debt collector calls - debt is 10 years old - WTF?

[mayday4379]

[ QUOTE ]
WTF?

So if you rack up several tens of Ks of credit card debt, then skip town and come back 7 years later, they're SOL and you have a clean slate?

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct. It depends on your state and where the debts were incurred, but that's correct. The 7 yrs is from YOUR LAST PAYMENT.

So if you rack up $20K in debt in 2002 and send them a check for $100 in 2006, then the clock resets at 2006.

This is very difficult to do if you live in the US, but if you skip the country then it will work. However, you will continue to always get hassled by the compay you owe money too.

[pokeraz]

[ QUOTE ]
WTF?

So if you rack up several tens of Ks of credit card debt, then skip town and come back 7 years later, they're SOL and you have a clean slate?

[/ QUOTE ]

A clean slate in terms of reporting the debt to a credit reporting agency. You still owe the debt and there is no limitation on the time to collect on a debt. You can get calls 50 years from now on the $27 bill. There are limitations on the types of actions a collector can take. Depending on the type of debt, you may only have a set amount of time to sue someone. In some states for instance, you have to bring a lawsuit within 3 years on a credit card debt. If you don't, you don't lose the right to collect on that debt, you just lose the remedy of a lawsuit. That in affect makes it almost impossible to actually collect but it doesn't absolve the debtor of that debt.

[cbloom]

Yeah, if it's a $20k debt you're going to have collectors and repo guys showing up in person. They're independent agents who buy the debt for maybe 25% of the value and they only make money if they collect, so they are very motivated and don't necessarily always follow the law.

[MissT74]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'll pay it, but I don't want my identity stolen either.

[/ QUOTE ]

DO NOT PAY IT!

I'm not an expert in this but im almost certain that any adverse effects from missed payments/defaulting and such drop off your credit record after 7 years. By paying the amount, I believe that a new adverse mark can appear on your credit report.

Again, I am not an expert on missing payments and such so do your research first. There is a webboard to that specializes in this type of stuff by I forget what it is off the top of my head.

[/ QUOTE ]

Listen to Cubs, he's speaking the truth. Debt is only valid for 7 years on your credit and if you do pay it, it can NOW show up on your credit whereas if you DON'T pay it, they cannot put on your credit due to it's age.

T

[UbinTook]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'll pay it, but I don't want my identity stolen either.

[/ QUOTE ]

DO NOT PAY IT!

I'm not an expert in this but im almost certain that any adverse effects from missed payments/defaulting and such drop off your credit record after 7 years. By paying the amount, I believe that a new adverse mark can appear on your credit report.

Again, I am not an expert on missing payments and such so do your research first. There is a webboard to that specializes in this type of stuff by I forget what it is off the top of my head.

[/ QUOTE ]

Listen to Cubs, he's speaking the truth. Debt is only valid for 7 years on your credit and if you do pay it, it can NOW show up on your credit whereas if you DON'T pay it, they cannot put on your credit due to it's age.

T

[/ QUOTE ]
Check your credit report and see if it is there.
If so and the last reported action is over 7 years ago, you can writew to the credit agencies and they have to remove it from your credit report.
DO NOT PAY IT, do not call them back again.
If you are feeling guilty about the debt, donate the 27 bucks to a charity, but all you will do is screw yourself if you pay it.

[**RivEredAgaiN**]

In addition to what everyone else is saying about the not paying, you should write to them and ask them to not contact you again. There is a federal law, FDCPA, that requires them to honor that. The penalties are stiff for violation of the FDCPA and if you referecne it in your correspondence, it should pretty much make it go away.

[Jackal52]

The Statute of Limitations has run on this debt. (Breach of contract action--maybe 5 or 6 year SOL).

If you pay anything, you could be waiving your SOL defense.

DO NOT PAY It is worse if you pay.

Just because they say you owe the money, is not proof that you owe it. Maybe it was a key stroke error, etc.

$%*k em, don't pay

[AlienBoy]

Depending on the state, the statute of limitations is either 4 or 6 years.

Tell them the debt is invalid, that the statute of limitations has passed, and that you refuse to pay.


AB

[remi983]

I worked @ a loan compny for over 6 months and had to look @ credit bureaus all day everyday to decide weather or not to make a loan. Everyone is right about the 7 year thing. However, the $27 debt might be showing up under a section of your credit bureaus for collection accounts. If your credit is fine other than this small debt, a $27 electric bill will have almost zero effect on you getting a mortgage, loan or other credit. My former boss, who was in the business for over 10 years, would never use delinquent school loans, cell phone bills or insignificant debts as a reason to turn someone down for credit. So, you have no practical reason to pay. It will not improve your credit rating in any noticeable way. The only reasons to pay would be ethical/moral ones.

If you want to see if this debt is even reporting you can check out freecreditreport.com or a similar site.

[GambleGamble]

Heres some advice from someone actually in the business..

..A $27 delinquency dont mean [censored]....and paying it can bring it back up as a paid negative score, and not only legally will they not be able to do anything because it is outside the statue of limitations, but this company is not gonna spend the time to attempt to collect it, unless they are [censored] retarded....as the juice isnt worth the squeeze...

....verbally tell them to stop calling and if worse comes to worse and you really dont wanna handle the calls if they keep on calling you send them a "cease and desist" letter...which by law means they can no longer call you but can send letters to you etc....

...if you need to find a copy of a cease and desist letter...google "Bud Hibbs" he runs a site that does nothing but try and [censored] collection agencys regardless of if they follow the law or not, I think a bill collector [censored] in his wheaties or something....

....and if you are worried about identity theft send a money order, but realisticaly most collection agencys are not gonna rip you off....its not worth it to them to take a couple hundred bucks when in most cases they collect hundreds of thousandrs or millions of dollars a month...


..any other collection questions feel free to PM me