On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 19:32:14 -0400, NameGoesHere@DomainGoesHere.com wrote:
Exxxxx & Axxx sent me a "pay or we will sue" letter. They represent an
out of state collection agency who bought an old CitiBank charge off
that I had. It was an old Home Saving Master Card that I stopped
paying on in 8/1997.
August 1997, if this contract was entered into in California
the SOL is four years from last payment date. In other States it
can be 15 years, so check your contract.
Their letter was dated April 8, 2000.
Four years ago you receieved this letter or do you mean 2004?
I responded that this debt is
almost seven years old and threatening to sue over a debt that is
beyond the statute of limitations is a violation of the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act.
That was your first mistake, never respond to a letter from a
lawyer.
They signed for my letter April 15. They
filed a lawsuit against me on April 20(it was written April 13 before
they even got my first letter and a few days after they sent the "pay
or we will sue" letter). The only thing I got officially served with
was the Order to Show Cause and the case management hearing. They have
chosen *not* to serve me with the summons and complaint.
So go to the hearing and state that the SOL expired in August 2001.
After being
served with the ORC I wrote another letter demanding Verification.
They sent me a xerox the last bill Home Savings sent me. I recognized
it and the charges. I impressed that they even found it. But even so,
it is way past the four-year statute of limitations. I still can't
believe after seeing the bill (BTW is was the 8/1997 bill payment due
9/1997.) Yet they gave 15 days to make arrangements to pay.
Ignore it and wait for a court date.
So what is my legal recourse. I haven't been served with a summons or
complaint (I've got the complete copy of my folder from the clerk in
the court they even *lied* on the complaint stating that the debt is
less than four years old). Also they ran a credit check on me as
well. Not to mention this debt *never* showed on my credit report
until the collection agency posted it.
If the last payment was August 1997 it can stay on your credit report
until July 2004.
I've disputed it with all of
the Credit reporting agencies and filed complaints with the proper
state and federal agencies.
Good move. But don't get in a hissy fit when you receive a collection
letter. When you responded that is what told them that they had a sucker on
the hook.
--
Best Regards, Keith http://kilowatt-radio.org/ NW Oregon Radio Page
Tried of Virus, Spyware, Adware and Popups? Switch To Mozilla Web
Browser and Email http://mozilla.org/ Recommended by the US
Government Computer Security Team http://www.cert.gov/
