Credit card debt ...
Date: Wed, 02/20/2008 - 21:33
I lost my job many years ago and was forced to leave the country (my work visa became automatically expired). I did not have the financial means and the time to pay my open credit cards in full. In spite of a reduced income I tried to pay them off from abroad for the next 12 months, until I am no longer able to financially afford it. Now, I've returned to the same state with a new job. Recently I started to receive collection letters for some of them (how did they even know where I am?). I'm now worried that it's just a matter of time before the CA's start calling me from work and harassing me, which could cause me to lose my job.
The debts are all past the SOL in my state, and are all appearing as "charged-off" in my credit report. Also, the amount of money owed as they appear in my credit report are SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER for each of the accounts than what I originally owed when I last paid sent payments. Some accounts even show some activities that I'm sure did not have anything to do with me.
I would pay the debts if I had the means, but I don't --- at least not right now. Is there anything I can do to avoid the CA's? I've read somewhere that no one can legally force me to pay any of the debt, since they've all past SOL, and had been charged off by the original creditors. Is this true? If I just keep ignoring their letters and harassing calls will I be able to avoid lawsuits or summons for court appearances? How can I stop them from harassing me at work? What should I do if someone shows up at my front door? Lastly, can anyone tell me when I can expect these debts to AUTOMATICALLY "fall off" my credit reports and render my record "clean"? If the last dates of payment are all more than 7 years ago, shouldn't they have already been removed by the CRA's by now? If not, do I need to take some steps to "clean" my record?
I am grateful for your help.
Welcome to the forum Python2020, First of all, once the date
Welcome to the forum Python2020,
First of all, once the date of last payment activity exceeds the SOL for a particular state it becomes time barred debt, which means they cannot legally sue for it. However they may try to anyway, which you would need to use the SOL as your defense, which will get it dismissed. Additionally there is a 7 year reporting period given for items on your credit report. Once this time passes they must remove the item. If they are on there past the 7 year period on your report then chances are they may have reaged them so as to reinsert them, this is illegal and you may be able to file your own suit against them for $1000 per violation. If you do not wish them to contact you at work send them a written request for that, I would suggest to write them and request that they do not call you at all, to have all communications through USPS only. Finally we do not advocate not paying your bills, if it is your debt then you should pay it, but that call is up to you, if you are going to pay it I would suggest saving up money to pay the debts off in full one by one and make sure that you get everything in writing before you agree to anything.
If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.
