A friend of mine got a small settlement for an injury at work.
I don’t know all the ins and out of how that works and it neither here nor there anyway.
So a few weeks later she gets a bill from a bill collector for a past due parking ticket which was originally $30 however they are willing to accept $300 or they will put a lien on her home for $3000.
Fortunately she talked to another friend and it was a scam and she told the creditor where to stick it.
I don’t know if creditors can see settelemets because now she is being hounded again.
The bill is old, from 2001 and since her (now deceased) husband handled all the accounts she is not sure if she owes it or not. In either case, her husband has been dead for a number of years and was extremely ill for several years before that and she knows nothing has been paid for at least 9 years. She remembers the purchase, a time share, and the year, because of 9-11.
Now the creditor is threatening her with foreclosure, ruining her credit and reporting her to the IRS for the unpaid amount.
I told her the statute of limitations has run out and I don’t know if they can force her to pay anything. I told her do NOT admit to anything and to ask for proof.
So
She told the man that she knows the debt (if she even owes anything) is well past the stature of limitations and he told her that is NO statute of limitations if you sign a contract.
She asked him how does she know he is not a scam (like the previous collector) and he told her she knows he is not scamming her because he told her he is real and not scamming her.
Then he told her she could call the original creditor, when she asked for the number he told her he couldn’t give it to her because he is not allowed to give it out. He said the creditors don’t want to hear from her because she is supposed to deal with him.
I looked up the company online for her and they do appear to be legitimate, but it sure sounds suspicious to me.
I told her I would see what I could find out for her and not to agree to anything just yet.
She needs to look at the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and see what her rights are. For instance, she can request via writing that they send her within 30 days a written verification that the debt is legitimate. They’re supposed to have notified her of this ability to dispute the debt. She can check the requirements at that link and follow one of the official external links at the bottom for more in-depth information. Some websites have form letter templates for requesting proof of the debt, for requesting all communications only be in writing, for denying the debt is owed, etc.
I know nothing about statute of limitations, if they can somehow find out about settlements, etc.
I utterly fail to understand how an unpaid parking ticket can possibly lead to your home being foreclosed on.
I am thus reminded of that old short story where someone ultimately gets executed for ‘kidnapping’ because they were late returning an old library book called Kidnapped…
Her home wasn’t going to be foreclosed on because of the parking ticket. They said they would put a $3000 lien on it if she didn’t pay the ticket.
The foreclosure is on the timeshare that she doesn’t even know what if anything is owed. She doesn’t care about the timeshare so much as threat of foreclosure hurting her credit and the part about reporting the unpaid amount to the IRS.
The part I question is
Is it true that there is no statute of limitations on a debt if you sign a contract because it seems to me all debts include some type of contract. I think the collector is lying about it but I’m not sure.
What kind of collector says he’s legit because he says he is legit?
Is there some way for collectors to see if somebody gets a settlement because it seems like ever she got one the creditors are coming after her.
I’ve been looking stuff up online and I get some conflicting information.
Find an attorney and let him handle it. Usually all it takes is a letter on legal letterhead and the harassment stops cold, at least if it is an illegal attempt to collect.
I had something like this happen to me about 10 years ago.
I did a little research on the internet, and wrote to the company. I said something like “I dispute this debt, provide proof that I owe it. You may contact me only by US Postal Service, at <my address>, you may not contact me by phone.” I also noted that the company had had to pay a few judgements for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Act. I copied the FTC on the letter, and printed out a few copies. I sent one copy to the HEADQUARTERS of the collection agency by registered mail, return receipt requested. Never heard another word from them. My next step might have been a lawyer, but since I got the results that I wanted with just that letter, I was happy.
Lets look at this point by point…
Since when does the IRS have anything to do with ‘debt collection’?!
AFAIK, the IRS could care less if you pay your debts to anyone, except of course, THE IRS.
OMG! “he told her she knows he is not scamming her because he told her he is real and not scamming her”…
Well! That certainly sounds legitimate. :rolleyes: NOT!
“he told her she could call the original creditor, when she asked for the number he told her he couldn’t give it to her because he is not allowed to give it out. He said the creditors don’t want to hear from her because she is supposed to deal with him”
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! That’s not even a halfway decent lie!
Sounds to me like this ‘ass-clown’ can’t even get his story straight! :dubious:
IMO, you’ve already told her all she needs to know… “do NOT admit to anything and to ask for proof” and “not to agree to anything”. The only thing that I would add is, DO NOT give this person claiming to be a ‘creditor’ ANY INFORMATION, OF ANY KIND!
It might not hurt to call your local Police Department and talk to the Theft Division, as this whole thing sounds like ‘Fraud’, and should be reported.
For the record… IANAL
She’s talking to a lawyer about it now and it isn’t going to cost her anything.
The lawyer says the company is legit, the letterhead and notice are the correct name and address. However if it is fraud or anything illegal they will sue on her behalf. If they win she will get a little money, if not it isn’t costing her anything but a little of her time.
I’ll help her out as much as I can but I’m not a lawyer either - sometimes I wish I was.
As far as I’m aware, debt are debts and have no statute of limitations.
However, there IS a limitation on how long you can take said debt to court. Up until that expires, the US court system can give a legally-enforceable judgement against unpaid debts. After that, all that’s left is harassing phone calls from companies who bought the <now legally-unenforcible> debt for pennies on the dollar. So, debt’s still there, your credit can still suffer, they just can’t get Uncle Sam on your ass about it.