Need to know Statute of limitations on old credit card debt

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?

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.

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.

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

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?

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

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

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?

Hi Sherry

Welcome to the forums. Are you served summons on court papers or on the letterhead of the company trying to recover the debt from you. Before you are served legal papers, you are required to appear in the court.

It seems from your post that the company is using fake methods by putting it legally and recovers the debt from you.

Since the debt is charged off and is past the SOL period, you do not need to get worried about it as legal actions can't be put against you.

Inform the company that the said debt is past the SOL period and you are aware of the fdcpa laws. You will be making payments to the debt only after it has been validated and at your convenience. Send them a cease and desist letter to stop all communication with you. If they still continue, you might have to take legal actions against them as it will be a violation of the FDCPA law.

Since your credit report is already tarnished, the collection agency will not be able to tarnish it more. So, there is nothing to worry about it. However, paying off the debt will be improving your credit ratings. Make sure that you pay towards your debt account only.

Regards
Roxette

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?

Hi bitty

Welcome to the forums.

SOL is determined on that state where your account last became delinquent. You need to check it with the date of last activity that took place in your account in that state.

If the account last became delinquent in California, SOL on written contracts is 4 years and 2 years in oral contracts.

Regards
Roxette

Thank you.

Would this be considered a written contract since I signed the application for the card or would it be a verbal contract if I had agreed to pay a certain amount per month and defaulted on that agreement?

Thanks for your help. :)

Were you served any agreement contract before making the deal? Since you have signed in the contract with your creditors, it will be considered as a written contract.

Regards
Roxette

No, I verbally agreed to send a certain amount per month. They then sent me a short agreement letter, requesting me to sign and provide my banking information, which I never did. The only written paperwork is the original application applying for the card.

Thanks again. I wish I would have found this site a few months ago as I too was a victim of Ellis Crosby and Assoc.

Bitty

Since you have agreed to pay the amount on a verbal note, the SOL will be calculated as per the date of last activity in your account in terms of verbal contract.

Great, thank you so much Roxette. =)

what can i do

Linda, can you please elaborate the situation a little more?

my credit cards debt has passed the SOL in CA, but they were sold or transfered to collections agencies with new opened dates. Which date applies? Once a debt has been sold can the collection agency sue me for payment?

The statute of limitation in California for credit card debts is 2 years from the date of last activity in the account. The statutes are not renewed by the transfer of collection agencies.

Keep in mind that a promissory note or a payment towards the account will renew the SOL from the beginning. You will be brought back under legal actions if the statutes are renewed. Before this time, the collection agency can attempt to collect the debt from you but they can not take any actions against you. Place a dispute with them in writing about the expiry of the SOL. Your letters should be sent through certified mail with return receipt requested. Keep everything documented so that you are able to produce it in the court if required.

can a collection attorney sue for a collection agency? Do they purchase debt themselves for profit?

When a debt has been purchased, can I find out how much it was bought for from the collection agency?

Shirley, these are some of the internal facts that no collection agency will like to discuss with the people outside their company. This is a fact that CAs do this business in order to make some profit from the consumers.

An attorney can definitely sue a collection agency if they have violated the laws.

What is the sol in va and in pa! Thank you

In Virginia, a debt goes out of the SOL period after 3 years in case of open accounts 5 years in case of written contracts.

In Pennsylvania, the SOL limitation is applicable for 4 years.

If your debt is past the SOL period, make sure that you do not make a payment towards the account. Doing this, the date of activity will change to the latest and it will come back within the legal SOL period. Also, you should not sign a promissory note unless you really are interested in paying the debt and improve your credit.

SOL by state
i decided not to post link here because of the advertisement on certian sites and didnt want to mislead anyone by sending them to a site that may promise them one thing or another anyway if you do a google search for
"statue of limitations by state" you will find websites with SOL by state and information, that also will explain the different types of debt ie:
Oral Contract,Written Contract,Promissory Note and Open-ended Accounts. i hope this helps :wink:

thanks,
Rob

What is the sol on a bounced check in Va.Please give the little and big details. thank you!

