Old Debt/Judgements/Bankruptcy

The statue of Limitations varies by state, as well as by the type of debt. You also need to check your state laws to see what is acceptable in the way of fees and charges add to the collection amount. Some states do not allow collection agencies to add their own fees, interest or other charges to the account. Under federal law, you may request a detailed accounting of how they arrived at the amount they are trying to collect.

Do not confuse the 7 year reporting period under the FCRA with the Statute of limitation which is established under you state state laws. If you post your state of residence, someone in the forum may be able to help you find the specific information which you are looking for.

Generally , the higher the4 balance, the more likely a creditor is to sue to recover.

I live in WA. I have been unemployed for 5 years, now. My car is old and I don't own a home. I owe 4 old credit cards. One is past the sol, and the others are near the sol. One card's balance was 6000, but the agency states it is 10,000 something, now...

If I am sued, and the collection agency gets a judgement, I will have to file for bankrupty.

Hi Renita

Check the date of last payment you made on the said account. Washington State laws say that written contracts go out of the SOL period after 6 years and oral contracts are out of the SOL after 3 years.

If your account is within the legal SOL timeframe, the collection agency will try to collect the amount from you. If they are unable to recover the amount, they will send it back to your credit company who will decide further if it needs legal actions (looking at the time and cost of filing a case)

Also, you must ask for a validation from the collector. It is your legal right to know the details of the debt in writing with all calculations of interests. Once the company has given you these details, then only you can consider making a payment arrangement with them.

The collection agency cannot take any actions against you unless they have purchased the debt account from your original creditor. They will forward the account to your creditor if it is within the SOL period.

Thanks for replying.

The collection agency is now the owner of the old debt. This old credit card's last payment was Sept. 2003. Credit cards in WA have an sol of 3 years.
The sol is near and I am afraid the collection agency will try to file a judgement. If they do, I will have to file for bankruptcy.

I will suggest you to request for an itemized statement from the collection agency and show the break down of the total amount. You must be sure that the said company is making legitimate collections having your account details.

Send your debt validation request in writing through certified mail with return receipt requested. You can refuse to pay anything till the account has been validated by the company.

Thanks everyone, for the advice. I will do as suggested.

We had to give a car back because of finances and the car was sold for 7,000 less than was owed which I am resposible for. I have been contacted that a judgement was going to be filed unless
i pay a certain amount. I am unable to pay this at this time. What would a court judgement mean to me?

First of all, who contacted you? was it a debt collector and if so what is the name of the company?

Did they file a lawsuit against you? If not, that is a violation of the fdcpa. They cannot make threats in an attempt to get you to pay.

The company name is QAR. They said unless we make a reasonable offer to settle that their client would accept, they would forward it to an attorney in our county. They are offerning an out of court settelement. What does this mean to me, because the out of court settlement is way too much for me to pay and a reasonable offer is more than I can pay. What would a lawsuit mean to me?

Welcome to the community rogbrown.
If they were to have a judgment awarded to them (which is done by filing suit against you and winning) then they may be able to garnish your wages, place a levy on your bank accounts or place liens against your personal property. This all depends on what state you live in as each state has different laws regarding these activities and some pay prohibit or limit the aforementioned acts.

I am also being threatened of judgement by a company named QAR. The latest conversation turned nasty as the Rep Melissa, laughed out loud when I told her we didn't have a penny to pay, she coninued to call me pathetic and irresponsible. I mentioned the FDCPA and she informed me that it didn't pertain to her because her company was an asset recovery or research company, not a collection agency?? Any thoughts on this? I just want to know who these people really are, I have a feeling they are just a collection agency trying to collect, but they keep saying they are a company researching our assets for a company of lawyers called River Rock Holdings?