Meaning of SOL

Wendy, SOL stands for statutes of limitations. It refers to your state laws within which the debt account needs to be paid. If your debt is within the SOL period based on the date of last activity, the company can force you to make payments. If the debt is past the SOL period, they cannot force you to make payments.

You need to check with the laws of the state where the account was originally opened and the SOL period. Check the last payment done towards the account. This will help you in knowing if it is past the SOL period or not.

When I first came on the boards here--that was what I wondered, took me a few weeks to figure it out.

How do you find out how long the SOL is, for example I'm in Ohio - but if it's past the SOL and I don't pay, how terrible is that on my CR?

Being in debt really depresses me and makes me want to cry more and more each day!

In Ohio, the statute of limitations is for six years from the date of last activity. If the last payment done towards the account is before six years from now, it is surely past the statutes. Make sure that you don't put any commitment to pay the debt unless you are willing to do so. They might have your statement recorded and hold it against you in legal terms.

Expiry of the SOL doesn't erase the debt at all. The company can take legal actions against you for not paying the debt. Since you have the legal protection regarding the SOL, the judge will simple rule out the case and it will be a loss for the company filing the case. This debt will be reported in your credit report until the seven years period is over from the date of first delinquency. This is according to the FCRA laws mentioned in the FTC. So, your credit will remain affected until the reporting time is over. If your account is with the collection agency, it might have already tarnished your ratings. You need to judge the present status of the account before deciding the final choice.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf