Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

First, stop talking to these low-lifes. In order to get them to stop calling you at work, you need to tell them, in writing, to stop. Telling them verbally is not good enough.

The magic language that you use is "Please do not call me at work as my employer does not allow me to receive personal calls." And if you have no intentions of paying because the statute of limitations has expired, then you add to your letter that they are not to contact you anymore.

There is a provision in both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as well as Pennsylvania state law which states that if they know you are represented by an attorney, then they cannot contact you. Should you choose to hire me or any other attorney, the attorney can send them a cease and desist letter.

Your second issue concerns the debt itself. When was the date of your last payment? Where was the debt incurred, Pennsylvania or another state? What is the debt for? Credit cards, medical bills or something else? Who is the collector? Some are nice, some are ok and some are horrid, so it makes a difference.

If the debt was incurred in Pennsylvania and if has been 4 or more years since you made any kind of a payment, the statute of limitations is 4 years. In such case, I would pay nothing or make a very low offer to settle for 15% to 25% of the debt if and when you had the funds. Don't make the offer if you do not have funds. You also need to be careful as you do not want to revive the statute or acknowledge the debt, so I would suggest that you have an attorney do this when you are ready.

If the statute of limitations does not bar the debt, that means that the junk debt buyer or original creditor can still sue you. You need to find out how much is owed. You mention your budget. The more money that you can pay in a lump sum, the lower the settlement number will be. If you do not have the funds, save up until you have at least 50% of what the balance is and then try to settle the debt at that time. Depending on the creditor and the debt collector, if no lawsuit is filed, they will settle for anywhere between 20% and 50%. Once a lawsuit is filed, the percentage is between 50% and 80% in most cases. There are exceptions. Again, it is best to go through an attorney, as you want to make sure that you get a written agreement from them before you send them a penny.

I give free consults via email and would be able to review your situation in confidence and give you better advise if I knew more of the details. If you are interested, please contact me at [email protected].

Additionally, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides that you can sue the collection agency for violations of the Act, and receive $1,000 and payment of your attorneys fees if you win. So keep a record of each and every contact from the collection agency, including dates, times and the name of the person who called you. Make sure you give them clear notice that they are not to contact you at work, by either certified mail or explicit instruction to an individual who calls you and get their names.