Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

You do not really ask the right questions. Anything that is not a crime is LEGAL. However, there are laws which regulate what creditors and debt collectors can and cannot do. That said, there are lots of issues. Some are deliberately bad actors, know the rules of the game and choose to ignore them. Some may be junk debt buyers who don't know or got bad information from their predecessor and made a simple mistake.

First, you say that this is a 10-year old unpaid debt. Time is measured generally from the date of your last payment for statute of limitations purposes (which is generally 3 years in NC for most debts; 10 for some others). Statute of limitations is a court defense only; there is nothing precluding a debt collector from contacting you after the statute of limitations has expired. They just cannot sue on the debt and cannot tell you they will sue because they cannot, at least not in NC. Note I said last payment - many people revive the statute of limitations by sending in payments after the statute has expired. If this happens, the statute starts to re-set and begins to run anew.

For credit report purposes, a bad debt can stay on your credit report 7 years from the date of charge off or when the debt is sent to collections. Generally, this is about 6 months after the date of your last payment on the original debt.

Now credit bureaus ar notorious for having errors on credit reports. Also, there are creditors/debt collectors who improperly refresh the date of the debt (its a violation of law but not a crime). Credit bureaus do not have brains - they know only what they are told by creditors. If creditors furnish false information then credit bureaus report it. What you need to do is to dispute inaccurate or stale information and try and get it removed first. There is a specfic process that one must go through BEFORE you can sue. The steps are:

(1) first get a copy of your credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union). You can order one free credit report per year from each at www.annualcreditreport.com. You can download your reports or have them mailed to you. Download is quicker if you have a printer.

(2) Review your report. Get help (from me or a credit repair place if you cannot read your report and understand it).

(3) If you find inaccurate or stale information or that a debt has been illegally refreshed, then you have to write a letter to each of the credit bureaus (or the ones reporting the information) and tell them what is wrong and why and ask them to remove and update their files. Sample letters abound on the internet. You can get the addresses for the credit bureaus at their websites (www,equifax.com, www.experian.com or www.transunion,com). Send the letter by certified mail return receipt requested.

(4) wait 45 days. The credit bureaus will send you a revised report or tell you why they are not deleting the item(s) in question.

(5) if you still believe you are right, then send the same basic dispute letter to the creditor who is reporting the false information. It would help if you have any proof to support your claims. Ask them to report the debt accurately and remove the incorrect information. Send this letter certified return receipt requested. Most creditors and debt collectors have websites - verify the address for the collector/creditor listed on your report is correct. When in doubt, you can always send to the legal department at corporate headquarters. Ask for a response in 30 days.

(6) Wait 45 days and see if you get a response. Check your credit reports to see if the information has been corrected IF you are applying for new credit like refinancing a house or getting a car loan. You will have to pay for an updated report if you have already had your one free credit report. You can always get a free report at www.creditkarma.com (trans union) or www.creditsesame.com (experian). Otherwise, I would stagger getting a free report when your year is up and get a credit report from one of the bureaus every 4 months (example in january get an experian reportl in may get an equifax report and in september get a trans union report).

(7) if the information on the reports has not been corrected then its time to see a lawyer who specializes in FDCP/FCRA issues. I don't know where you are at - you are bound to find one. Lawyers love this because if you win, you can recover attorney fees from the erring collector or creditor. Your damages will be either your actual damages or at most $1000. Not a lot but a lot of the credit bureaus have refused to correct information and many people have sued .

(8) You also can try filing a complaint with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau at www.consumerfinance.gov