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Zombie Debt Collectors

Zombie Debt Collectors will try to get you to payoff old obligations like credit card debt. Learn how to respond, debt statute of limitations and your rights.

Definition of Zombie Debt: old debt purchased by debt collectors with the goal of intimidating borrowers into paying off the debt. If a collection agency contacts and harasses you about an old debt, don't surrender the money immediately.

There are debt collection rules and you have rights.

• The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), gives you the right to make debt collectors verify debts. Within 35 days of being contacted by a debt collector, you can send a letter requesting the collector to validate your debt. The validation needs to include some documents from the original creditor proving you owe the debt, that the amount you owe is valid, and that the agency is allowed to collect the debt from you. Your request for validation must be made in writing and should be sent via certified mail with return receipt requested.

• Statute of Limitations on debt is the maximum time the debt collector can pursue repayment from you through the court system. However; although the statute of limitations has expired, collectors may still call you or may even file suit against you in court. To stop their calls, send a cease and desist letter to the collector. If the collector files suit against you, you must attend the hearing and prove that the statute of limitations on the debt has expired.

• Cease and Desist letter to ask the collector to stop contacting you. By sending a written cease and desist letter to the debt collector you can have the collector stop communicating with you about the debt altogether, regardless of the legitimacy of the debt. Such a letter should be sent via certified mail with return receipt requested. If the collector violates this request, you can take legal action. But keep in mind, a Cease and Desist does not relieve you of the debt.

• Credit Report Dispute. If you requested the collection agency to validate the debt and the debt is still in the 30 day validation period or the collector has failed to respond to the request altogether, the collector cannot legally add the debt to your credit report. In either case, you can have the account deleted from your credit by submitting a credit report dispute. The case for the dispute is stronger if you include a copy of your debt validation letter along with the certified and return receipt requests to show the collector's failure to respond and/or to validate the debt.

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