Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

If they sue you, you should go to court and if the debt is past the statute of limitations, the case should be dismissed. If you ignore it, they'll get a judgment against you and the fact that the statute of limitations had past won't matter. Write to the collection agency and tell them that the Statute of Limitations has past, and if they sue you, you will sue them under the Federal Fair debt Collection Practices Act, and you can get damage up to $1,000. Don't ignore it.

If this is a Pennsylvania debt, the statute of limitations is 4 years in Pennsylvania. The statute begins to run from the date of your last payment.

If you are being sued, stop posting here and get to a lawyer now. I know Attorney Greg Artim here at Law Guru does statewide credit card defense. I am sure there are many others.

Lawsuits happen - you get served with a complaint. You don't get letters that you are being sued. If you only have a letter from a debt collector and not a Pennsylvania lawyer, then you need to write a letter to the debt collector disputing the debt based on the statute of limitations (I call this a drop dead letter - many free samples abound on the internet). Keep a copy and send it certified, return receipt requested.

Some states have laws prohibiting sued on a debt barred by the statute of limitations. PA does not to my knowledge, the reason being that the statute of limitations is a waivable defense. This means that if you don't assert it, its waived. So that is why you need to take the letter to a lawyer now so you will better know what to do.

While I don't do litigation in PA, I can do a drop-dead letter or review what you have for a reasonable fee. Please contact me at [email protected] if interested.

To add to what the previous two attorneys have stated, you NEED to have a consumer attorney, whether its my firm or another, review the letter that you received from the company. If the letter threatens to sue you, and the debt is clearly past the SOL, then that is a violation of the FDCPA. A consumer attorney, again, whether its myself or another firm, will file a claim against this company and get money for you.

If I were you, I would not write the letter myself. Let a consumer attorney handle this. FDCPA violations are handled for free. They are free because the debt collector will pay the attorney.