Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
statute of limitations on credit card debt
I had a credit card in 1989 that I stopped paying on.It was charged
off.There is nothing on my credit report and there is no judgement
against me. Can a collection agency come after me for this now,
14 years later? I did move from CA to MN in 1992,does this
matter?I asked the collection agency(Camco) to send me
documentation and all they sent was a letter saying that I owed
money with no indication of who the original debt was to.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: statute of limitations on credit card debt
It depends on when you stopped paying on the debt. The statute of limitations in California on a written contract (which is what this probably is) is four years. So, if you stopped paying more than four years ago, the answer would be no, and it makes no difference whether you moved from California or not.
You may want to go to http://www.ftc.gov (the Federal Trade Commission's website) and look at the material they have concerning consumer debt, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You may also want to consider submitting a complaint to the FTC about the collection agency's activities, particularly if they are not willing to provide the information you have requested.
Re: statute of limitations on credit card debt
no they can not, no not matter where you live. They should not even be contacting you.
Joel Selik
800-894-2889
Re: statute of limitations on credit card debt
The statue of limitations for breach of contract is California is four years. They can't get you to pay. Nor can they threaten to sue you, etc., because they have no right to do so. Their hope is that they can get you to sign a promissory note making a new promise to pay based on the old debt. Were you to make a new promise, then they could hold you to it and sue you if you don't pay it. Just tell them to quit contacting you. And don't make any new promise to pay.
Re: statute of limitations on credit card debt
You have a valid defense as long as no judgment was issued and renewed. You may also have a lawsuit against the collection agency. Please contact me to discuss it. I just sued that defendant on another case. 714 363 0220