Recent Feedback
hi i owed some money to credit card company back in 2001. the credit card company charged off the debt on 2004. on december of 2009, i believe i made a $25 payment for the amount owed. i was hoping that i would get financially better and would pay them back. now the collection agency is calling about that money owed and telling me that since i have paid that $25 for a month or two, thereby the statue of limitiation has not expired and they are seeking for payments. 1) are they right 2) do i need to wait another 4 years before the statue run out. please advise.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: California
Hi, I'd like to help you with your questions this afternoon.
Did you file for bankruptcy at any point between 2001 and now?
Our chat has ended, but you can still continue to ask me questions here until you are satisfied with your answer. Come back to this page to view our conversation and any other new information. What happens now? If you haven’t already done so, please rate your answer above. Or, you can reply to me using the box below.
no i have not file no bankruptcy.
i do not want to file banckruptcy. ,
In California, the Statute of Limitations on Credit Card Debt is four years.
Unfortunately, it appears you may have been tricked by a practice called the "re-aging" of debts. When you made the $25 payment in 2009, the clock on the statute of limitations may have started anew, even if the debt was close to or even past the statute of limitations period at that time.
Thus, if the last activity on the account was the 12/09 payment, the credit card company or Collection Agency may have until 12/13 to file a lawsuit against you without violating the statute of limitations.
Please understand that if you acknowledge the debt or make any additional payments on this account, the statute of limitations could be reset AGAIN.
Here are some sample letters that you can write to the collections agency that will help limit the harrassing phone calls you may receive without acknowledging that you owe a debt (which you decidedly do NOT want to do).
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/help/debt-collection-sample-letters-6000.php
in the begining of the year, i got credit report and this liability was not reflected on my report. could they reflect this on my creidt report due to this trick of "reaging"
It's possible that the collections agency could restart collections (it sounds like this may have already happened), and then the debt could be reported to the credit bureaus. There may be a delay of a few months between the time the debt would be reported as delinquent and the time it would show up on your credit report.
If you want to dispute the debt (i.e. the debt would be reported as "in dispute" to the credit bureaus), see the following link: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-dispute-your-debt-with-a-debt-collector.html
Experience: Florida attorney with extensive experience in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy cases