I recently received a letter from a collection agency with atty in office to collect a debt that is 16 years old. They filed a Notice of Appearance with no date. Please advise.
As far as I know, a "Notice of Appearance" is filed by a debtor. A "Notice of Appearance" is filed with the court, when there is a lawsuit against you. When you file a "Notice of Appearance" you accept to participate in all the court proceedings related to the case, and are liable to receive all written documents of the proceedings.
A collection agency cannot sue a debtor for non-payment of debts, when the debt is well past the SOL period. But this does not stop them from continuing collection practices. A collection agency can continue to collect a debt for an unlimited time period. But if you make any payments for the debt accounts the SOL period will restart. So it will be wise enough to not pay, after the SOL period of a debt account has expired.
Does the debt account in question still appear on your credit report? I think you should send a "Cease and Desist Letter" to the collection agency. You can mention in the letter that you are aware, the debt accounts are past the SOL period and thus the CA cannot take any legal action, for non-payment of the debts. I think this letter will stop them from contacting you.
You will find a sample "Cease and Desist Letter" in the Letters of Credit section. You can use the same format, but make the necessary changes as I have already mentioned above.
Hi insifer,
As far as I know, a "Notice of Appearance" is filed by a debtor. A "Notice of Appearance" is filed with the court, when there is a lawsuit against you. When you file a "Notice of Appearance" you accept to participate in all the court proceedings related to the case, and are liable to receive all written documents of the proceedings.
A collection agency cannot sue a debtor for non-payment of debts, when the debt is well past the SOL period. But this does not stop them from continuing collection practices. A collection agency can continue to collect a debt for an unlimited time period. But if you make any payments for the debt accounts the SOL period will restart. So it will be wise enough to not pay, after the SOL period of a debt account has expired.
Hi insifer,
Does the debt account in question still appear on your credit report? I think you should send a "Cease and Desist Letter" to the collection agency. You can mention in the letter that you are aware, the debt accounts are past the SOL period and thus the CA cannot take any legal action, for non-payment of the debts. I think this letter will stop them from contacting you.
You will find a sample "Cease and Desist Letter" in the Letters of Credit section. You can use the same format, but make the necessary changes as I have already mentioned above.