Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: statutes

If the creditor sues in Virginia, then the 5 year

statute of limitations for a written contract

would apply. The 5 years begins to run from the

date that a payment was due and was not paid.

It does NOT run from the date that the contract

was signed, but when the first payment that was

due was not paid.

If this is a consumer debt, the Federal Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act would require the lawsuit

to be filed in the County where the debtor lives.

So, Virginia's statute of limitations applies.

The statute of limitations continues running

until a lawsuit is actually filed in court.

The activities of a debt collector do NOT

extend the statute of limitations.

However, Virginia DOES allow a lawyer to file a

lawsuit even outside the 5 years. You MUST show

up in court and object on the basis of the

statute of limitations. The judge will set the

case for trial, and again you must object on the

basis of the S.O.L. Otherwise, you will WAIVE

the defense of the statute of limitations.

The question of which law applies between PA and

VA is a tricky one. However, generally, with

regard to the statute of limitations, the SHORTER

of the PA or VA statute would apply, if the

lawsuit were filed in VA.

Generally, debt collectors can do nothing except

annoy you. They will make all kinds of threats,

but all they can do is refer the case to an

attorney. Although I do not want to oppose

anyone's method of making a living, unfortunately

many debt collectors actually get in the way of getting a debt paid by being obnoxious, and as an

attorney I often have to clean up the mess later.

However, by paying the one debt, you effectively

waive the statute of limitations. For that

reason, you cannot get the money back.

If you pay any money on the other accounts, or

make any promises, THAT can restart the statute

of limitations clock and you are back to square

one.

Re: statutes

You do not have to pay a debt which is past the statute of limitations (5 years for VA residents). Anybody who says otherwise is trying to snow you, apparently they succeeded. Do not make promises to pay or partial payments, this will reset the clock and enable them to sue you. Do a Google search on "FDCPA".