proving SOL expired on debt that isnt on credit report

*** I am NOT an attorney! ***

Having said that... What state are you in? That'll let us check the SOL in your case. If it's not on your dredit report, that would seem to indicate that the date of last activity was at least 7 years back. That clears you in most places, with the exception of Wyoming [8 years] and maybe a couple of others.

You can attempt to get validation from LVNV and/or their attorney, but don't hold your breath on getting it. They're known for this type of thing. Pop over to the Collection Agency forum and have a look around. You'll see what I mean. Regardless of anything else, you must answer the summons in the manner specified by your state's rules of civil procedure, and you must show up in court. If you don't, they can get a default judgement in the case. You can ask for validation as part of discovery in the case, but don't be surprised if you don't get it then, either.

Thanks unclewulf! I'm in Pennsylvania and the SOL is 4 years. So I guess I have a pretty solid defense.

Don't just take my word for it!!!

Hang around for a while, and see what the other experienced folks on here have to say. Might just be worth your while.

This lawsuit....is this the first contact you've had from LVNV? Have you actually been issued a summons?

Absolutely send them a notice to have them validate the debt...sent in certfied, return reciept.

No, I've had contact from LVNV before, but I knew nothing about asking them to validate the debt or anything like that. I just figured I'd pay them when my financial situation got better, which it really isn't. So, once I got this summons from the sheriff, I started doing some research, found out about the SOL and DOLA, and pulled my credit reports.

I have 20 days to file a written response with the county court otherwise they win by default. I'm thinking about contacting a lawyer tomorrow (I'm not sure how necessary that would be though)to make sure everything gets to where it needs to go before any deadlines.

Based on what I've read so far, I can't be sued because the SOL has run out. But if I need to prove this, will the fact that there is no mention of this account on my credit report be enough?

Welcome to the Community :D I am really surprised that LVNV hasn't hit your credit report-they love to do that. I am with the others, you can send the a requet for Debt Validation-to the attorney,also. Don't expect full valiadation- I am still waiting after 2 years of dealing with them!

One thing, other than answering the summons in time, you need to put in your answer to the courts about this being out of the SOL. The judge won't do this for you, so you must include this in your answer.

If and when you go to court- they will have to prove this is out of the SOL--unless I am mistaken, as I,too, am not an attorney!!

Best of luck--read up on this forum about LVNV,Sherman Companies, etc., to get a better idea of what you are dealing with.KAren

It would be nice if you are able to document that the SOL has run on this debt. That's an easy affirmative defense.

Remember, though that they have to be able to prove to the judge that SOL hasn't run out. LVNV is known for illegally re-aging accounts, among other things. If they are claiming the data of last activity as something more recent than you remember, make them prove it. Don't just take their word for it, question it in front of the judge.

It might have been on there and the 7 year reporting has expired, or they got it post filing period.

That being the case, you can have your attorney ask them in court why they haven't reported it on your credit report. When they say it's too old, and the fact that they cannot really prove you haven't made payments on it to them. There's your SOL defense.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Tomorrow, I'm going to call the courthouse and find out exactly what they want me to do, send out my letters for validation, and probably find an attorney. I might also call the credit bureaus and see if they can tell me when and if providian was on my credit report and when it was taken off - that would give me some proof. Don't know if I'll get anywhere with them though.

Keep us posted, huh?

And good luck!

Try naca.net for a start. It's the national association of consumer advocates.

Well, I'm meeting with a lawyer Monday, so we'll see whats next. I'll keep you posted and let you know how it all turns out!

Sounds like a good deal, good luck friend. (although I doubt you'll need it since SOL's up) do make sure that they pay your attorney fees and you go for the 1k in statutory violation for filing suit when they have no grounds to do so (fdcpa)

Could anyone tell me about actually filing my answer to the suit with the court? I found a sample form for answering a civil suit using SOL as a defense, and than they have you answer each paragraph of the plaintiffs complaint. If I were to make my own form and file it with the county clerk is that sufficient, or should I really have an attorney do it? If its as easy as filling out a form like that, I'd actually rather not hire an attorney - putting 1000 to 1500$ into escrow for their fees hardly even seems possible to do right now.

I know this is more of a legal, procedural question, but perhaps if someone's done it before, they can give me some advice.

The answer to the complaint is generally like a true/false statement.

For instance:
1. The defendant resides at 123 B street Any city, State 12345.
The defendant does reside at 123 B street Any city, State 12345
If the statement were to be false then you would respond:
The defendant does not reside at 123 B street Any city, State 12345

So on and so forth.