Twice my son has received letters from a collection agency for small debts from years ago. He didn’t remember them it was so long ago. The first one he wrote a letter but before mailing it checked the internet and found out what could happen if he responded. It turns out they can’t do anything if you don’t respond. They can’t enforce collection or put it on your credit report. The company has long ago charged off the debt and the statute has run out. It is dead UNLESS you respond in any way and even remotely acknowledge the debt. If you do, the statute starts to run again (can be years) and they can sue you and put it on your credit report. Even is you call to say you don’t owe it it’s a nightmare. Apparently it is legal to buy and try to collect these debts but they are not obligated to tell you the consequences if you contact them. Just trash these letters.
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Just as a note, the above link leads to a PDF file from the state of Indiana about their state laws regarding collection activities.
You are advised to check your own state statutes regarding collections, rather than taking advice from random posters on the Internet.
I’ll leave this open.
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I’m not in Indiana, but I’ll agree with the OP. I started getting calls from a couple collection agencies earlier this year. They had somehow gotten hold of my cell #, despite the fact that my cell phone is on my parent’s “friends & family” plan and my name does not appear anywhere on the account. Also, I use the generic recorded message for my voice mail, so it doesn’t identify me by name, either. I refused to even answer the calls, simply based on my personal policy of not answering calls if I don’t recognize the number (especially if it’s not a local number). I only learned they were collection agencies by doing a search on the numbers at http://whocalled.us. These outfits, between the two of them, were ringing my cell phone 6-8 times a day, and I finally ended up getting the number changed (because I still wasn’t going to answer and tell them to knock it off). Most of my bad debt came from when I was drinking heavily, and is well past the statute of limitations. I did clear what I could, but what with moving several times, paperwork getting lost, and debts being passed from one collection agency to another so that I had no idea who to talk to, the SoL expired on much of it with no contact happening between me and my creditors. I’ll add that these were all small debts amounting to a total of a few hundred dollars, not thousands of dollars worth of bad loans.
It should be noted, however, that there is no statute of limitations on Federal student loans. They can chase you till the day you die.
How timely. I had a question about something similar. I got a call from a company trying to collect a debt from an ambulance service. I have only a inkling that this may be valid, but the company won’t send me anything in writing. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not paying someone over the phone who won’t give me details. Am I correct in this?
Don’t they have a name for people who skip out on paying their debts…
I don’t agree with the OP that you should ignore a valid debt. If you have reason to believe the call is a scam to get money out of you, that’s one thing. If its legit, they should definitely be able and willing to send you specifics.
I had one of these letters sent to me a couple of years ago via a colelction agency- some unknown company says I owe them 40 or so bucks. I asked the collection agency to have them send me details on what and why I owe it from, and if legit, I’ll gladly pay. I call the collection agency periodiically to check on it, and they say they have not heard back from the company.
Yes. Refer to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, specifically, the section on Validation of Debts, which states:
Familiarize yourself with the statute of limitations for collection of debt in your jurisdiction. Here’s a list to give you an idea (verify this with your local State Attorney General).
Even if you owe the original debt, you may still not be obligated to pay it if it’s gone beyond the SoL. I once sent the letter posted here to a ruthless collections agency that was breaking numerous laws wrt the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Nipped those suckers right in the bud.
Good luck!
The OP is also incorrect about a collection agency’s ability to report a debt to the Credit Reporting Agencies. Often, a debt can be reported to the Credit Reporting Agencies for as long as 7 years, even if the statute has run out in fewer years. Another important piece of legislation with which one should be familiar is the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Google the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act - best I recall, you do have the right to only be contacted in writing but you have to state to the caller this request, and may have to request in writing that this happen (so you need to get a mailing address out of them).
I cited this act and the Do Not Call regulations when we got a collection agency (almost certainly) calling our number multiple times a day asking if we knew a former tenant of the apartment - when I stated that if this was a debt collection (which they could not reveal to me) the FDCPA said they had to stop if we denied knowledge of the person/whereabouts, and if this wasn’t we were on the Do Not Call list and had no established business with them. It worked!
