statute of limitations

i was contacted about a debt recently by a debt collection agency. the account (health club membership) was opened in may 1996 and the last activity on the account was october 1996. the account was opened in florida. i moved out of florida in may 2002 and i now live in virginia. i believe the statute of limitations has passed for the debt in florida (i think it is 5 years..) is this correct? which sol applies - florida or virginia? does this matter since i think the sol in virginia is 6 years? thanks

Hi

Welcome to the forums. The statutes of limitation for the collection of debt will be calculated from the last activity seen in your account in October 1996 in Florida.

Although the SOL has expired, the collection agents will try to recover the debt from you by every means. The law does not stop them from collecting the debt.

Please write one letter to them stating that the SOL period has expired for the said debt and the court orders cannot force you to pay through legal action such as judgments, liens, wage garnishments and so forth.

Please ask them to terminate all the debt collection practices or else it will be a violation of the fdcpa law and will be reported to the State Attorney General and to the Federal Trade Commission.

Please send your letter through certified mail requesting for return receipt. Once they receive your letter, hopefully, they will stop all modes of communication with you.

Please let us know if we can further assist you in your queries.

Regards
Roxette

Hi guest

Welcome to debt consolidation care forums

Your statute of limitation in Florida has passed. In Florida the statute of limitation is 5 years and it starts from the date of your last activity which in your case is 1996. In respect to which SOL will apply depends on the creditor.

Generally the state where the debt has been contracted applies but the creditor may decide to accept the state where it is longer. Since in Virginia the SOL is 6 years the creditor may choose the state having longer SOL. It solely depends on the discretion of the creditor.

Hope you will find this information useful.

Regards
Peter

i assume at this point it doesn't matter which SOL they apply since it has been nine years?

Hi

Welcome back. At this point, since the SOL has expired, you are not legally forced to pay the said debt by entering into judgments, liens, wage garnishments and so forth.

Please report the action of the collection agency to the FTC or the State Attorney General office for necessary action.

Regards
Roxette

i read that the statute of limitations can be restarted if you just acknowledge that the debt is yours. the debt collection agency called back recently regarding the debt that had passed the SOL (an account my husband opened with ballys health club). i asked them to stop calling since the SOL had passed on the debt and we did not intend to pay it. can this restart the clock on the debt?

Hi l2455

Welcome to the forums. Statute of Limitation is calculated from the period when last activity was seen in the account. In other words, the clock starts when you last became delinquent in your payment to the said account.

Did you do any kind of activity in the said account? If not, then the Statute will be calculated originally from the period when the account last became delinquent.

If the collection agency enquired about it, it will not make your account active. But any payment from your side will result in modification of the time frame.

Regards
Roxette

Hi,
I was evicted from an apartment in Florida in `97, and was just last month contacted by a collector. It's been way past five years, but I read that the statute tolls (stops) when you leave the state. If I left Florida before the SOL expired, would that mean that collectors may call me for the rest of my life, until I've moved back to florida to complete my time? This seems a little extreme since, then I would be SOL.

I hope I just don't understand.

Thanfully,

Formerly Homeless.

Also, the collector who called gave my information about this alleged debt. She already knew, but I don't think it was the collector's place to tell her.

The Statute of Limitation for legally collecting the debt is calculated from the period when last activity was seen in your debt account.

The calculation of the SOL remains unaffected even if you leave the state. If you have made any sort of payment to your account, then the clock is again started from the beginning and the collection efforts become legal.

In order to know the latest standing of your debt account, please pull your latest credit report from the three credit bureaus and know the holders of your account.

i recently started paying a medical bill monthly. When i called to see if it was received i was told the money was used for an old debt in 1996 without my authorization. what should i do?

Jen - This is pure violation of the fdcpa law. Didn't you sign the agreement letter before you were making payments to the medical bills?

You need to take legal action against the agency and recover the damages. Your attorney will be properly able to guide you in this matter. If you have all the proof of your payments, then I am sure that you will win this case.

Does anyone know how long the SOL is in Massachusetts ?

THANKS!

Hi Dan

Welcome to the forums. The Statute of Limitation in Massachusetts is:

Judgments: 20 Years.

Oral or Written Contracts: 6 Years.

Consumer Protection Actions: 4 Years.

Recovery of Property: 3 Years.

Please feel free to post your comments and suggestions in the forums.

Have a nice day

Regards
Roxette

last year i had been supinad(sp) a court order for an old debt with providan bank for a credit card. they've never recieved a payment from me since sometime in 2001, I told em at the time that we had been working on trying to refinance our home, and that anything i signed agreement wise was predicated on that, they had me sighn an aggrement to pay $100 a month due on the first of each month starting on the following month, but that in the event i did get the house refinanced option to pay off in lump sum. Well we did get the house refinanaced but do to other financial findings i would get no extra money to pay off debts... I havent and couldnt pay anything to them and remains this way to date. While I did pay the court fee this was a mediation type hearing...do i still hav a responsibilty to pay this debt or does the SOL for Florida stand in effect for anything 5 yrs???
WE just had a new roof put on out house and still have no money( we had to borrow this money )

Hi DaveB

Welcome to the forums. Since you have expressed your intentions to Providan bank right from the beginning that you are willing to pay the debt, you should stress on paying it off for better reasons.

You can consider consolidation program and get professional counseling. The trained consultant will work with your creditors in the best of your interests.

Regards
Roxette

I was only going to be able to pay them if i got the money for the house, which i didnt so do i still have a legal obligation to pay them?, i've already got garnishment for student loans and IRS, I can't afford this extra 100 a month, and they didnt seem to want to work with me at all...it was all about them getting their money, regardless. And I hear Providian is really bad about this..
DaveB