Wow, what a mess right, it amazes me what these companies get a way with sometimes, this is just robbery.
I would send them debt validation letters, I would not pay these collection agencies this much money, that is just nuts. Send a debt validation letter, make sure that you send it certified mail, return receipt requested.
Thats all good advice and needs to be followed Erb. Nicegirl what are the statue of lim itations for the state you are in? You can give us the state and we can tell you. Erb do you think that the OP would be prtected by SOL. The fall off date suggests that it might depending on the state. That just seems like an absurd amount to repay to those collectors.
Check your states limit for allowed interest to accrue. Collections cannot charge you the same interest that the credit card companies can. Once that card is in default there is a limit to what they can charge. Here is florida i believe in is 10 or 11 percent. Also you might want to check the statue of limitations in your state. If you havent made a payment in three years and your states statute is 4 just ignore it. If they try to sue you, you can always try to settle before you have to go to court.
Hi nicegirl
As first you need to know how old is your debt. If your debt is had passed the statute of limitation of your state then you need not worry about it. It will stay in your credit report for seven years and will automatically be removed. However, if it has not crossed the SOL, you need to contact the collection agency to make them agree for a reduction of the debt amount. Most of the collection agencies agree to settle at 60% of the total debt if you can negotiate.
From what I have read online, the SOL is 6 years in Maryland. I think the last payment that I made was in 2005, so that would be about 3 more years I guess. But I don't know how to find out about the interest rate and how much they can charge. I didn't even know interest was still increasing.
Does this mean that they are going to go after me more strongly? I haven't heard from anyone at all, except a letter last year that it went to another collection agency (yet again--it seems to have gone through like 4 or 5 by now). But I fear they will try to sue me for it because it is so high and increasing.
I have not even used the card since 2003 (purchases or cash advance), but would a court still expect me to pay nearly 10,000 in interest? That's what it feels like. Should I wait until they threaten before I send them debt verification letter? I feel that contacting them may make things worse (unless I contact them correctly, I suppose...)
Hi Nicegirl
Since the SOL in your state is 6 years, you need to wait for another 3 years. Within these 3 years, it is quite possible that the creditor can sue you to the court and bring judgment against you. So you should contact your creditor and try make them agree to settle for a less amount. Mostly they agree to settle at 60% to 80% of the outstanding amount. After that go for a repayment plan which you think will suit you.
Justin I thought that there was a point that they were not allowed to add anymore interest to the debt, especially when other creditors are buying it. I can be misinformed.
Nice girl you need to look for new post on this forum and ask that question. Maybe you will get someone who knows the rules to this.
My main problem wasn't exactly paying it, but establishing a repayment plan that may potentially go on forever because of interest still going up. Since its such a large amount, the interest seems to be going up fast. I did that before (paying on it every month) and it never went down. I am in the same financial situation as before, husband and I never made much combined at all, last year it was $17,000 yearly, though we made about 28,000 combined when we weren't in school. So I don't want to end up paying a lot of interest for years for nothing again, only to watch it continue to go up as I pay what I can.
She sounds as if she has been making payments on this, if that is the case then this is not good news. Hopefully she will come back and explain if she has made payments recently or not.
Statute of Limitations starts at the date of last activity, weather it is with a collector or the original creditor.
I am opretty sure if she did make payments she pretty muc=h hurt herself cause I believe Maryland has on of the lowest SOL...I think it is three years. But as you said hopefully she will stop back and we can see what we can help her with.
I have not made any payments since 2005, and also have not contacted anyone since the original credit card company then. I think it is now with Calvary Portfolio Svcs. So no payments at all. They have not tried to contact me either though (I don't think they can find me anymore; I did move).
If you aren't making a ton of money and this debt being so much I know I would probaly let it age and hope for SOL. I know there is a point that they can no longer add interest. I wish someone who knew that naswer was on and could answer cause I don't remember how it goes. I had thought once it left the original creditors hand but I am unsure of this.
Fireyone, it sounds like that's the best advice I can take as of now. To just wait it out. But I guess if I get a letter of them trying to sue, then I will respond with a DV letter and go from there. Thanks.
I know how it feels when you have debts you can not pay. I have one that should be past SOL but I worry constantly over it. My nerves are really bad since I was in an auto accident a year ago the bills have really accumulated. Sometimes I suddenly wake out of my sleep over it all. Just hang in there and good luck.
