Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

This is not a forum for law school essays. Nor do you divulge the source of what you read. It could be true or it could be false. However, I am not going to debate an unknown without having the chance to investigate both the source and substance of the information relayed. I can tell you that based on my experience, you have to read and re-read the statute and then go and read the cases interpreting it because sometimes what you read in the statute is not what the court says it is and if you just relied on the statute you would be wrong. So some internet source could just be looking at a statute and coming up with a conclusion. If, however, the article was about NC law and written by an NC attorney, then it might have more credence.

I have not researched the issue lately but I am unaware of any provision that prohibits tolling for credit card debt.

North Carolina's tolling provision

� 1-21. Defendant out of State; when action begun or judgment enforced.

If when the cause of action accrues or judgment is rendered or docketed against a person, he is out of the State, action may be commenced, or judgment enforced within the times herein limited after the return of the person into this State, and if, after such cause of action accrues or judgment is rendered or docketed, such person departs from and resides out of this State, or remains continuously absent therefrom for one year or more, the time of his absence shall not be a part of the time limited for the commencement of the action or the enforcement of the judgment. Provided, that where a cause of action arose outside of this State and is barred by the laws of the jurisdiction in which it arose, no action may be maintained in the courts of this State for the enforcement thereof, except where the cause of action originally accrued in favor of a resident of this State.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to the extent that a court of this State has or continues to have jurisdiction over the person under the provisions of G.S. 1-75.4.

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The problem here is that you left the United States and you were no longer subject to jurisdiction. While there can be service of process on people in foreign countries, service of process can be complicated. In my experience, creditors just are not going to spend that kind of money. Also, depends on the foreign country where you were at because the methods of service are different depending on the country.

How long has it been? Is the creditor aware of your existence? When did the default occur or when was the date of your last payment? How much do you owe? What has happened in your absence as far as creditor correspondence goes? How long were you away? You have to answer these questions for yourself.

The statute of limitations in North Carolina is very short - 3 years for credit card debt. I do not know how much time elapsed from the date of default until you left or when you returned and how much time is remaining. I also do not know what you owe or whether the debt is still being reported on your US credit report.

I would suggest that you begin by getting a copy of your US credit report and seeing whether this debt is even on there. If 3 or more years have elapsed between the date of your last payment on the debt and all of the time you spent in NC (not counting the time you were out of the country/outside NC) then the statute of limitations has expired. If it has not expired, how much time is left? You might just want to play a waiting game and see if anything pops up, especially if nothing is on your credit. If you need credit (like a mortgage or want to buy a car), then you need to see how much the debt is for and have to decide whether to resolve it (by paying in full or settling for less than is owed) and be done and not have to worry or take your chances and wait until the debt drops off and hope that you do not get sued. If a judgment was entered, that should be on the credit report as well unless more than 7 years have elapsed since the date the judgment was entered.

Statute of limitations is only a defense that applies in the context of a lawsuit. It is possible that a judgment was already entered (I had this situation happen to a client of mine who left California and went to India only to discover that judgment was entered when he returned). If judgment was entered, when and where? Judgments in NC are good for 10 years for enforcement purposes from the date of entry. So even if the judgment was NOT on your credit it still could be enforceable if it was entered. And because of the way the tolling statute is written, it also applies to the enforcement of judgments which would extend the statute.

My advice to you would be to get your credit report. Depending on what you find, you then might want to talk to a lawyer about this debt and decide what to do.