Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

The statute of limitations on a loan of this kind is 4 years. If you have not made a payment in 4 years or received any additional money since 2005, you are not liable for repayment. I would immediately contact a lawyer who is familiar with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (see;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Debt_Collection_Practices_Act). This Act prevents the type of harrasment yuo describe in your question. Further, you may be entitled to $1,000 for each violation of the Act as well as payment of your attorneys fees.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law and only applies to debt collectors, not the original creditor.

If this is a legitimate payday lender with a legitimate US address (not a mailbox at a UPS-type of place), I would be happy to contact them for you in writing for a reasonable fee. You can contact me at [email protected] if interested.

The problem with payday lenders is that many of them are not in Pennsylvania or even in the United States! As a result, it is very very difficult to contact them as they do not abide by the laws as do legitimate debt collectors or original creditors.

First, pay ABSOLUTELY nothing. Even if you owed the debt, the debt is barred by the statute of limitations if the loan was allegedly made in 2005 and arose in PA.

Second, it is doubtful that this is a legitimate debt and, if this is the case, they cannot sue you for it. All they can do is call and harass you.

Thirdly, contact the attorney general for PA. Payday lenders must be registered with the state and I bet they are not registered. Make sure you get as much information about the company as possible - address, name, phone numbers and file a complaint.

You might want to obtain a copy of your credit report just to see if this debt is listed thereon. If not, then just laugh at this company and tell your relatives to do likewise. There is nothing that they can do to you except call. I would do obnoxious things like play really loud music when they call, pretend that you don't speak English or flush the toilet. Be inventive but don't do anything illegal. They will get sick of this and stop calling. Its easier than changing your phone number and getting your relatives to do the same.