Not even old, ancient....

I received a call today from a debt collector who told me I owed Pay Pal money from 2002?

I do know what they are talking about as there was a billing dispute with E Bay around that time but as far as I was concerned it was resolved and I had not heard a word about since then.

I explained this to them and let they did indeed confirm that the debt is 2002ish....I told them not to call me, again, ever but they were welcome to send me proof of the debt via USPS but that I considered it invalid and well past statute of limitations therefore their time would be better spent elsewhere.

Seems like some BS. I would ignore it.

Check the statute of limitations in your state and then write a letter to the debt collection agency telling them the statute of limitations has been exceeded and that if they contact you again in regards to this debt you will take legal action. I've done this a couple of times with collection agencies trying to collect on old debt.

Collection agencies buy old debt for pennies on the dollar and then attempt to seek repayment. You have to be cautious if you decide to pay any amount on the debt because once you do it resets the statute of limitations clock.

As a side note never give a debt collection agency electronic access to any bank account since once you do they've been known to take out more than you authorized.

quote:

Originally posted by calugo:
Check the statute of limitations in your state and then write a letter to the debt collection agency telling them the statute of limitations has been exceeded and that if they contact you again in regards to this debt you will take legal action. I've done this a couple of times with collection agencies trying to collect on old debt.

Collection agencies buy old debt for pennies on the dollar and then attempt to seek repayment. You have to be cautious if you decide to pay any amount on the debt because once you do it resets the statute of limitations clock.

As a side note never give a debt collection agency electronic access to any bank account since once you do they've been known to take out more than you authorized.

Thanks....In AZ it is 3-5 years depending on type of debt it is and I pretty much told the girl that is what I thought the case was.

I am not too worried about it as I am sure they are just looking form someone that will just pay them no questions asked and they hate educated consumers

There is nothing wrong with them trying to collect a debt that is past the limitations period. There is no cause of action you would have should they contact you to try to collect an old debt.

They do, of course, have to comply with various debt collection practices statutes but there is nothing wrong with trying to collect old debt absent some other violation. (Disclaimer - your state's laws may vary.)

If it is past the limitations period, and if they sue you, you should prevail in the lawsuit.

But there is also nothing illegal about suing on an old debt, even one past the limitations period. Such a lawsuit isn't "illegal," it is just one in which you have an excellent defense.

Making a payment to a collection company doesn't generally reset the limitations period. There are some situations where making some payments under the original payment terms may mean that the limitations period isn't yet triggered, but generally not in the circumstances you described. This is a complicated subject though, so it can be state-specific. Talk to a lawyer in your state to be sure you understand your limitations defense.

Challenge them to settle it with personal combat.

Making a payment on an old debt will decrease your FICO score. Something about it being current activity gives the old debt more weight in the algorithm.

I do believe a person has a moral obligation to pay any legitimate debt, regardless of its age.

quote:

Making a payment on an old debt will decrease your FICO score.

Not according to this.

http://blog.credit.com/2014/03...credit-scores-78152/

In some states even verbally admitting the debt is valid may restart the statute, as will any payments. From the credit bureau side they can report any debt 7 years (or maybe a hair more) from the date of last payment. You pay the debt, they can report it and it can stay there for another 7 years.

Don't deal with debt collectors on old debt. Ignore them. Don't speak with them, don't reply in writing, and don't pay a single cent.

If it pops up on your credit bureau you can ask that it be removed for being over 7 years old. You won't be able to do that if you've restarted that clock.

The odds of anybody being sued over any of this is very small and unlikely to have any actual impact on you. The odds of it being reported to the credit bureaus is much higher and is much more likely to have a financial impact on you.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: a1abdj,

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:
Challenge them to settle it with personal combat.

When I was in high school I had a fun part time job as a telephone collection person for a guy who I figured for a retired underworld type from New Jersey. He kept a loaded Colt Government Model in his desk drawer, which was impressive and comforting to us kids who worked the phones in the back room for him. One afternoon I actually had a deadbeat I contacted propose that we meet down by the San Jacinto River and “settle it like men”. Like he actually thought I’d go for that.

“Don't deal with debt collectors on old debt. Ignore them. Don't speak with them, don't reply in writing, and don't pay a single cent.“

This matches up with what I remember from my experience at that job, back in the 1970s. If a debtor refused to pay and our efforts were repeatedly rebuffed, we’d threaten to “put a red tab on the file”. Which actually meant we should quit wasting our time on it.

Had a couple of those shitheads claim I owed money on a telephone number a full year after we had moved out of the state.

Finally told them the only way they'd get anything was if they came and mowed the yard. They were persistent a-holes, and rude mouthed to boot.

When I was stupid enough to let the phone company list my phone number, I would receive calls from debt collectors trying to track down my neighbors, who had long moved away. And who I did not know.
I went unlisted and changed my number. End of calls.

quote:

Originally posted by rscalzo:

quote:

Making a payment on an old debt will decrease your FICO score.

Not according to this.

http://blog.credit.com/2014/03...credit-scores-78152/

They can say what they want, but I personally had it happen to me. I paid off a disputed debt that was over five years old, and it dropped my FICO fifty points. Sucked because I was buying a house at the time. That’s one of the reasons I thought it would be a good thing to do. So I don’t know where these guys are getting their information (they are using words like “should”, so perhaps they’re guessing). Anyway, my statement is coming from personal experience. This was in 2004, so there is a chance that it has been changed since then.

Sounds like a scam to me. Data gotten from a breach somewhere and trying to make hay from it. I get invoices in the mail/email for renewals of accounts/ads I never had nor would ever want. It's those crazy Russians again. Chris

That sounds pretty weird. I've got calls before from someone claiming to be collecting for an old Sears card account. To my knowledge, that account had never been delinquent but they said it was and were threatening legal action. They were asking a bunch of questions, clearly fishing for personally identifiable information. I just told them they have the wrong guy and hung up. Never heard anything else. My credit report didn't show anything unusual, so I figure it was just some ID theft scam.

Just to be clear...I actually pay my bills and in the few times I have had something go to collections (all medical), I have ignored the debt collector and called the people that were owned the money and straightened it out one way or another.

This particular debt was from a E Bay dispute in 2002 (before PayPal even bought them?) and was settled in my favor through eBay. Somehow it is still showing up but I have changed eBay accounts, email account and phone numbers numerous times since then and when I spoke to the girl I explained all this to her and told her I know her company just buys a bunch of "paper" and I was somehow included but unless she could send me concrete proof in writing, with a complete history dating back to 2002 then she was out of luck. I also made it clear to never call me again for any reason and all correspondence needed to be in writing only, no exceptions

Just dispute the debt. They have something like 30 days to prove it to you or it is dismissed. Federal statue. Look up "fair debt practices act."

Vince