Collection agency sends letter for 20+ year old debt

Welcome! Go to this link: (http://www.collectionindustrylive.com/news_timebarred.html) It should be able to answer your question on debts that have past the sol and whether they can be placed on your credit report.

marcj2112, don't feel badly - I once had a collection agency call me and tell me I owed $15.00 to AOL for internet service - 3 years after I had cancelled my account with them, and I never once received a single phone call or letter in that 3 years saying I owed them anything! And to top it off, AOL continued to debit my bank account for 6 months after I cancelled, and I battled them on a monthly basis to get them to stop doing that. I ended up paying the $15 so it wouldn't end up on my credit report, but even the person who called from the collection agency thought it was ridiculous when I explained it to her, and stated she hated working with that particular creditor - she said sending this account to a collection agency was pretty unintelligent on their part, since it would cost them more than 3 times the amount of the balance due, just to collect it.

Best wishes - I hope you're able to get this taken care of to your satisfaction.

You should dispute it before the 30 days are up, and request a copy of the document creating the debt, and an account ledger which shows when the payment was due.

If they try to report it to the bureaus, the FCRA says it can only remain on your file for 7 years from date of first delinquency. In this case, your DOFD was more than seven years ago, and you can dispute that directly with the credit reporting agencies.

Things can remain on your credit report for up to 10 years depending on if the company wants to keep going through the motions.

a 10+ year old debt will not be reported onto your credit report. The SoL is obviously expired. However a collection agency can continue to collect on an account until it is paid. It doesn't matter how long it takes.

Thanks everybody for your responses.
Steelers, I went to that link you suggested. The SOL of limitations in Florida (where I currently live) is 4 years. This transpired in California, in 1984. Do you (or anybody else) know what it is in CA? The same site I used to get the Florida SOL info was pretty clear cut, but I couldn't find what it is in CA.
Thanks Mike for the info. I will do exactly what you stated as a first step. Thank you.
FYI, can you elaborate on how a collection agency can still try to collect past 10 years? If the SOL is 4 (in FL) and the debt cant go on my credit report after 7, is there a way Im still collectible?
Sorry for all the questions, Im fairly new at this and appreciate everybody's response.

The SoL, when expired, just protects you from getting a judgement gained against you. It does not prevent collection actions to be taken out against you.

A debt it a debt until it is paid.

FYI, thank you for your response. Im a little confused, so pardon my ignorance, but if the SOL has past and I can't get a judgement against me, what other kinds of collection actions are there short of just sending me letters? If I'm judgement proof, can they still attach my bank account, wages, or put a lien on my house?
Thanks in advance for your response.

A person who is judgment proof explains that s/he has no means to pay the debts. If there is anything that can be used to recover their debts, they will look into it.

When they SoL expires they can't do anyhting to you other than call you and send you letters. Since the debt is this old they can't even put it back onto your credit report.