Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: Statute of limitatins for charge off's?

I'm not sure what you mean when you say a charge-off. However, here is the law. For a written contract, the statute of limitations is 5 years from the date of "BREACH" -- *NOT* the date when it was signed. That is, if a payment was due on August 1, 1999, and the payment was not made, then the creditor has 5 years, until August 1, 2004, to file a lawsuit. On August 2, it is too late. However, under Virginia law, this is a defense. They can still claim it and call you and ask for the money. They can still file a lawsuit. But you must SAY to the court "I dispute this debt because it is outside the statute of limitations" (or something like that). Once you say something like that, it stops dead. The lawsuit is dead. The claim is dead. The fat lady of the opera is singing and walking off the stage.

Now, what about an oral contract (no written contract)? This is more complicated. The statute of limitations is 3 years, but it is measured differently. It is 3 years from EITHER the date of the last payment that was made OR the date of the last service or product that was provided under the account.

Of course, if you say anything in writing agreeing with the date or agreeing to pay anything on the debt, you can restart the clock again back to the start. And then the statute of limitations starts to run again for another 5 or 3 years.