how long does a debt have to be in collecions?

It is not that easy for a creditor to sue anyone in the court. It takes a lot of time and money when a legal battle is fought. Besides, the amount for which the case is been filed has to be very high so that they can recover the court costs and damages.

The creditor must have a strong case against you before they decide something on you. And if they are doing this, it will be done before the expiry of the SOL.

What's the SOL

SoL means the Statute of Limitations, or the amount of time thy have to take legal action.

Karina,

As long as you are communicating with the creditor and making attempts to pay your debt, they are going to hesitate to sue. Generally it's a last resort.

Why don't you register with this site? A counselor will call you, and they can talk to you about debt consolidation options. Maybe that could help.

My husband set up a payment arrangement w/collection agency for 1/2 of what is owed - they indicated 3 payments of $400; then they called back & indicated that they would reduce the payment amount but would need to be 5 payments which would put us over the amt agreed on and they indicated they had to do this because of the difference of the written off balance would have to be claimed as income and be taxed? Have you ever heard of this?

If you save over 600 dollars on a settlement it will be reported to the IRS as income and you will have to pay taxes for it.