It is on all 3 of my credit reports. I do have it for 2 accounts that are on my credit report, they are showing as accounts and open and balances but the last date of activity is showing August of 1999. and once is showing date of activity in 2003 I do not remember any activities. Regarding the SOL I live in Michigan and I have dates of last activity for accounts w/this August of 1999 is this past the SOL, I really need some help. I am honestly trying to find some help for the accounts I do plan on paying, because they are current, any suggestions.

Thanks
Sincerely

I recevied a sums from the A cirut court in from the county I do not live in saying that this company is suing me. I come to find out it is for outstanding sears bill which had belong to a different credit collection company. I did not know that this company had even had it. What can I do about with this with out going to court. I am willing to make payments on a monthly bases but I can only afford a certain amount. The last credit collection who had this account kept saying I had to pay them alot of money each month that I could not afford. They even had said that they would take a lein on my home if they had to I do not like being treatin or scared into doing something I can not afford. At present I am also trying to pay off three other credit cards who are willing to work with me on what I can afford to pay. What I would like to know is this I have not heard from this company before and would like to try to solve this before the court date which is this April. What can I do to resolve this. Thank You

[curlycarl]

Denise,

It seems that the accounts have some outstanding balance that you haven't paid so far. And unless you clear up the balance and request them to close the accounts, they won't report it as closed.

If you disagree with the DOL to be 2003 as reported against one of you account, you can dispute it. SOL starts on the DOL and once SOL is expired, the debt is not collectible legally. However, debt collectors can still try to collect the debt.

This collection agency LVNV is not there in your report? If yes, what is the date of reporting?

[curlycarl]

And Carol, I would suggest you consulting a lawyer first. It won't be good to ignore it. If you don't appear in the court, they will be awarded a default judgment without any defense. So consult a lawyer.

Creditors sometime prefer to use the SOL of the state they belong to. It seems you have tried to make payment arrangements in past but they did not accept it. So the judgment might go in your favor.

You can also go for an out-of-court settlement if you don't want the judgment to enter your credit report. In that case, call them up and offer a settlement amount. But they might not accept any payment plan any more.

[kalevala316]

Check out the site for SOL noted in this forum. You may be out of sol and therefore can request that they leave you alone and cancel this debt as well as remove it from your report

Curly Carl,

This company is in my credit report, and they are reporting under an account, I do believe they are a collection agency can they claim this as a open account with a DOL of August of 1999. I do believe ca's can not claim a open account on a credit report, I really need clarification on that. On my credit reports for some credit bureau or any account, if it shows dol as August 1999, can I disupute this being 7 yrs and would it come off my credit reports. I really need you help and info.

Thanks Sincerely,
Denise

Curly Carl, Since this is not the same company that I was dealing with in the past what chances do I have. Getting a lawyer is hard for me do. Because of my job I can not just take time off to look for one. I only got this sumes from the court on Frday 03/31 and they want me to appear in court on April 11, this is not long enough or fair for me to get the help I need to get. If I can settle without going to court I don't have the money to pay this debt off. I can not get a loan either, If I can pay them a certain amount for a year and then maybe I could get a loan to pay them off. I would like to get this solved without going to court. Do you think that they may willing to work things out. Thank You for your help.

[curlycarl]

Denise, collection agencies can claim the amount any time, even after 20 years. But if the SOL has expired, no legal action is enforceable against you. Hence you can deny to pay it.

Now SOL starts from the DOL and it differs among states. So you have to check how long your SOL is with your state laws. Or visit this page to find it out-

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com.../sol-info.html

Now, if the item can be removed from your credit report or not depends upon the rules of FCRA. Bad credit reporting time is 7 years. So you have to locate the date on which the collection thing entered your report. If it was in 1999, then you can dispute it with credit bureaus and ask them to remove it.

[curlycarl]

Carol, I suggested you to consult a lawyer because if you fail to appear they might be awarded a default judgment. They might be interested in out-of-court settlement. Is there any contact number listed on the court papers? Why don't you call the number and tell them about your financial difficulties. They might accept your payment plan.

I need to know how to get payoff information for a client.

I called today to try to work out a payment arrangement on an old Sears debt, and the guy at the law office let me know from the get-go that no arrnagements other than payment in full ($10,000) will be good enough. He said even if I agreed to pay $1000 for the next 10 months they would not accept.

Do I have any recourse? I don't want my wages garnished. Please help.

[curlycarl]

Guest, have you gone through the debt validation stuff already? Have they validated your debt satisfactorily? It won't be a good idea paying them without having some written document in your hand.

However, paying $10,000 at once is quite a big deal, send them a letter and mention clearly how much you can afford per month. Hope they will accept it. If nothing is of any avail, consolidate the debt. I assume it is within the SOL time frame.

[Bossy4455]

Guest-CurlyCarl is right,do the debt validation,make sure it is not out of the SOL period. I,too, have had dealing with LVNV<Phillip-Cohen,and resurgent. They are very nasty collectors who refuse payments,are rude,abusive,and have also discussed my info with a 3rd party,as well as I believe breaking several fdcpa rules. My next step is to write them,return-receipt,and tell them what payments I can comfortably make,and due to several infractions on their part,I believe that that would more than take care of my debt.Probably will just piss them off,but I told them I want to pay them to get this over,and they refuse to even talk in a cival manner,just yell,tell me to sell my car,etc. Good luck,I know what you are going through. Why don't you join the forum,it's free and you can talk to others,there are alot of threads about these people,and get the extra benefits this forum offers.Let us know what happens

I personally wouldn't pay them anything. In your validation letter, ask them how much they paid for the debt. Of course, they buy in bulk, but as to that $10,000 "debt", they paid less that $100 on average. Now you van see why the term "extortion" has been used to describe them. Definitely find out the SOL for your state. You said "old Sears debt". LVNV and the Con Law Office are infamous for trying to shake down people for debts that they are no longer legally obliged to pay.

In your letter (sent certified, return reciept) demand 1) how they arrived at the figure, 2) competent proof that you're contrctually obligated pay this.

--Don't-- make any hasty decisions. This company moves very slow indeed. When you send them your letter, they're just as likely to re-assign the "debt with some other collector, and you'll have to do it all over again. This is because they cannot proove that you are contractually obligated to them and really can provide no proof at all.

Hi, I have a outstanding debt with Best Buy from 1999. My credit report shows it was sold to LVNV funding in 2000. I live overseas now but they have gotten my mom's phone number and are calling her every other day. She tells them I don't live there but they still keep calling. I have two questions:
1. How can I get them to stop calling my mom. (she has given them my number but they don't call me)
2. How long will this show on my credit report?

p.s. Is there a glossary? What is "SOL"?
Thanks, Raul

[curlycarl]

Raul, ask your Mom to send them a Cease Comm letter. It should be clearly written over there that the person they are looking for does not leave there, hence they should stop calling her.

SOL stands for statute of limitations. Once your account is past SOL, no legal action is enforceable to collect this debt. Different states has different SOL. Collection is a negative entry on credit report; it will stay there for 7 years from the date it was reported.