Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan

Statute of Limitations for collecting a debt

Basically, I need to know what the statute of limitations is for a Michigan college saying all of a sudden after 5 years with no contact to me what-so-ever, I still owe them $793. They also want me to sign a promissary note to make arrangements to pay it which I said if I owe you money, why do I need to sign another agreement saying the same thing? I've gotten no real answer to this question.

I have never been contacted at all by this college regarding this matter and until June of last year I still lived at the same address in Michigan. They are trying to blame the fact that I moved and changed my name as my fault on making it hard to contact me. (Funny all my other mail got forwarded just fine in the past year) This burns my socks because I feel like if I would not have called there to request my transcripts this past March, they probably would have never looked, nor would the accuse me of not keeping my info. current. In fact I am the one who told them I moved when I initially called for an unofficial copy of my transcripts. It was not until I asked for the ''Official'' copy did I all of a sudden owe them.

Can someone please advise me on this? Is there a limitation of the timeframe in which they can collect?

Thanks!


Asked on 6/19/04, 8:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Regina Mullen Legal Data Services, PLC

Re: Statute of Limitations for collecting a debt

What's strange is the request that you sign a promissory note. Don't do it without the assistance of counsel.

If they didn't get the debt done properly in the first place, it is not your job now to ensure that they have the right to go against you in court later.

You MAY be required to pay in the final reel, but there is no reason for you to sign any sort of agreement to pay that shores up their prior arguable claim without a legal opinion about the enforceability of the claim,--the statute of limitations is not your most important point here, i suspect. Get legal advice, because you have a bargaining point now. If you sign, you may lose it.

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Answered on 6/19/04, 9:52 pm


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