Beware of Interest Charged on Closed Accounts in Collection Fox Business
Dear Credit Score Report,
When a debt collection agency has your closed credit card account, can they charge accrued interest on the account? I have an annual statement from a debt collector indicating that they are applying all of my payment toward the interest and none of the payment is applied to the principal. So in reality, I will never get it paid off! Can you give me some guidance?
-- Ellen
Hey Ellen,
The debt collection agency certainly can charge you interest. That's because without any rules spelled out in your card account contract or state laws in place to prevent those charges, debt collectors are free to charge interest on closed accounts.
According to experts, without anything to stop them, the collection agency may decide to charge you interest. "The contract between the consumer and the credit card company, and state law will determine whether a collection agency can charge interest on a closed credit account," says Valerie Hayes, general counsel for collection industry trade association ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. Hayes explains that if neither the contract nor the law prevents interest from being charged on a closed account -- or if they don't say anything about it one way or the other -- then the collection agency is free to charge interest to delinquent borrowers. That appears to be the end result you're experiencing. The agency can also report that collection item to the credit bureaus for inclusion on your credit reports , which could hurt your chances to get loans, insurance or even a job. That's good reason to address that unpaid debt.
10 Ways Debt Collectors Break The Law
www.fairdebthelpers.com - The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) makes unfair or abusive debt collection practices illegal. Here are 10 ...
What is the law on fair credit reporting and statues of limitations in Texas on debt collection?
I recently gotten a debt collection notice for $2500 on an account I have no distinct memory of, from over 6 years ago. The debt collector stated they bought the debt from citibank, citibank says they bought it from "verizon credit card", but cant give me a number to call "verizon credit card" to try and figure out what is going on. Now, from 1999-2001 I cleared and settled all my credit card accounts one by one, and I saved all my correspondence on these issues, but all of that was lost because they were stored in New Orleans at my father's house. So basically I have these people trying to collect a debt I have no record of, whose latest action is from 2001, and they have suddenly listed this on my credit report, as if it was a new debt, from 2007 - which I am fairly certain is illegal. Anyone know the details on this sort of stuff?
After trying to work with this collection agency, now that I am sure that this is a junk debt, I am convinced these people are scam artists and know it. I called them and explained that I wanted to work with them to track back the company that initially owned the debt, and they said they didn't care, that I owed them money, and that since they bought the debt this month, it IS a new debt, and that they could report it as so., because I "took action on the debt simply by calling them" I told them that legal counsel has advised me otherwise, and that in the state of Texas last monetary action on the date of the debt is what matters, not phone contact, which is true, and they hung up on me. My lawyer, who isn't in this sort of law, is sending them the certified letter, following OCT1999's recommendations. Thanks SO much! I was about to shell out the 2500 because this has dropped my credit rating from 750 to 590, and my job is at risk b/c of it, but now I am going to fight it.
Here is a link so you can look this up.
http://www.bcsalliance.com/index.html
However, there are two other things that do have time limits. The first is the Legal Statute of Limitations. This is the period of time they have to sue you for the money. For Texas this is 4 Years from the date of the last delinquency. If your last delinquency was for example 12/2001, they can not sue you after 12/2005. Well they can file a suit, but you would require them to prove that they were still in statute. If they can not the judge would throw it out.
The second is the time it can be reported on your credit report. This is 7 years from the date of last delinquency. So using the same delinquency date of 12/2001 it will be on your report until 12/2008.
This was probably bought by a Junk Debt Buyer hoping to get you to pay, but they are not allowed to re-age a debt. What you need to do is send them a certified letter with return reciept. In the letter request that they provide proof that they in fact have the right to collect on the debt, and the account history. This includes the original signed agreement and payment history showing your last payment. If they can not provide this in 30 days by law it must be removed from your credit report. So if they do not respond in 30 days send a copy of that letter along with a letter to the Credit Reporting Agencies stating they did not respond in the required time and the item must be removed.
If they do respond and provide proof that your payment was in 2001, they can do nothing but keep it on your report until 2008. So it is your choice to pay it or let it fall off naturally.
How do I deal with a civil court suit summons with debt collection, & what if I don't have transportation?
