Statute of Limitations Advice for Old Debts - The Bills.com Blog

A collection agency sent me a letter stating that I owe an old phone bill of over $400 while I was living in Texas back in 1999. Is this a bill that I have to pay? What can the collection agency do if I do not pay? I cannot locate any evidence that I paid this bill. The collection agency also said that this bill was sent to a temp. address that I had while working in Florida. I never got such a bill even though I placed address changes with the post office. Help please...Thanks, Cindy

I don't know what state that you live in, but the Statute of Limitations in Florida is 5 years and the Statute of Limitations in Texas is 4 years (the relevant state is where you live). You can always attempt to validate the debt and specifically request for them to prove that the statute has not expired. However, for a debt that small you may consider just negotiating with them to pay an amount and ask them to remove it from your credit report (report it as paid in full).

I have billers calling me everyday about a debt that is 7 years plus and I want to know what do I need to do to get them to take it out of there system?

All debts fall off your credit report once the seven-year limit on reporting has passed. Keep in mind that the seven years starts running from the date the account was charged off by the creditor, which generally means seven and a half years from the date of last payment. I encourage you to review your credit report carefully to make sure that the dates of last payment being reported on these accounts are correct. Some creditors, especially debt purchasing firms, will report inaccurate charge-off dates to extend the amount of time an old account appears on your credit report. If you find any inaccurate information, you should dispute the credit report listing with the bureau in question. The Federal Trade Commission offers advice regarding the dispute of inaccurate credit report listings, available at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.shtm

Can I be sued over an old medical bill? The bill is eight years old

it depends on what state you live in. if you live in california, and you haven't paid in over 8 years then you cannot be sued. some states have a statute of limitations longer than 8 years though.

I have a debt that the statutue of limlitation ended on 8/1005 the account holder then sold it to a collect agency according to texas state law the account remains under texas law but i move to ohio two years later i being sued for this debt in ohio is this legal?

A collection agency can contact you attempting to collect a debt for an unlimited amount of time–neither the limit on how long an account can appear on your credit report, nor the statute of limitations (the time period a creditor has to sue you to collect on a debt) prohibits a collection agency from contacting you to try to collect an old debt. However, just because a collection agency contacts you, you are not required to pay the debt. if a lawsuit is filed you should have an absolute defense against the lawsuit. If you respond to the suit stating that the SOL has expired, the judge should dismiss the case. In addition, if the court believes that the creditor filed suit despite knowing that the SOL had expired, the court may sanction the creditor for its actions. Keep in mind that in most states, the SOL begins running from the date you last made a payment on the account.

I just received a collection notice for a GTE phone bill for a phone number I had when I was livnig in Texas in 1992. How do I go about disputing the bill and if it is my bill (I can't remember what I did yesterday let alone 1992), what course of action can I take? I know that the statute of limitations for Texas is 4 years but I'm confused when you mention 'charge off dates' and the fact that it may hamper my credit rating, which is in the 700's. Thanks for any help.

it sounds almost certain that you debt is out of statute of limiations, so you should contest the validity of the debt (literally send them a letter saying that you want them to formally validate that the debt is within the statute and that you want them to validate that it is yours and that you owe it).

What is the statute of limitation in Florida for a car loan debt from 1999?

Florida appears to have a five year statute of limitations. This is from the last date of payment.

Can collection agency sue me for a CT-Scan bill of $7000? I took a CT-Scan 4 years ago, and disputed the scan since it was not needed and no one told me my insurance will not cover it? Whats the status of limitations for medical bills in California? Can they win in civil court? This is really unfair, since they billed me much more than what they bill insurance companies for a CT-Scan!

When it comes to medical insurance coverage, the onus is on you, the insured to make sure that you have coverage for a specific treatment. The statute of limitations in California for written agreements is 4 years. The beginning of the statue of limitation is whenever the original debt is made, unless the debtor makes a payment after the expiration of the statue of limitations (in which case, the statue of limitations starts all over again). If the collection agency sues you in court, you will have full opportunity to present your case before the court. You can then explain your situation to the judge and see what remedies the court proposes.

If my debt was accrued in Arizona and I have lived in Texas for 2 years, which state does it fall under? What is the SOL for AZ and what is it for TX?

