Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

Tate & Kirlin is a debt collector. They do not own the debt. Either the debt is still owned by Access Group or else it is owned by some other junk debt buyer. On Georgia, the statute of limitations on most debts is 6 years. If its been more than six years since you last paid, suit by the current owner of the debt is very unlikely. Of course, that does not stop them from trying to collect on the debt. Once a debt always a debt - it never truly goes away.

There is generally no virtue or benefit to be had from paying a debt that is barred by the statute of limitations unless you are trying to get credit and the lender insists that you resolve old debts (usually mortgage lenders). Payment now will revive the statute of limitations so you have to be very careful and get a specific settlement letter (not just the offer) advising that if you pay the settlement, there will be no further collection activity and that no effort will be made to collect the balance of the debt.

This debt, if its over 6 years old, will either drop off your credit report in one year or it is already off there. If this were me, I would not settle or pay. If you want to do something, you can send them a drop dead letter advising that you believe collection of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations and that unless they send you verification of the debt demonstrating that you have a legal responsibility to pay and the date of your last payment, they are not to contact you anymore about this debt. I have some articles on my website at www.rachelhunterlaw.com about paying time-barred debt. You might want to check that out before you do anything.