Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

Re: collections

Tell them to pound sand. The statute of limitation is 4 years for a written agreement (credit cards, bank loans), 2 years for an oral agreement. If they persist, tell them you'll have to refer them to your lawyer. Get their information, and then contact an attorney to sue under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Re: collections

For every legal claim, there is a time limit to sue, knwon as a "statute of limitations." The statute of limitations in California for breach of written contract is four years. If the debt is 12 years old, then they cannot prevail on a lawsuit. You should tell them to go pound sand.

Re: collections

The first thing is not to make a payment on a debt which is likely outside the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations on a written contract in California is four years. If you make an additional payment on the account with the original creditor and/or assignee you run the possibility of restarting the statute. From a practical standpoint, just because you may not have a legally enforceable obligation to pay on the account that does not mean that a collection agency will stop trying to collect from you. If they file a lawsuit on a time barred debt, that action can give rise to a violation of the FDCPA. You also have the right to tell the collection agency that you refuse to pay on the time barred debt. I suggest sending that communication in writing. If they contact you after that it would violate the law.