, although on my credit report it shows no balance on Discover. I live in Rhode Island but the card was issued back in 1987 when I was first married to my ex-husband. I have not been able to concentrate since this started which is why I was researching bankruptcy today and came across this website. Again, I am very thankful for any information you might be able to supply. Have a wonderful holiday.

When did you last pay on this account? It is too old to be reported in your credit report now unless you have done a payment recently and renewing the reporting time

The last time I paid on this was June or July of 2001. I discovered it on my credit report with the collection agency that it sold to which is how I found out about it.

Was the card in both your names or your husband's? And is RI a community property state?

I think maybe both but it was so long ago I don't remember, I just know that somehow I ended up being the only one who got the card after a while. I just moved to RI about 4 years ago, I have been divorced since 2000.

A payment in 2001 has extended the reporting time in the credit report. Where did this debt actually occur? If the SOL has run out, no one can sue you.

From what I can tell in my credit report Discover sold it to a company who is the ones that is suing me. It was a discover card that we got in CT back in the 1987 and have used it everywhere. The debt is the charges that occured over time. I have to apologize but what is SOL and how do I find out if it has run out? Thank you for your time.

SOL stands for statutes of limitations. Each state has their own SOL period. A company can take legal actions from your last payment date till the time SOL is active in your state. For example, the SOL in Texas runs for 4 years from the date your contract with the creditor was breached. Within this timeframe, the company can file a case in the court. Once you are past this SOL period, they lose all legal actions against you and cannot sue in the court. However, a new payment on the debt will again renew the SOL.

Check the SOL valid in your state because you last paid in 2001 and there are chances that it's past the SOL. If a payment is done now, the SOL will again get active from the latest payment date.

Depending on the state that you are in, I believe that after seven years, they cannot try to collect on the debt nor can they no longer report it on your credit report. Some debts even vanish after seven years.

Check to see if the debt is still on your credit report.

Collection can happen anytime until paid. Negative accounts are reported in the credit report for seven years under the FCRA laws.

If a debt is too old and not shown in the credit report, a collection agency can ask you to pay for an account you had in the past. If a payment is done, they can hit that account in your credit report forcing the negative info to stay longer.

Thank you all for your help & information, I did check the SOL for my state (RI) and it is 10 years for open accounts. However, from an earlier posting they said I could ask the company for a copy of the contract that was signed and it was with Discover not this agency, how can they say I owe them triple the money if the contract was originally signed with Discover. Also, I am not even sure I was the one that signed it was with my ex-husband and for some reason it ended up being my card only, he never used it. Do I have any recourse that way? Again, I thank everyone for your help & information, after finding this website and the communications I was reading I actually slept most of last night for the first time in many weeks! Thank you

Glad that we could help you.

Does anyone know if I have the right to ask the Collection Agency for appropriate information such as the original contract that was signed to see if I did sign it? Thank you