 Dealing with old debts
|  Dear
Dr. Don,
Due to lengthy illness and five major operations, I have
been unable to pay certain credit card balances incurred in 1999 and 2000, and
there has been no activity of any kind on these credit card accounts in perhaps
six years.
The applicable statute of limitations in my state
is either three or six years. Can a collection agency that has acquired my credit
card account continue to pursue me even beyond the expired statute of limitations?
Thanks,
-- Allan Absolve
 Dear
Allan,
The statute of limitations on a credit card agreement does vary
by state. In most states the statute of limitations expires after three to six
years.
A Bankrate feature, "State
statutes of limitations for old debts," lists the statutes of limitations
by state.
 |
From that feature: | |
|
| Once
a debt passes beyond the statute of limitation in your state, a debt collector
no longer has the right to sue you for payment. You may still have a moral obligation
to pay back an old forgotten debt, but you can't be sued over it. |
| Any debt collector who threatens to sue
you over a debt that is beyond the statute of limitation in your state is in violation
of the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act. | |
The
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act will also spell out how you can get the collection
agency to stop contacting you. If the collection agency can't sue you for the
money, and it can't contact you about the debt, the agency is pretty much out
of the picture. It's important that you don't verify the debt
with the collection agency or make any type of payment on the account. You want
to avoid any situation that could restart the clock on the statute of limitations.
When in doubt about how to proceed, you should talk to an attorney. Most
negative payment history information stays on your credit report for seven years
from the date of the initial missed payment. So this payment history information
should be dropping off your credit report. Get a free copy of your credit report
to confirm that it is. The Bankrate feature, "How
to get your free credit report," explains how to get these free credit
reports. To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask
the Experts" page and select one of these topics: "financing a home,"
"saving & investing" or "money." | 