Discover Card wants to sue me for 3-yr. old debt that I wan't able to afford to pay off because of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. That's when I had trouble paying off my debts & trying to find a job. I am STILL financially struggling. 1 debt collector called me a few weeks ago, yelling @ me & trying to say Hurricane Katrina was my fault. (I know it wasn't my fault). I receive SSI & Social Security. Before Katrina, I was paying ALL my credit card bills ON time for a whole year. I was financially secure. Ever since Katrina, no one wants to hire me on a job because of my Tourette's & other disabilities. Debt collectors don't care about my situation. I'm WILLING to find (2) jobs if I have to. I'm willing to work & pay them off. But I'm stuck on a fixed income, & I'm very afraid of losing my gov't. & health benefits.
What should I do? They didn't give me a specific date, but they gave me a civil suit #.
I don't have a car, I don't have a way to get to court. It's far away. & I have no money. I can't afford a taxi. I live here in Texas.
A non-attorney mediation law firm just sent me this letter, offering to mediate & be my power of attorney, & they want to charge me $$, but they can't defend me in court. Neither Discover Card nor any courts have contacted me, regarding this possible court date. This is the 1st time I'm OFFICIALLY notified of a lawsuit that's coming up soon.
***Maybe you can help me out here. I asked in the Law & Ethics category, but didn't get a good answer.
SSI - SSDI cannot be garnished....Wages in Texas cannot be garnished. It would be pointless of them to pursue legal action against you under these circumstances....that is, unless you have a lot of money in a bank account....Otherwise, even if they do win and get a judgment, they can't touch your SSI - SSDI.
DO NOT sign anything that any third-party or the debt collectors send you.
If you have little or no money in the bank and SSI is your only source of money....you can't be touched.
Debt collectors LOVE to scare people with bogus threats of lawsuits....This is illegal. If you are REALLY being taken to court....you will be served papers (usually by a sheriff or other official). Simply giving you a civil suit # doesn't mean anything and debt collectors have NO legal authority to summon you to court. Debt collectors absolutely, positively do not have the ability to initiate court hearings by themselves....only the judge/civil court has such power.
Debt collectors cannot be abusive and they cannot pretend to be (or work for) attorneys when this is not the case. The next time the debt collector threatens legal action or quotes a "civil suit #," per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you have the right to speak with their [alleged] attorney who will be taking action against you. Request to know the attorney's full name and his/her license # in the Texas state bar association.
Anyone who offers to represent or help you that asks for a fee is trying to rip you off.
Be sure to do your homework, as I am not absolutely sure on this.........
Best of luck!
A collection agency has violated a verbal agreement to settle. Can I sue them in texas?
I made an offer to a representative of a law firm trying to collect a debt for a collection agency. He asked me to hold while he confirmed with the lawyer. He responded that the offer was acceptable and he would send the paperwork the next day. The next day he called and said he did not make an agreement and asked for more. Can I sue them in texas
No i sure hope it wasn't mann bracken they will clean out you bank account if you gave them your info they only way ti sue is if you had it on paper then they went back on it right now it's just he said she said really.
When you work out a deal, DON'T give them access to your bank account. Don't even send a check with your account number on it. Instead get them to send you the deal in writing. It must say "accepted as payment in full" and "without recourse". Send them a money order and staple it to a copy of the letter.
Keep your copy of the money order and the original letter FOREVER.
First of all, do you really think the lowly collections guy is putting you on hold to speak to an attorney? That's your first mistake. You try and find an attorney that sits around at your beck and call waiting for collections deals, lol.
Of course you cannot sue someone over a verbal agreement. They all know that people who say they can pay one dollar can usually swing two. And unless it is in writing, it is still the original amount you owe.
Next time you discuss a settlement offer, explain that you only deal with things in writing and not over the phone, so they know what to do and hang up. Then if you do get a reduced payment amount or balance, make a copy of the letter, the envelope and your check or money order for payment of that amount in full and keep it.
Its a collection agency. Nothing truthful ever comes out of their mouths.
It might be a good idea to consult with an attorney who handles consumer credit issues in your county.
