Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Alabama
Closed account purchased by third party 12 years later and sueing.
Can a company purchase a charged off repossessed vehicle account 12 years old and sue for collection of the loan balance? I have recieved legal papers notifying me that I am being sued by a third party company that has purchased a closed and charged off account that is over 10 years old. Can this hold up in court? If so, on what grounds? Am I liable for the account if it is not being pursued by a hired collections company of the original lender, but by a third party company in the business of purchasing charged off accounts at a discounted rate and attempting to collect on them?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Closed account purchased by third party 12 years later and sueing.
Based on the limited information given it appears that the statute of limitations has ran. You should see a lawyer ASAP. Do not let the court enter a default. In addition you may have a case under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
Re: Closed account purchased by third party 12 years later and sueing.
The advice earl gave you is good advice. there is authority from courts that suing on a debt where the statute of limitations has expired can violate the federal law - fair debt collection practices act. it may also give you an option to sue the company under state law.
also, you should check your credit reports (all 3) to see if this debt is on there. based on how i understand your question, this should not be on your report but oftentimes these companies buy old debts and report the old debts when they should not. you can check out your credit reports for free at www.annualcreditreport.com.
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