This is a bit of an odd scenario. I just received an invoice from a company I made a small purchase from 2 years ago stating that I owe the amount of my purchase. I called them, unable to figure out why I was being billed, but they claim they tried to charge my card which had since expired. It expired approximately 6 months after I made the purchase. So, as you can see, they didn't try to bill me for a very long time.

My question: Is anyone aware of any law/statute/anything about how long a firm can take to charge you for purchases?

Btw this is in California.

Thanks!

Hello m:

Nahhh. Lawmakers don't make law dealing with every tiny little thing that can happen to people.

If you bought something, and didn't pay for it because the vendor forgot to bill you, then you still owe him the money. In fact, you're ALWAYS going to owe him the money. Debts don't expire.

However, if you already paid, that's a different scenerio. You didn't say, by the way. But, I have a hunch you didn't pay. If I borrowed $20 from you, when does that debt expire? If I bought something from you, how long can I wait to pay, before I don't have to? 6 months? A year?

excon

I would either dig up your old statements or go back to the CC company to see if the charge was ever processed. If not, I would go back to the company you purchased from and ask why they waited so long to process the transaction.

Bottomline though, you ordered the item, you received the item and if they didn't charge you, then you owe for the item.