Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

If the balance has been due for more than four years, it is uncollectible and a lawsuit cannot be initiated to force you to pay. Collectors sometimes try to scare people to part with funds for old debt (a shoddy practice), which would start the clock running again. Feel free to e-mail me directly with more information to give you better direction.

There is no specific time for the credit card company to notify you that you owe the company money. The law assumes that you know your debts. However, usually they harrass you for a while before suing you to get you to pay without the expense and additional time to file the lawsuit. While I believe you can be sued even after four years, you have the legal defense of the statute of limitations four years after the date you stopped making payments (the default date). If you are sued too late then you need to answer the complaint for money and list the statute of limitations as one of your legal defenses to why you no longer owe the money legally. There are exceptions to the 5-year statute of limitations that might apply to your case but that is rare.

Correction to my original answer. The last sentence of my answer is replaced by:

"There are exceptions to the 4-year statute of limitations that might apply to your case but that is rare."

The statute of limitations to file suit on a written contract, including a credit card debt, is four (4) years from the date of the breach of contract (default date) and not five years. That was a typo in my original answer in the last sentence. Please read my entire original answer where I do mention at the beginning that the statute of limitations applicable on a written obligation is 4 years.