Can a collection agency come after you for an old debt that doesn't show up on a credit report?

Answer 1

A Collection Agency can come after you for any debt, on the credit report, off the credit report, valid, invalid, real, or imaginary. This is due to the fact that a Collection Agency is a private company and can do whatever they like, just as you as a private citizen can do whatever you like.

Having said that, a Collection Agency is regulated by a number of laws. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692, The Fair Credit Reporting Act 15 U.S.C. § 1681, and state Statutes Of Limitations (SOL), which varies from state to state, but generally maxes out at around six years.

The first thing to understand is that there is absolutely no upside to speaking with a collection agency on the telephone! Let me say it emphatically DON"T EVER SPEAK TO THEM ON THE TELEPHONE. Nothing whatsoever can be resolved via telephone call. The person on the other end of the phone could not care less about you, your personal situation, or whether or not the debt is actually valid. They are most definitely not your friends. They are not there to help you resolve anything.

The people who work for collection agencies are there for one reason only, to extract money from you. This is their SOLE purpose. They will attempt to convince, connive, manipulate, trick, deceive, brow beat, harass, or whatever else they can think of to get you to pay them.

They get paid a commission on what they collect from you. They are specifically trained to use psychology and manipulative tricks against you; and are generally very arrogant, judgmental, and nasty people. Nothing they say on the telephone can be trusted, and anything you say on the telephone will be used against you regardless of your situation and regardless of the validity of the debt.

In no case should you ever in any way acknowledge the alleged debt! Doing so could make the otherwise invalid debt suddenly valid. All communication with a collection agency must be in writing for it to be of any use to you. If you request a validation of the alleged debt within thirty (30) days of contact from a collection agency, the agency must cease all collection activity against you until the debt has been validated. Generally asking for a validation of a debt is all it takes to get a collection agency off your back.

You also have the right to ask the agency to stop calling you at home, or at work, or to cease all further contact with you.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides you with a number of legal rights in dealing with collection agencies. The agencies obey these laws or risk being liable to you for damages.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates how long negative information can stay on your credit report. Generally no longer than seven years for credit accounts and ten years for bankruptcies, tax liens, etc.

The State Statute of Limitations (SOL) regulates how long a creditor has before they can no longer prevail in a lawsuit against you. Generally no longer than six years after the last payment or charge you made on the account. In many states the SOL is less than six years, and in a few few its more.

Addendum

• Any debt you legitimately believe to be incorrect or illegitimate should be validated and reconciled. Request this in writing, by certified letter, with return receipt delivery. Keep a copy of the letter and attach the returned receipt of delivery to it.
  
• The advice to deal with collection agencies in writing is sound, for one reason only: any arrangements or requests you as the consumer make, must be done in writing for it to be binding. Telephone arrangement can be binding, but can also be refuted. Written arragements not so easily. This is clearly stated in the FFDCPA and the FCRA.
• The assertion that collectors, rather the generalization that all collectors have no concern for your situation as a debtor is false. Having worked in the collection industry, I have been and am a highly conscientious person committed to my sense of integrity and honesty. True, a collector's main focus is to collect a debt; however, the guiding principle of this is to protect the interests of their clients. It is not in the best interest of the client or the agency to act in a way contrary to law or to attempt to collect an account that is not legitimate. The acts that govern collections practices are in place for a reason, to regulate the industry from unfair or illicit practices. It represents one of the most equal and fair pieces of legislation ever drafted in the US. As guiding principles of collections, the Acts actually facilitate collections activities for those who follow their precepts.

All that being said, it is the job of a collector to recover what has been contracted or agreed upon to pay for goods and/or services already received.

For people who had no hand or little to do with the situation in which they find themselves, many collectors can and do offer alternatives. For the greater majority of people collectors contact who had no intention of paying for what they received, or who feel somehow justified in having received a product or service but secure in the decision to not reimburse the product or service provider, beware the collector to whom you have given a purpose. Your case may turn into a "thrill of the hunt" situation; and, the laws that regulate collections permit a wide variety of means to recover a past due debt.