Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Maryland

can they ( collections)only sue for what they have paid?

Hi

I had a debt with MBNA years ago (10,000). A collection agency bought it for pennies on the dollar. Now after 4 years they are suing me. In most states one can only sue for what they actually lost. In this case they have lost nothing, as they are not creditors, they do not extend credit, and you never did business with them. The maximum that can be sued for is the amount they actually paid for the ''debt'', if that.

What is the Maryland law in regards to this?

I would like to set an appointment after getting my responce.

Thanks


Asked on 10/29/06, 2:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Holzman Holzman Law Firm, LLC

Re: can they ( collections)only sue for what they have paid?

Creditors CAN assign their right to collect under the contract to other parties. In fact that happens ALL the time. The company that buys the note has all of the rights to collect that the original lender had. HOWEVER, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT YOUR QUESION WAS THE REFERENCE TO THE TIME PERIOD. In Maryland, the statute of limitations for bringing a claim on a contract is 3 years. So, if the last payment was due and/or paid more than 3 years ago, then they can't win the lawsuit if you defend it properly. You should probably contact an attorney quickly and get some advice on this before you communciate with the law firm that represents the creditor. It may be that this creditor is actually violating the law by trying to collect a debt and threatening to take a legal action to which it is no longer entitled. Feel free to give me a call if you want to chat about it.

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Answered on 10/29/06, 11:09 pm


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