Texas Nails Giant Debt Collector Courthouse News Service
HOUSTON (CN) - After paying pennies on the dollar to acquire billions of dollars in debts, Encore Capital Group had employees robo-sign "thousands of false affidavits" to win default judgments against tens of thousands of Texans, the state attorney general says.
Texas charged Encore and its subsidiaries Midland Funding and Midland Credit Management with "defrauding the Texas judicial system," and violating debt collection laws. All three defendants work out of a principal office in San Diego, Calif.
"Defendants purchase large portfolios of consumer debts from issuers of consumer credit such as VISA, Mastercard, Bank of America, Bank One and Citibank, comprising millions of consumer accounts, such as credit card debts and defaulted auto loans and cellular phone plans," according to the complaint in Harris County Court.
"Defendants pay pennies
Foreclosure Angel: Stranger Buys Foreclosed House at Auction and Gave it back to Owner ...
lost their homes to foreclosure every day, according to The Associated Press. In Texas, almost 9200 homes entered the foreclosure process in ...
I would like to know what is the statute of limitations for credit card debt in Texas?
I'm not on my normal computer (with all my sources)...but the SOL in Texas is 4 years.
My buddy Echo has a fantastic link to a site that not only lists this information, but gives the actual statute numbers so you can look it up and verify it. If she logs on today I'm sure she will pass it on for you.
Edited:
Lawtech, that answer made me giggle something awfull!
Since when does a contract override state and federal laws? Either change your handle so people don't think you actually know anything, or do your research and quit guessing at answers.
I've included the link that Studly mentioned.
Texas is 4 years like he said.
Texas is also a last action state, which means that the SOL starts to run the "last time" you either made a charge or a payment.
There are some great Texas links on that page.
You should also click the link at the very bottom of that page and go to the home page of that site. It is packed full of great links and info for many different credit related situations.
I've also included a link to another great site. You might check it out. Start reading in the newbie forum and then in the credit forum.
Texas Statute of limitations and medical bills? I have a 8 yr old medical bill, which I disputed. ?
I carried a bad debt on my credit report for 7 yrs because I did not agree I owed it. I have recently been contacted by a National Agency that bought my 8 yr old dispute and is requesting payment. If the Texas statute of limitation is 4 years, is it legal for the Agency to continue to contact me?
Thanks, LS
Sure, they can contact you. But if it past the point of taking it to court, you can tell them to pound sand.
If you go to Google, there are a ton of form letters out there that you can look at to get an idea of what to say and how to say it.
When does the Statute of Limitations begin to run on an old credit card debt in Texas and how long is it?
It begins when the account becomes delinquent and runs for 4-years. in Texas.
Statute of Limitations for credit card debt question?
I have been told the statute of limitations for credit card debt in Texas is 4 years. After 4 years, the credit card agency can no longer sue you. After those 4 years have passed, are all of the negative items removed from your credit report? Or is it 7 years?
paperclip, I found a nice online list of Texas credit card resources. http://www.howtofindcreditcard.com/Texas-Credit-Cards.html Try calling a nearby service and they can answer your questions.
Bankruptcies and foreclosures are 10 years.
Even if they sue and get a judgment, there are few ways for them to collect. Texas won't garner your wages. They can't touch your retirement,or your home if you homestead it.
The link below has a lot more information.
The Statute of Limitations (SOL), the timeframe to bring lawsuit, varies from state to state. Typically the SOL starts from the date of last activity or last payment. Making payment or in some cases acknowledging the debt, restarts the SOL.
People often confuse and merge these two things.
The SOL is an affirmative defense. If you are sued, you have to show up and use the SOL as a defense. If you don't show, the creditor will get a default judgment, even if the debt is beyond the SOL.
Statute of limitations on debt?
So my husband owes tuition from 2003 because he did not drop his classes properly. According to this website http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/2004... The statute of limitations in Texas is 4 years. The debt is now just 4 years old (Fall semester of 2003) and has not been paid on since that time. As I understand it, we cannot now be sued for this debt right? Can they report this on his credit report? Can they contact his employer etc?
This is NOT a student loan. He signed up for courses and did not pay for them because we moved. He neglected to fill out the proper withdrawal paperwork. This is just the bill from the college stating the tuition owed for that semester, no loan was involved at all.
I told the woman who called that the statute of limitations was up and she told me there was no statute of limitations. The anothe woman called and said she would note it in the file that I said the statute was up and wasn't going to pay. What can they do now?
If it is not a student loan then you have nothing to worry about. Statue of Limitation begins from the moment when a contract is signed.
