Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

I received a letter from a collection agency last week stating that they've purchased a debt that I owe and I have 30 days from the receipt of the letter to dispute its validity.

I contacted the original creditor and found the debt was sold to the debt buyer over 3 years ago. Why would they be contacting me after all this one to "dispute" the debt?

I know they have to make reasonable effort to notify me of purchasing the debt. Is this their way of attempting to prove that I know they now own the debt? I can't think of any reason they would make their first attempt to contact me 3+ years with language that would imply that they just purchased the debt.


Asked on 1/21/17, 10:39 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

They are required to give you 30-days to dispute the debt before taking further steps to collect. It may have been bundled and passed around several "bottom feeder" debt buyers before now. It may have gotten lost in the system. Who knows why it took this long. If the debt is over 3 years old, however, they are coming up on the 4-year statute of limitations. If they don't file a lawsuit before the time runs, they lose the right to do so. That would be why, now, they are giving you the 30-day warning. They may or may not bother to sue, but they have to do that first.

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Answered on 1/21/17, 2:51 pm


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