Learn
do-it-yourself free debt settlement or let an expert debt settlement company
negotiate a huge chargeoff for you.
By
negotiating settlements, you pay less than what is owed and that can end collection agency harassment quickly.
You
should first review the pros and cons of negotiating settlements.
One
reason to let a settlement company negotiate on your behalf, is because a
professional debt settlement company is experienced in negotiating and may be
able to get you higher chargeoff amounts.
Free Debt
Settlement Tips and Debt Settlement Companies for Hire
Debt
Statute of Limitations
The
statute of limitations for collecting a debt is the period of time that a
creditor, lender or collection agency can use legal means to order you to repay
a debt. The time period starts on the account�s last date of activity and
varies by state. But keep in mind this can be different from the date the
account went past due. Your credit report will include the account's last date
of activity. As mentioned earlier, even if the statute of limitations has
expired some debt collectors will continue to attempt to collect, hoping you
don't know about the statute of limitations and you'll repay if they threaten
you enough. They may even file a lawsuit against you. If you are certain the
statute of limitations has expired, you can use that fact as justification that
you do not have to repay the debt.
WARNING:
Be careful not to restart the statute of limitations. Anytime you take an action
with an account, the statute of limitations is restarted. Actions such as making
a payment, making a promise of payment, entering a repayment agreement, or
making a charge using the account can restart the statute of limitations. When
the clock restarts, it restarts at zero, regardless of how much time had passed
before the activity.
Here are
the debt statutes of limitations for each state:
Debt
Collection Statute Of Limitation by State
State
Oral
Written
Promissory
Open-Ended
AL
6
years
6
years
6
years
3
years
AR
5
years
5
years
5
years
3
years
AK
6
years
6
years
3
years
3
years
AZ
3
years
6
years
6
years
3
years
CA
2
years
4
years
4
years
4
years
CO
6
years
6
years
6
years
3
years
CT
3
years
6
years
6
years
3
years
DE
3
years
3
years
3
years
4
years
DC
3
years
3
years
3
years
3
years
FL
4
years
5
years
5
years
4
years
GA
4
years
6
years
6
years
6
years **
HI
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
IA
5
years
10
years
5
years
5
years
ID
4
years
5
years
5
years
4
years
IL
5
years
10
years
10
years
5
years
IN
6
years
10
years
10
years
6
years
KS
3
years
6
years
5
years
3
years
KY
5
years
15
years
15
years
5
years
LA
10
years
10
years
10
years
3
years
ME
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
MD
3
years
3
years
6
years
3
years
MA
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
MI
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
MN
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
MS
3
years
3
years
3
years
3
years
MO
5
years
10
years
10
years
5
years
MT
3
years
8
years
8
years
5
years
NC
3
years
3
years
5
years
3
years
ND
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
NE
4
years
5
years
5
years
4
years
NH
3
years
3
years
6
years
3
years
NJ
6
years
6
years
6
years
3
years
NM
4
years
6
years
6
years
4
years
NV
4
years
6
years
3
years
4
years
NY
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
OH
6
years
15
years
15
years
6
years
OK
3
years
5
years
5
years
3
years
OR
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
PA
4
years
4
years
4
years
4
years
RI
10
years
5
years
6
years
4
years
SC
3
years
3
years
3
years
3
years
SD
6
years
6
years
6
years
6
years
TN
6
years
6
years
6
years
3
years
TX
4
years
4
years
4
years
4
years
UT
4
years
6
years
6
years
4
years
VA
3
years
5
years
6
years
3
years
VT
6
years
6
years
5
years
3
years
WA
3
years
6
years
6
years
3
years
WI
6
years
6
years
10
years
6
years
WV
5
years
10
years
6
years
5
years
WY
8
years
10
years
10
years
8
years
FOOTNOTES:
Check your
state for changes; updates, to the statute of limitations on debt.
If you
recently moved, aggressive debt collectors might attempt to use your old home
state for the statute of limitations, especially if that time limit is longer
than of the state you currently reside. This would give a collector more time to
collect on the debt.
Some debts
don't have a statute of limitations. This includes federal student loans, child
support in some states, and income taxes.
When the
statute of limitations expires, it only prevents a collector from winning a
judgment against you when you can prove the statute of limitations has indeed
expired. It does not:
Keep a
collector from filing a lawsuit against you. It can keep them from winning
if you use it against them in court.
Erase
the debt. If the debt is legitimately yours, you still owe it.
Prevent
the debt from being reported on your credit report. The debt can be reported
as long as the credit reporting time limit allows.
** Georgia
Court of Appeals came out with a decision on January 24, 008 in Hill v. American
Express that in Georgia the statute of limitations on a credit card is six years
after the amount becomes due and payable
You should think twice before paying your old debt that is past your state's statute of limitations. The statute of limitations varies from state to state, but usually ranges from 3 to 10 years. If debt collectors are trying to collect your old debt, please consult an attorney before you end up paying interest only payments for years to come.