Hi I got contacted by a collector today on an outstanding debth that was from feb 27, 2004 the last time I made any payments on it where july 5 2003. I live in Az. They told me the last activity was feb. But then i found out from the creditor that my statue of limitations is over in July of this year So he was trying to get me to agree to a lump sum or a payment plan. What happens after the statue ends. It is a credit card from delaware

Once the SOL is over, no legal action is enforceable to collect the debt. However, CAs can still try to collect the debt. They can also file suit against you, but the case will go in your favor if SOL is over. Hope that makes sense.

BTW, CA cannot change the date of last activity, it is illegal. If your account is closed to SOL, you might negotiate with them and settle the account with a lower amount. Paid collection is a derogatory mark; however it is better than unpaid collection.

Efe

It does not matter where the credit card is from. It matters where you live. If the SOL is up in July, I personally wouldn't pay them. It would re-start the clock. Have you sent a letter demanding verification of the validity of this debt? If not do so.

Efe

I answer your question "what happens when the SOL is up?" At that time you are no longer legally obligated to that debt. If a collector contacts you about a debt out of the SOL, send a cease communiations letter. They can sometimes sue, but this is rolling the dice that you won't show up at court, and they'll get a default judgment. If you are ever sued over a debt that is out of the SOL, show up, and show that it is out of SOL. Also, judges don't take too kindly to idiots who clog up their dockets with frivolous lawsuits such as those filed by collectors on debts out of SOL.

I live in VA How would I find out the Sol in this State? Is there a website I could look?

Hi Easter,

The debt accounts in Virginia go out of the SOL period after 3 years from the date of last activity. Check when you last made the payment on this account. If the account took place long time back, perhaps before 7 years, it must be removed from your credit report also.

You can learn about the SOL factors in the link below:

http://fair-debt-collection.com/statue-limitations.html

The PA SOL for credit card debt has change from 6 years to 4 years. Which would apply, the SOL that was in effect on the date of last activity or what was in place when a CA decided to file a suit?

The date of last payment activity will be taken into consideration for the SOL factor. Check that you have made no payment within the last 4 years on the account. If the SOL is past, you are under no legal obligations to pay the account. The company can intend to take actions against you but you have a legal protection under the FCRA laws.

I have recently been contacted by a collection agency in PA that I owe 1200. + interest of 2800.00 for an account that was supposedly mine in the early 90's I have never heard of the company. I definitely is not my account. What is the SOL in PA>

DebL

Based on the date of first delinquency, your account might be past the seven years period reporting time. Under the FCRA laws, negative information is allowed to stay in the file for seven years only. The company can insert the item in your file only if they can prove that the SOL is renewed for this account. This can happen if they have your agreement that you are willing to pay the debt now. SOL in PA is for 4 years. Did you make any commitment to pay the debt? If not, dispute the item with the bureau as it happens to be a fraudulent reporting done by the company. The CRA must provide you the actual proof for inserting this information in your file. If they cannot, your dispute will appear stronger.

Pleas eb so kind to tell me what the limitations for NY are. I tried to understand the legal web site and really got confused! thanks so much!

The statute of limitations in New York is for six years.

My daughter was taken by ambulance to the hospital in October, 1998. We never received a bill or any communication from the Ambulance Co. We just received a notice from a colleciotn agency the other day. What is our obligation to pay?

Sue, ask the collection agency to validate the debt in writing. It must be surely past the SOL period if you have paid nothing within the timeframe.

what is the statue in pa and what is any is the differance between written off and charged off

My boyfriend has a credit card debt from 2001, when he was in college. What is the statute of limitations for NC? A lawyer has sent paperwork for him to write down his personal assests in some kind of suit???? I checked his credit report and under that debt it says, "SOLD"????

In PA, the sol on unsecured debts run out after 4 years and in SC, it is for 3 years. Check the date of last activity from where the SOL will be counted. If the debt is past the SOL period, no company can win the case against you.