My daughter attended a private Catholic School on 2005. After a year, the tuition was too high and decided to take her out of the school. However, I still owe the tuition and about two months ago, I received a summon to appear in Arlington Co. General district court. The amount I owe is about $4,000. I have searched and found out that in VA the statute of limitations for collecting debt is 5 years. Is that correct? The court date is on Thursday. The attorney is willing to make a payment plan. What do I need to do? Should I just contact the atty and make a payment plan? Is the SOL valid in this case? Do I need to appear in court and tell that to the judge? Please help. Thank you. Iris

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Originally Posted by icroft

What do I need to do? Should I just contact the atty and make a payment plan? Is the SOL valid in this case? Do I need to appear in court and tell that to the judge? Please help. Thank you. Iris

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Hello I:

It depends... SOL's vary in length. For this amount 5 years sounds like a LONG time. In my state, it would have expired in three. Plus, it depends on when the collection efforts began, and when you took your daughter out of school... In short, I can't tell you whether it's expired or not. If it has, you WIN, and a judgment won't be issued. I don't know if you want to gamble..

Plus, if you lose in court, the amount you'll owe will be a lot more than you do now. Somebody is going to pay for the lawyers time in court. That's going to be you. And, they'll have a judgment meaning they can go directly into your bank account and take their money. If there isn't enough there, they'll garnish your wages... So, they don't have to accept a payment plan after court.

I can't tell you what to do. I can only outline your very distasteful options.

excon

Thanks a lot for your response. So if I call the atty and discuss payment plan, do you know if I still need to go to court? I have sent them a letter back in September offered them a payment plan and asked them to send me any necessary paper work. They never responded back and when I inquired a few days ago, they said that they didn't have my address which is BS because they knew where to send the summons. So my question is how to approach with the payment plan? How does it work? Can anyone help me, please.

Hello again, I:

It's simple. You negotiate a plan. You do it by phone, not by mail. Once you get an agreement you demand/request that it be put in writing... Or YOU could put it writing, and send it to them for their signature. Once you have the agreement, stick to it and document your payments.

Until and unless you get notice from the court that your date has been canceled, I'd sure show up.

excon

But what if the Statute of Limitations apply to my case, then what?

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Originally Posted by excon

In short, I can't tell you whether it's expired or not. If it has, you WIN, and a judgment won't be issued. I dunno if you want to gamble..

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Originally Posted by icroft

But what if the Statute of Limitations apply to my case, then what?

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Hello again, I:

If you want certainty, hire a lawyer. Otherwise, you're stuck with me. You are faced with a series of options. All of them are rife with unknowns. Every one of them is a calculated choice - a gamble - if you will. I can't tell you the right option to pick.

excon

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Originally Posted by icroft

But what if the Statute of Limitations apply to my case, then what?

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If you are supposed to file something in court, clearly state in that document that you believe the claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Simple as that.