The following lists the statute of limitations on old debt for each U.S. state:
Old Debt & the Statute of Limitations Consumers are often plagued by debt collectors collecting old debts. These defaulted debts are sold to secondary creditors. These secondary creditors (bill collectors) are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In Minnesota, because these debts are based on a contract between the consumer and the original creditor, to properly succeed a lawsuit to collect these debts must be brought within six years from the time of default or reaffirmation of the debt. If you reside in Minnesota, never pay anything toward a defaulted consumer debt that is older than six years! When presented to courts as defenses, the Statute of Limitations prevents creditors from obtaining judgments for these old debts. After seven years, one hundred and eighty days, these debts should not even appear on a consumer?s credit report because they are considered obsolete. A debt collector who is governed by the FDCPA may violate the Act if a debt collector sues or threatens to sue on a debt which is not collectable because of the six year Statute of Limitations.
The information discussed above is not well known or understood by consumers. Typically, consumers do not talk to other consumers about their financial problems. People may discuss their divorces and how good their lawyers are, but they are reluctant to tell others about their debts and the attorneys who help them. Once a consumer retains a lawyer and a debt collector who is governed by the FDCPA knows it, that debt collector may contact only the lawyer and not the consumer. The client-lawyer relationship ends the unwanted intrusions on a consumer?s life by the debt collector.
If a debt collector is trying to collect an old debt that may be past your state's statute of limitations, you should contact an attorney located in our attorney directory.
Please note this blog is being designed and updated in conjunction with Help Manage My Debt, Inc. Please post a coment or write us an e-mail if you have questions. Thank you.
Asset Acceptance, one of the biggest and most-complained about debt collectors/debt purchasers, recently agreed to a $2.5 million settlement to an FTC lawsuit. Asset Acceptance faced a slew of allegations including collecting debts from identity theft victims, providing false information to the credit bureaus, pursuing debts after the statute of limitations expired, and tricking consumers into restarting the statute of limitations.
Every month around this time, many people sit down with their bills and their checkbook (or their computer or iPad) and write the checks to pay the bills. With some bills, you pay the exact amount due, no questions. But with credit cards, you may wonder the best amount to pay.
Negotiating a lower payment is one way to pay off your credit card debt at a lower cost. When the lender agrees to settle your debt for a lower amount, say $500 on a $1,000 debt, part of the debt is cancelled. It's good news for you in the short run, but you could end up paying taxes on the cancelled amount.
Going forward, you might think twice about accepting an award or prize when you open up a financial account because you could owe taxes on the award. This year, Citibank is sending out 1099-MISC forms for mileage bonuses awarded to new checking account customers in 2011. According to the LA Times, the IRS agrees that this is part of the tax law.
Don't ruin your credit repair progress by making big mistakes, like falling for a credit repair scam or by focusing on things that don't influence your credit score. Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is ignoring your credit problems instead of taking action.
I cancelled a
credit card purchase after the free trial period, but the merchant keeps charging my credit card account each month. The bank says to resolve it with the merchant. What should I do?
First, write to the merchant, directing them to stop the charges.
Second, notify your bank in writing about any charges that you feel were in error. (Use the billing error instructions, which should appear on the back of the periodic credit card statement. This address is usually different from where you send your payment.)
The bank must receive your notice of billing error within 60 days of its having sent you the first monthly statement containing the unauthorized charges.
I closed my credit card account, but the bank continued to accept pre-authorized withdrawals (such as charges from my insurance company). Why won’t the bank stop accepting these charges?
Generally, your account agreement advises that you must cancel all agreements for pre-charges by merchants prior to closing an account.
In many cases, the bank does not cancel these for a simple reason: the pre-authorized withdrawal agreement was made between the consumer and the merchant making the charges. Since the bank is not a party to the agreement, it cannot cancel it. Therefore, the withdrawals can be charged to the account even after the consumer has closed it.
You can stop the bank from paying a single pre-authorized charge by contacting it in writing or orally at least three business days before the pre-authorized charge will be made. However, this may not cancel your agreement for ongoing pre-authorized charges with the merchant. The bank can require you to submit written confirmation that you have cancelled the agreement with the merchant within 14 days of your contact with the bank telling it not to pay the pre-authorized charge. If you do not provide the bank with written confirmation, it may honor any following pre-authorized charges by the merchant.
What should I do if there are unauthorized charges on my credit card account?
You should contact your bank right away. It is important to notify the bank promptly upon discovering unauthorized charges in order to limit your liability.
You may contact the bank by phone but it is best to notify the bank in writing about unauthorized charges. The bank should have provided you with information on how to notify it when you believe there is unauthorized use of your credit card. The address to write to may be different from where you send your payment.
After receiving your notice, the bank must conduct a reasonable investigation of the claim if it may hold you responsible for any part of the unauthorized use. Actions that a bank may take in reviewing a claim include:
* looking at the transaction in light of other purchases,
* reviewing if the goods were delivered to the residence or place of business,
* comparing signatures,
* requesting a police report,
* requesting documentation to assist in validating the claim,
* requesting a signed written statement from the cardholder or authorized user, and
* requesting information about the cardholder's knowledge of the person who allegedly used the card or of that person's authority to do so.
The bank must notify you of the results of its investigation.
What is an unauthorized credit card charge? "Unauthorized use" is when someone other than the cardholder or a person that has the actual, implied, or apparent authority to use the credit card uses a credit card and the cardholder receives no benefit from the use.
If you authorized a charge but you are disputing the amount of the charge, then you should follow the bank’s process for filing a billing error dispute.