What fees / monies can a debt collector recover if they sue you for a bad debt?
Hypothetically, say I have a $10,000 credit card debt that I haven't paid on in over a year. Let's also say the credit card was originally opened in the state of Washington (and has been subsequently closed) but I have recently relocated to Texas for personal (non-debt related) reasons. The debt gets handed over to a debt collection agency, they hire a law firm (for a $5,000 legal fee), sue to collect and win the lawsuit. Can they recover the legal / attorney fee(s) or are they limited to only the credit card debt? What other fees / monies (if any) can they recover? Interest? "Business" expenses (ie, postage or phone call fees)? Anything else? Please provide as much detail as possible. Thanks!
The collections will try to squeeze out as much as they can from you which includes amount owed plus lawyer fees and all. If the judge rules pay the amount only, then they have to pay for the lawyers. That is why most ppl with debts under 5000 dont get sued simply because the lawyer and court costs may be more than what they collect. If you owe 100,000 rest assure they will hire a lawyer and try to come after you
I used "Credit Solution" to settle my debt and improve my credit score.They managed to reduce my debt up to 58%.It's legitimate. Icame across this company on NBC News Special Edition.Check it out here:
http://yatuc.com/bid
What do I do about collection agency filing law suit over over credit card debt.?
I was given 10 days to respond to the petition. They are asking for 1500.00, I believe this is an old credit card that went to collection that the available limit was about 500. I need to write a responce but I do not know what to write or if I should get an attorney, an attorney will probably cost me more than the judgement. I am in Texas.
I have recieved a copy of the petition filed by Palisades, assignee of HSBC. They have filed a request for judgement with the county clerk office. I need to provide a written answer to them. I do not have the 1500 to pay them off and I am not sure if it is worth hiring an attorney. I really just need to know what I should write because if I do not respond they will be awarded the judgment.
If you go into a payment agreement with Palisades can they still file the judgement and place it on your credit report?
Yes I guess this is a citation. It says that if I or attorney do not file a written answer with the clerk who issued this citation by 10 am on the Monday next following the expiration of ten days after you were served this citation, a default judgment may be taken against you. It was left on my door on on the 27th. What should I write in my response, I think an attorney will cost me more. I did contact them and they said they would only do a payment agreement after I paid them $200.00. I assume by check so that they could get my bank account number. I am not sure about the account, according to the paperwork it was defaulted on less than 4 years ago. It is not that I do not think I should pay but this is 3 times what I may have owed.
I forgot to add that when I called on Friday and was told that I could pay 200 down and a payment agreement would be mailed to me, I told the lady that I would have to think about it because I did not want to give them 200 and then have no agreement and then be sued anyway as I would have nothing in writing. She told me that if I did not call back by the end of the business day, it would show that I had no intentions of paying the debt.
Tha nks to everyone for thier feedback. The first page is the plaintiffs original petition. 1. Plaintiff requests discovery be conducted at level 1 (TRCP 190.2) Then it goes on to say that they extended credit and the defendent used or derived benefit from the credit accout. Exhibit A represents the summary of transations of which a sytematic record was kept. Then if you look at what Exhibit A is, it is a computer screen print off with my name, address, account number, date defaulted, and a dollar amount-1521. It does not show any detailed record of anything.
2. It says that defendatn'st fauilure to honor payment obligations created a balance due and owing to plaintiff as shown in Exhibit A. Despite demands, payment has not been forthcoming. All conditions precedent have been performed. 3. the breach of defendant led plaintiff to employ undersigned law firm to file suitnecessitation a reasonable fee for attorney services.
Prayer: it is asking for judgement 1521 +
Again Thanks for all the advice.
I want to file a written response but I have yet to hear what I should write. Can anyone give me some clear directives or advise. I guess I need something more specific, please?
I want to start by telling Echo....GEEZ! Leave something for me to answer! You got it all covered!
Whatever you do...DO NOT send them any money or even admit to owing this. Their demand to get $200 up front is class collection agent nonsense designed to reset the SOL! . Send the attorney a letter offering your proposed settlement, and tell them if they agree to send you a settlement letter. Once you both have agreed to a payment plan, they can simply drop the lawsuit.
