I have some old credit card debt. The dates however on my credit report report a date when the collection agency took the debt over. How can I find out if my accounts have exceeded the statute (California & Arizona). If they have exceeded the statute is it still recommended to pay these debts to have "paid" instead of "charge off" on my record?

[4u.bryan]

lmh123,

Welcome to forums. The statute of limitation is counted from the date when last activity was seen with the account. It varies for different states and it also depends upon the type of contract. The statute of limitation for written contract is 6 years in Arizona and 4 years in California.

Once the SOL has expired no legal action can be taken against you to collect the debt, but it doesn't mean that you don't owe the debt and your credit report is likely to show the account as a charge-off.

It's always better to remove negative entries from credit report for achieving a good score. Try to pay the amount, so that it's reported in your favor.

You can try a consolidation program also to pay off the debt. debt consolidation helps you to attain good score as well.

Bryan

Brian,

What would qualify as activity? The last time I paid anything was in 1999. I think the collection agency actually purchased the account in 2002. So which year would be the latest activity?

[roxette]

Since the last activity shown in your account is 1999, the said debt is out of the SOL period and you cannot be legally forced to pay it.

The account was opened in Arizona, but the last time I paid it was in California. If a credit card involves a written contract (opened in Arizona) would the 6 years apply?

I am intending on resolving the issue now, but I want to have all my facts straight when I speak to the collection agency.

[roxette]

Yes, the statute of limitation will be in accordance with the terms as per the state of Arizona.

You should be confident while dealing with the collection agency. If you have the slightest doubt in this matter, just speak out.

[Cindycrable]

I was wondering if anyone could tell the SOL in my state---Illinois

[roxette]

Statute of Limitation in Illinois for legally collecting the debt is 5 years on open contracts and 10 years on written contracts.

While we are at it, i was wondering what the statute of limitation for oregon was? also, where would be a good place to look for laws regarding debt and collections? What is the differance between a open contract and a written contract? Also, what does it mean when your account is charged off?

[roxette]

Hi Alucaz

The statute of limitation for legally collecting the debt in Oregon is 6 years.

The laws of the FDCPA have been implemented by the Congress to prevent the consumers from the illegal collection tactics used by some agencies. Such agencies are required to work within the legal lines of debt collection and any violation of it results a federal offense.

Open contract basically stand for open ended credit. It relates to the line of credit that can by used by an individual again and again such as credit cards, overdraft credit accounts, and home equity lines of credit, store revolving accounts and other similar credit accounts.

Written contract signifies a written agreement taken place between two parties.

Charged off accounts are those accounts that remain mostly uncollectible and gets written off. They are often known as bad debts in the accounting books of the company. If you have a charged off debt in your credit report, it is a negative information that will stay for a period of 7 years.

Since you have not paid the debt to your creditors, it will be sold to some collection agency that will try to recover the debt from you in the later stage. In order to prevent your credit report from getting spoiled, it is advisable to pay the accounts (even in minimum) to your creditors before it reaches to collections.

what is the sol in IL. and what can the collection agency do

[roxette]

Hi Loco

Welcome to the forums.

The SOL in Illinois for legally collecting the debt is 5 years. A collection agency can force you to pay the debt if it is within the collection period. If they have to put any legal actions against you during this period, they need to acquire orders from the court.

Please ask them to validate the debt so that you can make payment arrangements with them.

Regards
Roxette

could you tell me the sol on credit card debt in north carolina, thanks

[roxette]

smith

The SOL in North Carolina for legally collecting the debt is 3 years.

What state do you use to determine the SOL? I live in California but the credit card company appears to operate/be based in Delaware or Pensylvania. Which state would apply and what is the SOL for that state?

My husband was served today by a guy in uniform in a marked car, which we assumed was legitimate. The debt in question was a credit card in Florida between my husband and his ex wife and they divorced in May/98. She didn't abide by settlement agreement and he started paying on credit cards but ceased in December of 1999. According to a website, Florida's SOL is 4 years. That should make it somewhere around 2003 or even 2004 if I am off by one year on last time he made a payment. I am not a signature on that card nor did I ever sign for it. It was joint, but somehow, it appears on old credit searches as "individual" which is incorrect as it was never changed. However, recent credit bureau statement says "Charged Off" November 2004. But summons mentions a court date in our county, but bottom of summons says "this is an attempt to collect a debt" and it has an attorney's name on it, but he lives across our state 8.5 hours of driving.
So why is he doing this? And should we have concern about this? I am concerned, because my husband is almost 70, in failing health but just recently took a small part time job at $5.50 hr to help pay our increased insurance cost for Medicare A, B, and the new D coming out and our supplemental. He works 24 hours a week, but I don't think he can continue as it is hard on his back and knees which need replacing and he has partial lung failure. I am fully disabled. We have $1500 a month income and our mortgage is $674 and electricity runs $150+ every month. Taxes and insurance are $100 a month and we have a gasoline bill of around $110 a month as we live in country, 11 miles from town. We cannot afford an attorney. What do you suggest?