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Can a debt collection take him to court on a debt over ten years old?
Asked Sep 23, 2009, 05:57 PM
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6 Answers My fianc? Had a debpt over s10 year old of $1090 with a credit card company. He had not heard from them for years although he apparently made a one time small payment in 2006 and was going to pay it off but was told that it was an old dept and that he didn't have to. Last week we got a letter from a debt collection agency requesting the amount. He was going to pay it and called to arrange it... At which point they added approximately $300 to the bill, he asked why and they stated it was the charge to remove it from his Credit Report. As soon as they did this I was suspicious and told him that they could not do that. There is no reference to any other "charges" on the document they sent, just that it was in satisfaction in full of the account at $1090. There are apparently $4,000 interest charges they are prepared to drop (because they are not allowed to take them) Anyway, I started researching and the statute of limitations for collecting a debt is 2 years in alberta and 6 years on your credit report. So I disputed (or attempted to) the bill and tried to ask questions, the woman screamed at me saying she would contact my mortgage company (he is not on my mortgage) she would make sure it was on his credit report for 20 years and that she had the power to do that. And that she would be calling his payroll office immediately. I called back and asked to speak to someone who was sane as I wanted answers to my questions and she just screamed.... The put a man on.... I asked about what was going on - he said because my fianc? Made a payment in 2006 that they had the right to reopen the case and legally go after him for the money. I said that even if that is the case, then it is 2009 not 2008 and the statute of limitations for collections has passed. He also said that it was on my fiances credit report (it wasn't a couple of months ago) CAN THEY PUT IT BACK ON? I said that I didn't think he had to pay such an old debt as it was past the limitation. He told me to hold and shouted "Susan - make sure that Mr. ******** court documents are done up today and on my desk to sue him in 24 hours" and followed it up with "we will see you in court" I said "We sure will" I hung up, he called back and I hung up again. So... My questions are 1. CAn they still chase us 2. Can a debt go back on your credit report over and over again and how can you stop this, if the limit for a debt in Alberta is 6 years after the debt, is it 6 years, then sold to a new debt collectors and 6 years again and on and on. How is that right? 3. Can they threaten you and lie like this 4. What rights to we have and 5 Can we sue them on their practices? 6. Can they take us to court if it is over three years from last activity if he did make a payment in 2006? 7. And does action start all over again from last activity? So he has another three years with it on his report because he made a payment in 2006? As I understand they can't legally get the debt because it is past the two years, but that it may be able to go on the credit report again because of the 2006 payment, but CAN they make it as of now? And if so, in three years can we get it off through disputing it Arrrggggghhhhh help! |
6 Answers
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| I would try to track down if this is a legal business or a scam. With their phone number you can backtrack to them You should have the right to dispute any item on a credit reportl As to the rest I'm in the US and it may be different here so won't advise on the rest. However, it is not a good business practice of debt collectors to yell and scream at people that owe money I would think anywhere in the world. Good luck | ||||
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| Your question requires research, you need to find out what the laws are. Try Googling under the following: "canadian credit card regulations" and/or "canadian credit card legislation". I used the above, and came back with plenty of hits. Canadian laws may be similar, they may have something like the US'S Fair Credit act. Alberta may have additional rules. Since they said they were going to sue, and you are considering a counter-suit, you should look for the District Court for Alberta and Alberta's Rules regarding debts and lawsuits. | ||||
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| Wow hun I only read half of that and I can tell you now they are doing a lot wrong! Look into the company! The statue of limitations verys from state to state and it also varies on type too. A credit card is considered a contract account. However renewal also varies from state to state. If your husband made a payment in 2006 it may have renewed the statue of limitations. If you make a payment on a stat acc it renews the statue of limitations. I know in Kansas it does not renew on contract accounts but I am not sure on where you live. So first find out for sure if it is stat or not. And honestly unless this is a really really small company no one is going to yell to have documents put out to sue you. The company I work for I think only has 7 offices and we have a legal department (I'm a debt collector myself). At our company we the collectors don't even mess with anything legal. We send it to the legal department and they deal with it. My personal advice is just screw everything and get a lawyer. Not to sue by any means at this point but to discuss this with a lawyer cause I can guarentee that a lawyer will be able to find out for sure if a company is lagit. If it turns out that it is a real company and they are malpracticing then YES you can sue them! But this is why I say get a lawyer. As I said I work in a debt collections office and I know a lot but some of your questions I am not sure on like the thing about the credit report. I don't think they can renew that but I'm not for sure on that one. As for disputing the acc, do you have any physical proof to show that this was paid off or what not cause I honestly don't quite understand what you are saying the situation is on it. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to pm me I might have an answer.  Edit: By the way if the woman you spoke to really was yelling at you and really did threaten you like that you can sue her personally for the fact of threatening. A debt collector can not threaten you in any way with out knowing the company has full intent and means. If the credit report can renew (again I'm not sure on that) the woman can warn you about that and let you know "This is on your credit report" but she can not threaten you. It is against the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practing Act) | ||||
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| The bad news is that although the Statute of Limitations is 2 years for obtaining a legal junction against the debtor, that clock is reset once the debt is acknowledged or a payment made. Sounds like you husband acknowledged the debt and therefore the 2 year clock has started over. The good news is that for a monetary amount less than $10,000.00n it is rarely useful for a company to take you to court. They can now reapply the negative score on your credit and can continue to do so indefinitly if the account is not settled. The 7 years and your clear only applies to inactive entries on your score, not active ones that are updated by the collector. Best bet is to confirm you owe the debt and agree on a payment. If you agree for less than amount oweing your credit score will show the account as abandoned by the collector and that looks bad for you. Attempt to make full payment if your credit is otherwise good at this time. If your credit can't get worse than settle on an amount and wait the 7 years. Again I advise confirm the debt on your end before paying and don't agree to any charges that were not disclosed initially. | ||||
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| Do it all in writing. They may attempt to collect for the rest of your life, the SOL is only how long they have to sue you for a judgement. No they can not do all the things they threaten about. | ||||
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