And for the first time in my very long history here...you have receive a lot of terrific advice. I greatly enjoyed reading Civpro's response to this, and hope that he becomes a regular contributor here with his advice.
But I must take issue with one comment he made about how lawyers do not "knowingly" file lawsuits if they the SOL has expired. For starters, they will file any lawsuit that their client instructs them to do....and very rarely will they tell the lawyer the SOL has expired. And the lawyer is not going to investigate this first, they will simply take the case and file it.
There are law firms/collection agencies that specialize in purchasing old, noncollectable debts, and file lawsuits on them. Why would the do this? Because the majority of the public do not understand the SOL laws, and don't know that they must offer an affirmative defense in order to take advantage of this. So these lawyers will gamble and file the lawsuit hoping to a default judgment.
Yes it happens....I know of a local agency that just purchased a huge portfolio of old debts from hospitals in this area. Nearly all of these are beyond 6 years old. Why would they spend money buying old, noncollectable debts? Just read the above paragraph.
There are lawyers, and there are "collection attorneys". I am very happy you are a lawyer, and thank you for your excellent response to this question.
Also, if they are a real collection agency, they will work out a settlement with you for 60-70% of what you owe. But pull your credit report first. If they are not on your credit report, they are a scam.
Hope this helps.
Be sure that they have actually filed a suit, contact the court clerk and ask if there is a suit filed in your name. (collectors are known to make things "look" like they have filed when they actually haven't)
Check any info you have on the account, your credit reports, old statements, etc, to see when you defaulted on the card.
In Texas the collecting SOL is 4 years and it starts from your last payment or charge on the account before it was charged off.
If it has been 4 years or longer since you defaulted you need to include an affirmative defense of SOL in your answer.
If it has been 4 years or longer and you include the SOL defense, the case will probably be dismissed.
If it is past the collecting SOL you have a legal right to file a counterclaim for them filing suit on a time barred debt. (plus Tx. has their own version of the FDCPA with which you may be able to file other counters as well)
Whether you are past the collecting SOL or not you need to file an answer or they will get an automatic judgment.
Many lawyers will give a free first consult to see where you stand. Contact a few and ask them about the free first consult, when you find one you might make an appointment.
Be sure the lawyers you contact are versed in consumer credit laws or they will be no real use to you.
Take every bit of paper that pertains to the debt to the lawyer, including the summons, any letters from the collector or their lawyer and any credit report that the debt is listed on, etc.
If the collector or their lawyer committed any violations, the lawyer you speak to "may" take the case on a contingency basis. Where the collector would pay the lawyer fees if you win. If you lose you will be responsible for the lawyers fee.
In the mean time you might click on my profile and do some reading in the links I've provided, especially in the last link listed to a free credit discussion board
edit+++++++
For the response CivPro1 gave - Yes, SOL "can" (and should) be an issue if the debt has been 4+ years since she defaulted, regardless if she admitted on "here" that it is hers and didn't pay. There is nothing in her post to go on for the length of time since she defaulted except for the statement that it is "old". I don't see how you can automatically make the assumption that she is still within SOL by her simply saying it is old.
IF she is past SOL she can and should use a SOL defense.
Also, they sent her a summons NOT a Discovery. Answering a summons and answering a Discovery are two different animals and that answer could possibly confuse her.
And for Sgt. Big Red - wrong statute. You cited the FDCPA for debt validation/verification and not the Texas statute for the time limit to answer a summons - which is 20 days (for which she is being violated by the short 10 day period)
++++++
If you make an agreement with them it should be in writing. Be sure to take a copy of the agreement to the court clerk and request that it be placed in your case file. If "you" fail to have it filed, the chances are good that the collector won't file it.
If it is not filed the collector may go ahead and try to get a default judgment on you. If the judge knows nothing about your pretrial agreement and you have not filed it and you are not there, the judge will give them the default judgment.
"Never" trust collectors to do the right thing.
Texas does not allow wage garnishment. Texas also has excellent exemptions on property where the most that they may be able to do if they receive a judgment is place a lien on your home/car and get paid if/when you sell.
