Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

Do I have to pay this legally?

I was recently notified about a collection account that is

9 years old. Should this not be purged off my credit

report? This also only showed up after a home

purchase. Is there any law of limitations that one

company can legally collect a debt after a certain

amount of years?


Asked on 8/17/04, 5:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Baker Law Office of David Baker

Re: Do I have to pay this legally?

Credit reporting agencies generally can make their own rules about when something must come off the report, but there may be a law about it. I think it would be easiest just to write them and ask them to remove it. As to the statute of limitations, the limitation for a contract is USUALLY six years, but in rare cases it can be twenty, at least in Massachusetts. The statute does not prevent a creditor from filing a lawsuit, as the statute is a defense which you must tell the court about. The court would probably then dismiss the lawsuit.

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Answered on 8/18/04, 9:23 am


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