Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Oregon

Re: credit card charge off

A New York attorney cannot appear in Oregon cours (with the possible exception of pro hac vice, but unlikely here, unless this debt is for a large sum of money). "Appear" means filing a lawsuit.

So, you should be safe from this attorney, but the debt can be resold to someone else who will try all over again (like spiders, these things tend to resurrect). So, he may be referring to the fact that an Oregon attorney will file a lawsuit soon.

Attorneys should generally not use words to the effect of "they WILL file suit" unless they really will. It is a more appropriate for attorneys to phrase their intentions more cautiously such as that they are "evaluating" or "considering" filing. So the exact wording of what the attorney says is important for knowing what will happen next. This is in contrast to non-attorney debt collectors who, if my clients' reports are true, are creative in what they say.

The status of "charged off" is between you and the original creditor, but the rights to collect the debt have been assigned.

There is also your credit report to worry about.