Can a collector still collect a debt from January 1966 or does a statute of limitations apply?

Answer 1

The Fair Credit Reporting Act established statute of limitations for how long derogatory information, like collection accounts, can appear on your credit report. Other statute of limitations on how long a debt can be collected on, and sued over, are established by state laws. There are also certain types of debts with no SOL, once again, because of other laws which supercede the FCRA, FDCPA and state laws. You need to provide more information about the type of debt before specific information can be provided.

ansStatute of Limitations (SoL) on debt is the legal time limit that bars enforcement of the debt through the court system. It does not apply to all debts!Not all debt has a statute of limitations! When the SoL expires, it can be used as a defense to bar collectors from collecting through the courts, however the debt DOES NOT go away! Collectors can still attempt to collect the debt using other legal dunning methodsAnd, there is NO statute of limitations on several types of debts, including:

• Federal Student Loans;
• Most Types of Fines;
• Past Due Child Support (state dependent); and
• *Taxes (In many cases, income taxes have a 10-year SoL but this can be suspended as well as have more time added by filing the proper forms. Check with a local tax resolution expert about your particular situation.

The Statute of Limitations on debt depends on the type of debt and your State's civil debt collection codes. Generally, unsecured debt expires 3 to 6 years after the last missed payment or the consumer's last activity on the account. Written contracts such as car loans generally expire after 6 years. Judgments can last up to 20 years and can require the judgment be renewed at a certain point such as the 6-year point.

Generally, the statute of limitations for collecting debts begins the moment you sign a credit contract! However, just about every state has specific rules on the running of the statutory period and some even have provisions to adjust (toll) this period. The tolling can be for many things...even holidays...or from when you said you would like to work something out (and presumably didn't).

The term "toll" or "tolled" means to "stop the running of a statutory period for a certain period of time". Many states use this term in their statutes of limitation rules and civil codes for debt collection.

Very simply, it can be very confusing and hard to calculate when the SOL has been running or not, and again...it only prevents COURT actions which is one of the last methods most collectors use anyway...the debt remains valid and collectible.