Thanks. I've also been losing sleep worrying. And this constant job hunt is not helping my optimism either. And with all the new information and reading the law, its just more confusing and overwhelming, which doesn't help immediately. But I know eventually everything will be okay.
Good luck to you too. Your comments are encouraging.
All the research and reading this forum also makes me want to try to fight the entire system legally one day. Wishful thinking, but maybe someday I will try something--someone has to do something about all this eventually. Where are OUR lobbyists? *Sigh*...
Credit card laws need to be relooked at. What really peeves me off is how the original creditor will sell a debt for pennies but won't give the debtor an opportunity to pay that or less than they owe to clear the debt.
Believe me I am swamped with debt at the moment and I know what losinf=g sleep is all about. I don't think I got a full nights reast since the accident and now all these med bills are piling up plus perscription costs and worst of all since I can't work the ccard debt got higher.. just hanging in there...don't they say it gets worse before it gets better?
Make sure you pull your report and look to see whn you made your last payment...this really matters sinced it is just approaching SOL and DO NOT contact any of them....
Yes, I too checked it. The SOL in Maryland is 3 years and since you made you last payment is 2005, your SOL is about to expire in 2008. You need not send any debt validation letter now, because as soon as you send the DV letter, they will run after you for the debt after validating it. So you need to wait till they ask for repayment and if they don't ask for repayment of the debt till the time the SOL expires, you need not require to pay it back.
Anthiny, When does the actual SOL time start? That has been a question I can not seem to get a straight answer to. Is it the last payment or 180 days after the last payment?
Hi Fireyone
Statute of Limitation starts after six months from the date you made the first missed payment. Now, since the SOL in Maryland is 3 years, if the last payment was made in 1st January 05, the SOL starts from 1st June 2005. From 1st June 05 for 3 years ie 1st June 08 is your SOL period and the creditors can sue you only within this period. Beyond June 08, the creditors cannot sue you but the negative listing will stay in your report for seven years even though SOL has expired.
Well Ok. then nicegirl can not be protected yet. I think her last payment was this time three years ago. I remember reading a date she had put on another post. So she actually will have 6 more months to go.
Hi everyone. I'm back two years later. I hope you can still help me out because this debt has come back to rear its ugly head.
But now the debt is over $14,000 and I recently received a summons from them, although I'm not sure it was served properly. It was left in an envelope somewhere randomly and someone called me to tell me they had the envelope in lost and found. I picked it up and that's the only way I was able to get it. So I'm not even sure how much time I have to turn it in. I think they purposefully waited this long to sue me so that they can get as much interest as possible and maybe they were hoping I wouldn't get the summons correctly so that they can get default judgment.
Either way, I now now the SOL in MD is 3 years and the last official payment was 8/2005. That was the last activity. It went to default and was sent to collections in 2/2006 (6 mths later).
I'm not sure how I should respond. I am thinking the SOL is definitely up, but I'm afraid because why would they sue me if that's so obvious?
I've looked everywhere to find the rules but can someone explain EXACTLY when SOL starts in MD and also a link of where they got that information? It seems like there has to be some hidden rule or something. Everyone says IN GENERAL its date of last activity but should I trust this? I don't want to be caught off guard in court, esp. since I won't have a lawyer.
I'm not sure it was served properly. It was left in an envelope somewhere randomly and someone called me to tell me they had the envelope in lost and found
There is no such rule that requires the debt collector to serve you the papers face to face. They can leave it at the door just like that.
Yes the Statute of Limitations (SOL) in Maryland is 3 years for credit cards. The SOL starts from the date of last payment made. So, check out from your credit report your last payment date. Even if the debt is sold off to a collection agency this date does not change. You cannot be sued after the expiry of the SOL. You will have to v in court that the SOL on this debt has expired. As proof you can provide copies of the last payment receipt, and the credit report showing your true last payment date.
Wow, what a mess right, it amazes me what these companies get a way with sometimes, this is just robbery.
I would send them debt validation letters, I would not pay these collection agencies this much money, that is just nuts. Send a debt validation letter, make sure that you send it certified mail, return receipt requested.