But it will trash your credit, so fight the best you can
First it will do no good to contact the original creditor. Palisades is a debt buyer, HSBC no doubt assigned the debt to them for value. HSBC has no rights to this debt any longer. Any debt can be assigned, so dont listen to people who will tell you that you dont have a contract with Palisades or something like that. In fact, almost all debt in one way or another is assigned and every credit card terms and conditions allows for assignment without notification.
The four year SOL is correct, but that is not often an issue. Above you admit it is your credit card and you didnt pay it. My guess is that you did use it or make the last payment within four years.
+++++ I will add this in comment to what echo wrote.
The reason why the SOL is normally not an issue in a suit is that an attorney has reviewed the suit before filing. No attorney wants to make a practice filing after the SOL has tolled, mistakes are made but typically the date of last payment or charge is readily available and to add four years (or the appropriate SOL) is not difficult to do. While some non-attorney collection agencies admittedly may try to collect on debt outside the SOL, very few attorneys will file suits knowingly outside the SOL.
As far as a petition vs. Discovery, I can only assume in discovery you are referring to a request for admissions. What a petition states is a brief statement of facts and a prayer for relief. In an answer, you either admit or deny the facts in the petition, then add affirmative defenses or counterclaims (which the Plaintiff will then admit/deny the allegations in the counterclaim and raise affirmative defenses and such in their answer to the counterclaim). Discovery in most places comes in three forms. A request for admissions, which often mirrors the allegations in a petition. On those you simply need to admit or deny. Then there are interrogatories. These are questions more open and typically require more than a one word answer. The last most common form of discovery is a request for production of documents and/or things. This would be a request for documents and supporting evidence.
Also as far as the ten days goes, that seems terribly short. Most states allow at least 20 days, but the time would start from the date you are served, so if Texas requires you to file an answer within 20 days and you were served 10 days ago, then yes, your answer would be due in 10. But if you were just served, sounds like someone was pressuring the wrong way.
++++++
As far as having to be in the same state? No, Palisades hires attorney's in virtually every state to collect for them. My guess is that a Texas law firm is handling this for Palisades.
The best way to answer a petition is to simply admit or deny each allegation. Without seeing the petition, my guess is there are numbered paragraphs. A first one might read something like "1. Defendant is a resident of Texas." Sound like that is true so your answer would be "1. Defendant admits the allegation in Plaintiff's paragraph one." And then go down the list. You have to answer honestly, but if you disagree with something they allege, you can simply answer "#. Defendant denies the allegation in Plaintiff's paragraph #." After answering the petition, you would want to list any affirmative defenses with some paticularity.
Make sure you send a copy to the attorney and to the Court of any thing you file.
But you owe the money? Most debt collector are willing to enter into a Consent Judgment with a payment plan. Most simply want the debt paid, plus any costs, paid within two years. My guess is if you offer to pay the Court cost and 1/24th of the full amount due as the first payment and then 23 equal payments after that, they will accept it and it will be over. They would simply have the judgment to execute against if you fail to make the payments.
Hope that answers your questions.
Respond to the petition by sending a certified/retrun receipt letter requesting "verification of debt", (a copy is available at the yahoo group link listed below) they will then have to respond. Here is the law regarding the petition you recieved and what they are to include in the petition.
15 U.S.C. § 1692g. Validation of debts
(a) Notice of debt; contents
Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice
containing--
(1) the amount of the debt;(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and
(5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
(b) Disputed debts
If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) of this section that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the
consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy
of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.
(c) Admission of liability
The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer.
I have also included a link to read more about Palisades.
I invite you to join the following Yahoo group "DontGetRippedOff" dedicated to helping those in financial trouble, Here you will find information to help you with debt collection agencies.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/dontgetrippedoff/
You need to call the CLERK'S office and find out if you can show up to protest the judgement...you don't need an attorney, you can represent yourself.
Remember that a collection agency is NOT your friend and will try to collect money that you don't even owe.
If you choose to deal with them directly (and I don't recommend that you do), then do NOT send them ANY money until they send you in WRITING a payment plan and what they will offer you if you stick to it (a reduction in what is owed, removal from your credit report, etc).