The debt would fall under the state that you resided in when you signed the original contract. SOL is 5 yeras for AZ and 4 years for TX.

my husband has a collection agency calling insisting he owes for a phone bill with a company we had up until a year ago when we switched to our cable company it was from almost ten years ago and we had the same phone number and company until a year ago and never not one time hear about this bill..what do we do..we live in missouri

The best way to check is to check on your credit report. You an get a free copy at www.annualcreditreport.com, and after you checkit, if you find that there is an error, then you can dispute the same with the bureaus. You can find information on how to dispute errors on your credit report on FTC.gov at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.shtm

i have received a phone call from credigy saying they are taking me to civil court for an old discover card debt. the first delinquency on my credit report shows 6/2001. what can i do?

First of all, just by them telling you on the phone does not mean that they have already taken to court. In case they have started a case against you in court, you are supposed to receive court summons by mail, for which you can send in a reply. Please visit this link and check the statute of limitations for your State: http://bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html. If in case the statute of limitations has passed then you have nothing to worry about.

I have an installment loan that was charged off in March of 2002. I live in Florida and the debt was given to a collection agency. I made a payment in July of 2004 to them. Does this extend the statute of limitations? When will I be out of the way of any impending legal situations. The debt was 8,000 and the collection agency added 3,000 interest to it. Thanks.

You are right, the statute of limitations is calculated from the date of the last payment on your account. Being that the statute of limitations is 4 years in Florida, it would run out in July of 2008. Please bear in mind that the fact that the statute has passed does not stop a collection agency from filing a suit, it only gives you an absolute defense in court, if ever the creditor does file a suit.

Today I received a letter in the mail stating that I was being sued by Discover Card. I live in Texas and am not sure of the statute of limitations that they have to do this. According to my credit report my account charged off in November of 2002. What should I do?

If Discover has started the process of litigation, then it is in your best interest to contact an attorney to represent you in court. The statute of limitations is 4 years from the date of last payment. Bear in mind that it is your responsibility to prove in court that the statute has passed. If it is proven, then the case will be dismissed.

A collection agency recently sent me two letters stating that I owe an unpaid debt from a career college when I was living in TX some 14 plus years ago. I learn from reading your advice that the Status of Limitation in TX is 4 years and all debts fall off credit report once the seven-year limit reporting has passed; however, on the second letter I received from the collection agency, they said that they may report information about my account to credit bureaus. Please help, thanks! Mag

Check your credit report to see if this account is still showing. Collection agencies use standard letter templates when they send out these letters. Collection agencies are also known to manipulate the dates on the accounts so that they can start to report the debts on your credit report. You are right, in that it has been too long for them to come out of the woodwork at this time. If you start seeing this account on your credit report, then you will need to send them a "debt validation letter" which basically asks for the confirmation of the said debt and an explanation of the charges. But, on the whole, you are safe as far as the statute of limitations (SOL) is concerned, but SOL only comes into play if the collection agency ever decides to sue you, which I doubt they will. Think of it this way, they are just shooting in the dark to see what response they get from you. Also keep in mind that if you make a payment now, you will be resetting the statute of limitations. For more information on collection laws, please refer to http://www.bills.com/collection-laws/.

I read a article concerning that 20 year student loan debt balances will be forgiven in februrary 2009.Is that true

Not to my knowledge, student loans are not dischargeable even in a bankruptcy, so I would check the validity of your source.

I received a collection agency letter regarding an old Citibank credit card account that was charged off in 1992 or 1993(possibly 1994) ... it's been too long ago to remember. My question is: Do I send a SoL Letter to the agency since it's obvious that this open account is far beyond the SoL for both IL (the state acquired) and OH (the state I now reside). This is the first letter I've recieved but I have to tell you that I am scared they will attempt to garnish my wages or try to sue for the $3800+ they say I owe. Please advise how I should proceed. Thank you, Tammy.

It is obvious that the statute of limitations has expired on this debt, the likelihood of the collection agency attempting to sue you to enforce the debt is remote. While the passing of the SOL does not mean that a creditor cannot sue you, if a lawsuit is filed you should have an absolute defense against the lawsuit. If you respond to the suit stating that the SOL has expired, the judge should dismiss the case. Keep in mind that in most states, the SOL begins running from the date you last made a payment on the account. This means that if you paid just a few dollars to a collector a couple of years ago, the running SOL for that debt could have been reset. Also, keep in mind that the passage of the SOL does not forbid a creditor from calling you to collect on the debt; it simply provides you an absolute defense in court if the creditor files suit. You can generally stop collection calls by sending a cease and desist letter to the creditor–for more information about sending cease and desist letters, you can visit http://www.ihatedebt.com/DealingWithYourCreditors/DealingWithDebtCollectors/Cease_and_Desist_Letter_for_Debt_Collectors.php.