Thats all good advice and needs to be followed Erb. Nicegirl what are the statue of lim itations for the state you are in? You can give us the state and we can tell you. Erb do you think that the OP would be prtected by SOL. The fall off date suggests that it might depending on the state. That just seems like an absurd amount to repay to those collectors.
Check your states limit for allowed interest to accrue. Collections cannot charge you the same interest that the credit card companies can. Once that card is in default there is a limit to what they can charge. Here is florida i believe in is 10 or 11 percent. Also you might want to check the statue of limitations in your state. If you havent made a payment in three years and your states statute is 4 just ignore it. If they try to sue you, you can always try to settle before you have to go to court.
Love your posting credit. Always know there will be aome good advice where I see your name. Thanks.
Hi nicegirl
As first you need to know how old is your debt. If your debt is had passed the statute of limitation of your state then you need not worry about it. It will stay in your credit report for seven years and will automatically be removed. However, if it has not crossed the SOL, you need to contact the collection agency to make them agree for a reduction of the debt amount. Most of the collection agencies agree to settle at 60% of the total debt if you can negotiate.
I really hope she comes back and answers so that we can help her.
From what I have read online, the SOL is 6 years in Maryland. I think the last payment that I made was in 2005, so that would be about 3 more years I guess. But I don't know how to find out about the interest rate and how much they can charge. I didn't even know interest was still increasing.
Does this mean that they are going to go after me more strongly? I haven't heard from anyone at all, except a letter last year that it went to another collection agency (yet again--it seems to have gone through like 4 or 5 by now). But I fear they will try to sue me for it because it is so high and increasing.
I have not even used the card since 2003 (purchases or cash advance), but would a court still expect me to pay nearly 10,000 in interest? That's what it feels like. Should I wait until they threaten before I send them debt verification letter? I feel that contacting them may make things worse (unless I contact them correctly, I suppose...)
Hi Nicegirl
Since the SOL in your state is 6 years, you need to wait for another 3 years. Within these 3 years, it is quite possible that the creditor can sue you to the court and bring judgment against you. So you should contact your creditor and try make them agree to settle for a less amount. Mostly they agree to settle at 60% to 80% of the outstanding amount. After that go for a repayment plan which you think will suit you.
Justin I thought that there was a point that they were not allowed to add anymore interest to the debt, especially when other creditors are buying it. I can be misinformed.
Nice girl you need to look for new post on this forum and ask that question. Maybe you will get someone who knows the rules to this.
Okay, Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
My main problem wasn't exactly paying it, but establishing a repayment plan that may potentially go on forever because of interest still going up. Since its such a large amount, the interest seems to be going up fast. I did that before (paying on it every month) and it never went down. I am in the same financial situation as before, husband and I never made much combined at all, last year it was $17,000 yearly, though we made about 28,000 combined when we weren't in school. So I don't want to end up paying a lot of interest for years for nothing again, only to watch it continue to go up as I pay what I can.
who has it now a collection agency? If you made any payment at all then you started the Statute of Limitations all over again.
Gn is exactly right. Anytime you make a payment the SOL starts from the date of last activity, which a payment would be considered as an activity.
She sounds as if she has been making payments on this, if that is the case then this is not good news. Hopefully she will come back and explain if she has made payments recently or not.
Statute of Limitations starts at the date of last activity, weather it is with a collector or the original creditor.
I am opretty sure if she did make payments she pretty muc=h hurt herself cause I believe Maryland has on of the lowest SOL...I think it is three years. But as you said hopefully she will stop back and we can see what we can help her with.
Hopefully, we shall see.
I believe there are two posts on this subject. I read another one. Maybe someone told her to begin a new post and that is why she hasn't stopped back.
I have not made any payments since 2005, and also have not contacted anyone since the original credit card company then. I think it is now with Calvary Portfolio Svcs. So no payments at all. They have not tried to contact me either though (I don't think they can find me anymore; I did move).
If you aren't making a ton of money and this debt being so much I know I would probaly let it age and hope for SOL. I know there is a point that they can no longer add interest. I wish someone who knew that naswer was on and could answer cause I don't remember how it goes. I had thought once it left the original creditors hand but I am unsure of this.
Fireyone, it sounds like that's the best advice I can take as of now. To just wait it out. But I guess if I get a letter of them trying to sue, then I will respond with a DV letter and go from there. Thanks.
