Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Ohio

i live in Ohio and was recently contacted by a law firm that wants to sue me for an old unpaid credit card bill. The statue of limitations, according to Ohio law, has ezpired on this debt and i plan to respond to the court and attorney citing the statue of limitation expiration. I just found out that my mother called the law firm last week, pretending to be me, and inquired about this case. She knows my social and other information, so she was able to get information on the file. I am concerned now, because I am afraid that her unasked for inquiry can start the statue of limitation all over. Should I be concerned?


Asked on 7/10/12, 11:19 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eric Willison Eric Eastman Willison

In Ohio, the statute of limitations would be extended by a payment or by another use of the credit card. Inquiries by someone who is not you would not extend the statute. You should contact the collector with your concerns and set up some sort of password to make sure that your mother can't access your account information in the future.

You will also want to sent the collections firm a letter indicating that you dispute the validity of the debt and request that they verify the debt and report the results of their investigation back to you. You might also want to point out that you suspect that the debt is past the applicable statute of limitations (six years in Ohio an an unwritten contract, 15 years on a contract in writing).

You may have a counterclaim in any lawsuit that they file against you for a violation of the fair debt collection practices act if they sue on a debt that is actually past the statute of limitations. Such a lawsuit would provide you with reasonable attorneys fees if you were to prevail.

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Answered on 7/10/12, 11:25 am


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