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I have a few CA's calling to collect old debt. that will fall off in may next year from my credit report. I have told them that the SOL has past and they say they can still call and collect even after the 7 year period. Should i just send a C & D letter and wait 6 month to drop off. They still can't try to collect after that, can they?
Hi simplycindy
If the Statute of Limitation in you state has already expired, you need not pay back the debt even if they threaten to bring judgment against you. If the SOL has expired, the creditor cannot bring any judgment, but if you make even a single payment towards the debt, the SOL on the debt will rewind and you will be liable to pay the entire debt. Moreover, the debt is about to come out of your credit report within a few months and so you should not make any payment towards the debt.
Yes, Mary is right. Since the SOL period is already over, you should not pay off the debt because the collection agency has already lost their legal right to collect the debt. However, you can consult an lawyer and send them a cease and desist letter if they disturb you again. However, before sending the C and D letter, you should be sure that your SOL period has expired and they cannot sue you to the court.
You should take a peek at your report and look at their listing. Make sure they didn't renew the SOL by "adding" a payment you did not make. Better to be safe thasn sorry. You can alos inform them that the debt is past SOL and follow it up with a cease and desist letter. as Justin suggested but also you should be aware that once they see they can not collect on the debt they may sell it to yet another collector and you will have to go through this process again. Just keep a sample cease and desist letter on your computer so all you have to do is change the name of the collector print and sen certified.
Hi simplycindy
Both Mary and Justin are right. Since you are about to complete the 7 year period, you need not worry about the listing in your credit report. Moreover, your SOL has already expired and there is no way by which the creditor can sue you to the court to bring judgment against you. You can definitely send a cease and desist letter to the creditor which will stop them from disturbing you.
Mary when is the best time to send a cease and desist? Is it when your SOL is up? I am aware that you can send one at anytime but I was wondering if that if you did this before the SOL and they seen you were responding to them than they maybe more apt to push the issue. So say your SOL was up in four years and some junk collector was calling you would it be ebst then to send the cease and desist?
You can send a cease and desist letter anytime you want, provided you are sure that you do not owe the debt. This is because once you send a C and D letter, the creditor will move your account to legal status. But before you send a C and D letter, you should always send a debt validation letter by certified mail to be sure that the creditor to whom you will be sending the C and D letter, actually do not owe the debt. If they cannot validate the debt, and still disturb you for the debt, you can send a C and D letter.