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I have a question about debt collections?*

I just found out I owe a credit card that had a 300.00 credit limit back in 2000. they have contacted me sayin I now owe em 1800.00!!! what the hell? I'm not working and told em I could give em 30.00 ah month and they told me that the interest would kill me at 40cents ah day and I would be lookin at 5000.00 if it's in collections can they still charge me interest? I looked at the credit report and it said that it was transferred,closed,943.00 written off charge off as of june 2003

Answers:

1) Time out. Don't even offer them $30 per month. This debt is way past the statute of limitations. They can no longer legally collect it from you. Next time they call, tell them you're not paying them a dime and that per the fair debt collections act, you demand they stop all attempts to contact you about this debt. This is very common. There are debt collection companies that will buy these kinds of old, noncollectable debts for literally one or two cents on the dollar. They tack on as many fees and interest charges as they can get away with, and then they try to scare people like you into paying the debt that isn't even legally valid anymore. They know they can't legally enforce the debt, but since they buy the debts for such small amounts, they only need a handful of people to pay up in order to make a huge profit. Don't be one of the suckers that keeps these scumbags in business. Do not pay them. Do not give them any bank information like checking account numbers or anything like that. If you already gave them info, or already sent a check, then go change your account numbers now, because they will clean out your account. Just verbally tell them on the phone that you know this debt is too old to collect, and that no matter what scare tactic or empty threat of lawsuits and bad credit reports they make, you aren't going to pay them. Usually that is enough for them to realize they aren't getting anything from you , and they'll leave you alone. But if they keep calling you, then you may need to send a letter to them demanding they stop contacting you. Just google search for a standard letter and fill in your info. Then what you should do is ask them for the mailing address to send payment. But instead of sending payment, send the cease and desist letter. Send it via certified mail with a return reciept, and keep all the records forever. This way they know you have proof of sending the letter and they'll leave you alone, plus it makes good evidence in court if you end up sueing them for harrasement.

2) You should first check to see if the debt is truly "time barred" or past your states statute of limitations. Just because you state the year 2002, that does not mean a thing. The statute of limitations starts on the last date you made a payment and the time period varies by state. Check your states SOL first at the following web site. http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-state-statute-limitations-1282.php If the debt is time barred, then go to the following web site for a free letter to send to them to stop the harassment. http://www.debt-n-credit-letters.com/Debt-Dispute/SoL-dispute-letter.html If it IS NOT past your statute of limitations and they decide to take it to court, because you are unemployed, you would be considered "judgment proof" if you have to income or other assets and this would be your defense. This means they can not collect anything until you start work again. As to the interest that depends also upon what state you live in. Section 808(1) prohibits debt collectors from collecting any amount unless the amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or is permitted by law, "amount" includes not only the debt, but also any incidental charges, such as collection [53 Fed. Reg. 50108] charges, interest, service charges, late fees, and bad check handling charges. Hope this helps to answer your question. EDIT-------- hate to say it but Baily is sooooooo wrong, nothing can redate a debt, selling it to another collection agency does not renew the original date of the debt which for credit reporting agencies is 7 1/2 years from date of last missed payment. This is as per the FCRA. Running of Reporting Period - Section 605 [15 U.S.C. § 1681c] look it up and learn something! I will even provide the web site for you http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf

3) The previous post is SOOOOOOO wrong. The limitation he refers to is for suing you but that depends on what state you are in. The can only report the debt for 7 years from the date you went to charge off. They can attempt to collect the debt until the day you die. If it is from 2000 I would not worry about it unless they sell it and the new company reports it as a new "fresh" account.

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