Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

To rephrase your question, debt collectors buy debts all the time, and yes, they can try to collect them. If you are in that situation, you should immediately talk to a lawyer. Depending on the details, you may be able to eliminate the debt in bankruptcy, sue the collector for their efforts, or even, with proper paperwork, ignore them because of the age of the debt. Doing this wrong, or saying something wrong, could revive a stale debt and cost you a lot of money.

"Harass?" What do you define as harassment? The debt collector cannot harass you under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Examples of harassment may include any or all of the following: calling before 8 am and after 9 pm in your time zone; causing the phone to ring a ridiculous number of times; calling you at work even though you have told them in writing not to do so; contacting you if they know you are represented by an attorney; contacting you without validating the debt if you have requested it in writing; threatening you with bodily harm; or threatening to do something which they legally cannot do or that they do not intend to do. The list is not exhaustive but these are among the most common types of things. If you are being truly harassed, you may need to consult an attorney in Georgia specializing in FDCPA violations. Under the act, you may be able to recover attorney's fees, and your actual damages or up to $1000 depending on the violation.

Can they collect? Yes. They can legally try to collect a debt until you die and even after that from your estate if all they are doing is writing letters. They can even sue, although some states prohibit the filing of suit after the statute of limitations has run. The statute is 6 years in Georgia for a credit card debt and runs from the last payment on the debt in most cases. If you are sued after the statute of limitations has run, then see a lawyer immediately and pay the lawyer to draft an answer for you and get the case dismissed. See a lawyer even if you are contacted after the statute is run. You may be able to send what I call a "drop dead" letter (do an internet search on that term for sample letters) if the statute has run. A lawyer can advise you of your rights in such case.

If the statute has not run and you are not sure what to do, I give free consults via email and charge $50 for a 30 minute phone consult. Please contact me at [email protected] if you would like to address your case in confidence.