PS: 1 Hr Bookee needs to stick with bets...collection agencies are not required by law to report things to credit reports (and it doesn't mean they are a scam), and you absolutely can sue someone in another state for a debt.
A $500 cc can quickly become $1,500 by late charges, interest, fees and court cost.
Be careful of a half settlement. The unpaid or forgiven amount becomse taxable income and will be reported to both you and the IRS on a form 1099.
Is a verbal promise to pay a collection agency binding in Texas?
I found out that I have 2 collections on my credit report. I stupidly contacted the collection agency and verbally promised to pay them before I did my research and learned that there were other options open to me. I still fully intend to pay the debt but I want to send a Pay For Delete letter so I can do my best to get this off my credit report. I'm wondering if that verbal promise to pay is binding in Texas. The following is the statute that I've found for Texas and I'm hoping that it means that verbal commitments are not binding in this case:
THE FOLLOWING STATUTE PROHIBITS "RE-AGING" OF SOL WITHOUT A WRITTEN CONTRACT
§ 16.065. Acknowledgment of Claim An acknowledgment of the justness of a claim that appears to be barred by limitations is not admissible in evidence to defeat the law of limitations if made after the time that the claim is due unless the acknowledgment is in writing and is signed by the party to be charged.
Thanks for any advice
You can always deny that any arrangement was ever made...without a written agreement or legal phone recording of the conversation, they can't contest it.
Debt collectors trick people all the time with verbal promises that they have no intention of carrying out once that get your money....so don't shed any tears for the collection agency.
Please HELP ME My Third Party Collection is?
My third party collector calls me after 930 pm my time GA and he still thinks i live in Texas so it would be 830 what laws do i go by. texas or GA. And can they sue this is from 2001 so the Statute Of Limitations is has ran out in Ga and Texas My debt has been sold i think so what can i do
send them a letter stating that the only form of communication you want is by u.s. mail only. search the net for a "limited cease & desist" sample letter. send it certified mail return receipt requested so you have valid proof that they received it. you need to find out when was the "last date of activity" for the collection account....this is the date the time starts ticking for statute of limitations. for instance: if S.O.L. is 4 years for GA, and the account was charged-off in 2001 but you made a small payment in 2004, the S.O.L. would be 2008, not 2005. you can find the date of last activity on the copy of your Equifax credit report. you are entitled to a free one every 12 months. obtain it through www.annualcreditreport.com . do not fall for any online ads advertising your free report. the address above is the OFFICIAL website overseen by the govt and all 3 credit reporting agencies... i have found it easier to verify you are who you say you are by calling the 1-800 listed on the site rather than doing the online process. to each is own. good luck
Which state's statute of limitations applies to my credit card debt?
I am receiving letters from multiple collection agencies (2 are 'law office' collection agencies) regarding the same debt. the account in question is a claim from a CompUSA credit card that I opened in 2002. My last payment was made in 2004 and I've been hearing from different collection agencies ever since. Now, I don't know which if any of these third parties I actually owe (since I'm hearing from more than one at a time.)
But here is the real question... I created the account in Texas (where the statute of limitations is 4 years)... I moved to DC and made several payments there including my last one (where the statute of limitations in 3 years.)... I presently live in Illinois (statute of limitations is 10 years)... but I have never made a payment living in Illinois and these collectors are in Indiana (also 10 years)... can I be held to the 10 year statute of limitations since that was nowhere to be seen when I made the original agreement in Texas and then made payments in DC?
It is the state you created the debt in, not the state you live in now.
So since you created the debt in Texas, the SOL would be 4 years, which would be next year. Trust me if they were going to take you to court for a judgment they would have done it already.
Just throw the letters away. You shouldn't be getting a letter for the same debt from three different places anyways. Usually that just means that they have sold the debt to yet another collection agency and they know the chances of collecting it are smaller. The last place to get it is always a "lawyer". It sounds so legal, but it is a scare tactic. If they were going to sue you, like I said, they would have done it years ago.
I sold a company in 2002 and told the vendor to change all accounts over to the new owners.?