I know how it feels when you have debts you can not pay. I have one that should be past SOL but I worry constantly over it. My nerves are really bad since I was in an auto accident a year ago the bills have really accumulated. Sometimes I suddenly wake out of my sleep over it all. Just hang in there and good luck.
Thanks. I've also been losing sleep worrying. And this constant job hunt is not helping my optimism either. And with all the new information and reading the law, its just more confusing and overwhelming, which doesn't help immediately. But I know eventually everything will be okay.
Good luck to you too. Your comments are encouraging.
All the research and reading this forum also makes me want to try to fight the entire system legally one day. Wishful thinking, but maybe someday I will try something--someone has to do something about all this eventually. Where are OUR lobbyists? *Sigh*...
Credit card laws need to be relooked at. What really peeves me off is how the original creditor will sell a debt for pennies but won't give the debtor an opportunity to pay that or less than they owe to clear the debt.
Believe me I am swamped with debt at the moment and I know what losinf=g sleep is all about. I don't think I got a full nights reast since the accident and now all these med bills are piling up plus perscription costs and worst of all since I can't work the ccard debt got higher.. just hanging in there...don't they say it gets worse before it gets better?
Make sure you pull your report and look to see whn you made your last payment...this really matters sinced it is just approaching SOL and DO NOT contact any of them....
Yes, I too checked it. The SOL in Maryland is 3 years and since you made you last payment is 2005, your SOL is about to expire in 2008. You need not send any debt validation letter now, because as soon as you send the DV letter, they will run after you for the debt after validating it. So you need to wait till they ask for repayment and if they don't ask for repayment of the debt till the time the SOL expires, you need not require to pay it back.
Anthiny, When does the actual SOL time start? That has been a question I can not seem to get a straight answer to. Is it the last payment or 180 days after the last payment?
Hi Fireyone
Statute of Limitation starts after six months from the date you made the first missed payment. Now, since the SOL in Maryland is 3 years, if the last payment was made in 1st January 05, the SOL starts from 1st June 2005. From 1st June 05 for 3 years ie 1st June 08 is your SOL period and the creditors can sue you only within this period. Beyond June 08, the creditors cannot sue you but the negative listing will stay in your report for seven years even though SOL has expired.
Well Ok. then nicegirl can not be protected yet. I think her last payment was this time three years ago. I remember reading a date she had put on another post. So she actually will have 6 more months to go.
UPDATE!
Hi everyone. I'm back two years later. I hope you can still help me out because this debt has come back to rear its ugly head.
But now the debt is over $14,000 and I recently received a summons from them, although I'm not sure it was served properly. It was left in an envelope somewhere randomly and someone called me to tell me they had the envelope in lost and found. I picked it up and that's the only way I was able to get it. So I'm not even sure how much time I have to turn it in. I think they purposefully waited this long to sue me so that they can get as much interest as possible and maybe they were hoping I wouldn't get the summons correctly so that they can get default judgment.
Either way, I now now the SOL in MD is 3 years and the last official payment was 8/2005. That was the last activity. It went to default and was sent to collections in 2/2006 (6 mths later).
I'm not sure how I should respond. I am thinking the SOL is definitely up, but I'm afraid because why would they sue me if that's so obvious?
I've looked everywhere to find the rules but can someone explain EXACTLY when SOL starts in MD and also a link of where they got that information? It seems like there has to be some hidden rule or something. Everyone says IN GENERAL its date of last activity but should I trust this? I don't want to be caught off guard in court, esp. since I won't have a lawyer.
summons
Hi Nicegirl,
I'm not sure it was served properly. It was left in an envelope somewhere randomly and someone called me to tell me they had the envelope in lost and found
There is no such rule that requires the debt collector to serve you the papers face to face. They can leave it at the door just like that.
Yes the Statute of Limitations (SOL) in Maryland is 3 years for credit cards. The SOL starts from the date of last payment made. So, check out from your credit report your last payment date. Even if the debt is sold off to a collection agency this date does not change. You cannot be sued after the expiry of the SOL. You will have to v in court that the SOL on this debt has expired. As proof you can provide copies of the last payment receipt, and the credit report showing your true last payment date.
Thanks,
Aaron