That statute of limitations is the limit of the amount of time that can pass from the time the debt was due that the creditor has to sue the debtor for breach of contract (non-payment of the debt). In your case measuring from the last time you used the card to buy something, the limit is 3 years, as shown here:


http://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeofAlabama/1975/6-2-37.htm


You can inform the creditor that since the statute of limitations has passed, you believe that his statements about threatening to sue you may be a violation of Section 807(5) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, shown here:


http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf


You can also state that under 805(a)(3)(c ) of the FDCPA (at the link above) that you refuse to pay the debt and that you wish the debt collector to cease communication with you.


Lastly, you can sue debt collectors for violations of the FDCPA. If there is a violation of the Act, then under Section 813, debtors can collect $1,000 plus reasonable attorney's fees (typically about $2,500) for a violation of the Act. Since the attorney's fees are stated in the statute as being paid by the creditor if the case is successful, it is common for attorneys to take cases like this on a contingency basis, where the attorney is paid only if he is successful, and then he'll take payment from the creditor.


I hope you found this answer to be excellent, and if you need additional information, just let me know.


Thanks,
Jim