What exactly does it mean "not more than four years after the day THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES ..."? Does it mean a collection agency cannot make a claim after four years have elapsed from when the last payment stopped? Or does it mean a collection agency cannot take legal action after four years from when the collection agency made a legal claim? And if the first collection agency that buys the debt from the original creditor, then resells the debt to a second collection agency, does the statute of limitation clock reset?

It would be 4 years since your first MISSED payment.

If you are to pay the end of Jan, end of Feb, etc.

You pay end of Jan but NOT end of Feb.

Then it is 4 years from end of Feb.

If the credit card company sells it to a collection agency (or anyone), it does NOT reset the clock.

The clock applies to YOU and when YOU first were in default.

Hey CaptainForest, thanks for the clarification. Got another questions for you. Say that you get monthly statements that tell you to pay as soon as possible, e.g.. No due date. And say that you don't have a particularly date each month where you make payments. How would the statute determine when "your first MISSED payment" is?

If no due date is listed, the rule of thumb would be that you have 30 days to pay.

Some places it might be 60, but typically 30.

But check your original contract, as it might state the days you have to pay in there.

The thing is, there was no "original contract". It's one of those utility services where you sign up over the phone. Supposedly they taped the conversation but I don't know if the collection agency was able to get their hands on it.

If no date of payment is listed anywhere, then I would just assume it would be 30 days.