In 2007, one of the vendors contacted me via their attorney that a debt to my old company name had gone unpaid and because I had signed a guaratee on the account in 1995 I was liable. I sent them documents showing the bill of sale, assumed name certificates of the new owners, a copy of the letter closing my account. I also requested the guarantee that I signed as well as their unpaid invoices, and other documents where they had sold equipment to the new owner (without my signature). Several months went by and they sent me nothing and filed a lawsuit against me in their home county 125 miles away. The debt is $4000 and any lawyer I spoke to said his fee would far exceed that amount to defend it. I believe this is their game, hope I will pay it rather than fight. If anyone knows business credit collection laws in Texas please advise me as to what sections of the statutes they are violating. I intend to defend myself in the courtroom and need all the help I can get.
Thanks
Do you have proof you told them to close the account? That should absolve you of any liability for the charges. Show up in court with those and you should be good.
Your problem? If you don't have some sort of receipt or acknowledgment, they can always claim they didn't receive the letter closing the account. In that case you might need all the paperwork you can muster, proof of the sale, perhaps other letters to other vendors WITH acknowledgment, anything at all that establishes that you were no longer involved with the company beyond 2002.
Is SOL On Credit Card Debt Over After 7 Years?
I received a credit card back in california in 1997 and moved to texas in 1998 and I am now in new york in 2002 ... the card has since been transfered to multiple collection agencies with no legal actions accept continued collection calls. This debt was purchased through a proffit and loss agency and continued to spin it to smaller collection companyies. One got lucky and got my phone number which was unlisted. --- I know I am hounded with collection calls but now this agency is like either ya settle now out of court or we forward this to legal activity. Can they still do this?
JUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW, I AM SETTLING OUT MY CREDIT CARD DEBT OVER THE YEARS SLOWLY, BUT ITS BETTER THAN GOING BANKRUPT. I AM DOING MY PAST WITH EACH ONE - BUT NOT ALL AT ONCE.
My question referrs to SOL... California law is 2 or 3 years and Texas is 5 to 7 year. I AM CURRNTLY 10 Years Into SOL! Can They Still send me to court? The way they talk about it, its like they are in a rush to get me to settle.
I went to my search engine, typed credit card sol and the following came up. Good luck.
Statutes of Limitation
From Nance Kelly,
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Can A Time-Barred Debt Be Collected
Statutes of limitation (SOL) concern the amount of time within which a legal remedy may be sought to assist with the collection of a debt. The SOL is set by each state, and it varies based upon the type of contract which gives rise to the debt. Typically, the longest designated time frame is for judgments, while the shortest are for actions on revolving accounts such as credit card debts. The SOL is totally unrelated to the period of time during which a debt can be reported on your credit report.
The SOL generally begins to run on the date of an account’s last activity – in the case of debts, the last payment that was made; a partial payment or a written promise to repay the debt at any point, even after the SOL has run out, can restart the running of the limitations period. A debt collector may continue to collect on a debt after the SOL has run, however, he may violate provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) if he threatens to file a lawsuit after the SOL has expired. Section 807(5) of the FDCPA provides that collectors may not threaten action they are not legally allowed to take or do not intend on taking.
Recently, courts have held that the collection of time barred debt is not a per se violation of the FDCPA. While a statute of limitations bars the use of judicial remedies to enforce a particular right, it does not eliminate the underlying right. Therefore, in most cases, while the expiration of the statute of limitations may prevent a debt collector from filing a lawsuit to collect a debt, it doesn’t eliminate the existence of the debt, nor the collection agency’s right to contact the consumer regarding the debt, provided suit is not threatened. Some states, such as Wisconsin and Mississippi, have laws which state that when the SOL has expired, the underlying right – or in this case debt – has expired as well, and collection activity in those states after the SOL has run would violate state law, and by extension, the FDCPA.
If you are being contacted by a collection agency about a debt for which you believe the SOL has run, you do have the right to demand that the collection agency "cease&desist" from further collection efforts on the debt. At that point, the collection agency is required to stop any further efforts to collect on the debt, nor is the agency legally allowed to transfer or sell the debt to another agency.
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