What important for you to do now is to avoid any action in connection to this debt that can reset ot restart the statue of limitation. Find out more at http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/statue-limitations-explained.html
You still can be sued for this debt but SoL is the ultimate defense in order to dismiss the claim. However the debt can be sent to collection and be reported for 7 years (until 2010) but collection agencies do not have much means to collect the debt. In fact if they ever contact you sent them Cease and Desist Letter and they will have literally cease and desist since they cannot take you to court. They also cannot contact your husband's employer because it is against the federal law.
If you never made a payment on it, then the SOL tolls from the date of default. So if the first payment was due after completing schooling (say a year later) then the SOL runs from that date. If you had made some payments and then defaulted the SOL would run from last date of payment (as a general rule).
But failing those two things, and assuming they didn't send it to arbitration (which is tough if you live in Texas) then you may be correct about the SOL.
However, it can and probably will still show up on a credit report.
Is there a time limit or statute of limitations that a credit card debt can be collected against?
I have heard that Texas has a 4 year statute of limitations on unpaid credit card debt. If a collections agency buys this account does the 4 year limit start over? If not, and the debt is over 4 years old and has had no payments made to it, can I have it removed from my credit report? If so, how do I go about it?
You are correct. In Texas the statute of limitations is 4-years.
If this has passed, there is nothing that the collection company can do to you legally.
And no it doe's not start over. That is not legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
As far as getting it removed from your credit, that takes 7-years from the date of first delinquency.
Charge off debt and State Statute of Limitations?
I have 2 debts on my credit report that are both charge offs. Both are credit card debts over the amount of 1000 dollars. I made bad decisions when i was younger and i am trying to get them either payed, by getting the debtor to agree to a paid in full status on my credit report or explore the option of the state statute of limitations. The statute of limitations in texas is 4 years... so does this mean they can no longer collect on this debt? If i claim the SOL does this mean the debt still remains on my report or can i write the bureus and try to get this taken off?
The statute of limitations for collecting a debt applies to the company to whom you owe the debt, not to the reporting of that information. Adverse information remains on your credit report for 7 years from the date of last activity, after which time it will purge automatically. The reporting agencies do not follow state limitations on debt collection practices, as they are not collecting on the debt, but simply reporting it.
How does the Statute of Limitations for Credit Card debt affect my ability to get a home loan?
Ok... I am 24 years old, in the military, and at 18 made some mistakes with credit cards. I have never paid the debt I owe, and I know that in Texas the Statute of Limitations for this debt is 4 years. I am no longer legally obligated to pay. I also believe its true that 7 years after the original date of delinquency this debt should no longer appear on my credit report. If I am no longer legally obligated to pay the debt, and it is no longer on my credit report will this debt affect my ability to get a mortgage? Also remember that I have a "guaranteed" (meaning the debt is guaranteed, not the loan) home loan as one of my VA benefits. Any thoughts?
The Statute of Limitations (SOL) does not mean you are not legally obligated to pay the debt. The SOL is an affirmative defense if the creditor takes you to court. The creditor can continue to try and collect the debt. They can follow you right to the grave.
Negatives age off your credit report 7 years and 180 days after the first deficiency. The older the debt the less impact on your score. If you wait till this ages off, it will won't hinder you gettting a mortgage. If you apply for a mortgage before this falls off your report, the mortgage company will insist you pay it off before you are approved.
Best thing for you is to wait the 1-1/2 years for this to age off and put aside money every week toward the downpayment for the house.
can a debt collector continue to renew a debt, even after the statute of limitations have passed?
I had a auto repo'd about nine years ago and the collection company continues to renew the data twice a year with interest, is that legal, if so what are my options?
I am from Texas and the statute of limitations there is 4 years.
You are referring to two differant issues.
Negative items can only stay on your report for 7 years, beginning on the day of the delinquency.
Statute of Limitations is the length of time a creditor can "legally" collect on a debt. That means until this day is up, they can sue you in court to collect.
However, even after the Statute of Limitations is up, they can continue to TRY and collect the debt. But since they no longer have a legal way to collect, they are just wasting their time. All the can do is harrass you.
They can continue to place interest and late fees on the loan, if that is what the terms of the agreement said they can do.
Ok, all this said....when you say they are "renewing the data"....where? On your credit report? That would be illegal and you can easily sue them in court.
If I can be of further help email me.
Can I get a debt removed from my credit report after the Statute of Limitations has expired? How?
I live in Texas and have debts showing on my credit report that are over 5 years old, some as old as 8 years.
Don't think you can do anything about it until it has been on your credit report for 10yrs now. I know thats how long they stay on after a bankruptcy has been discharged after filing. Used to be 7 but the new laws passed a few years ago changed it to 10. They cannot collect on debts that are over the statute of limitations but they can still be reported on a credit report as unpaid debt.