Edit: Dammit, should’ve previewed. I blame typing with one hand due to a broken wrist.
These might be helpful:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=436931&highlight=collection+agency
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=430208&highlight=collection+agency
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=418227&highlight=collection+agency
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=414274&highlight=collection+agency
That’s enough, but there are more if a member wants to search them.
None of the following is legal advice. I’m not your attorney, you’re not my client. For legal advice contact an attorney in your jurisdiction.
There’s a word for people who don’t pay their debts, but there are also words for companies who buy limitations barred or otherwise unenforceable debts for pennies on the dollar, refuse to provide documentation of their purchase of the debt or its validity, sue to get a default judgment on the full amount of the alleged debt plus attorney’s fees and years of interest, and then use the default judgments to get liens on people’s homes.
Collection companies who have puchased ought to be able and willing to provide documentation and send you specifics of the debt, but quite often they won’t, especially if it’s “zombie debt.” They’re not interested and probably don’t have it, and what they send as “verification” may be very different from what you and I would consder that term to mean. They’re mainly interested in one thing: you paying them some money. Your ancient debt is likely one of thousands that they purchased in bulk for 2-10 cents on the dollar, and they don’t want to waste a lot of time proving any one of them. If your debt is unenforceable or limitations barred, they usually aren’t going to apologize and quit bugging you. They’d rather you take some kind of action to reawaken the debt.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say “do nothing” in all circumstances, but rather contact an attorney expecienced in consumer debt defense if you have someone attempting to collect an old debt, particularly if they are harassing you. If you get served with a lawsuit on such a debt, see such a lawyer immediately if not sooner. If you are sued and do nothing, or answer the lawsuit youself and do so improperly, you’ll end up with a default or summary judgment against yourself admitting the full amount they’re asking for, even if the debt was limitations barred and fraudently made in your name by a thief.
Excelllent articles for further reading:
“Zombie Debt” is Hard to Kill
Thanks. This has been bothering me for a couple of months now. I can’t figure out why I would have an unpaid ambulance bill since we’re insured. There is a possibility that it could still be valid but without some supporting records I could check on I feel like I could be giving money away for something my insurance already covered.
“Reasonable”?
Seriously, a number of my old, small debts were related to bounced checks. You know those little signs you see at checkstands that warn “NSF checks are subject to a $20 service charge and collection fees”? Those signs aren’t general purpose signs purchased from an office supply store. They’re provided by the collection agency that has contracted with the merchant. And the merchant has signed an agreement to hand over all NSF checks to that collection agency.
So I write an NSF check, unintentionally, for $5.23 for a 6-pack. The first I hear about this is when I get a notice from my bank, where I also learn that my bank has charged me $20 for my error. So now I’m $20 in the hole with my bank. Then I go back to the merchant, cash in hand, to make good with them, only to be told that the NSF check has already been handed over to the collection agency, even though they didn’t call me first to give me an opportunity to make good on it. Okay … I finally get a letter from the collection agency, demanding payment of $5.23 + $20 to make up the fee the merchant’s bank charged them + another $30 in “collection fees”.
At this point, the price of that 6-pack is now $75.23! So I go again to the original merchant, with cash, and try again to make good with them. The merchant informs me that they won’t take my money and cancel the claim with the collection agency, because if they do that the collection agency will stop working with them.
This is where I say, “Screw you. I accept that the NSF check was my mistake. I accept my bank’s NSF fee. I’m am willing and able to cover the original amount of the check, and I accept that I need to reimburse you for your bank’s fee. But if you’re not going to accept the cash that I’m holding in front of your nose, then forget it.”
Of course, when you’re 22 years old and making $5.00/hour, you’re really not thinking about your credit rating all that much. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered that I’m legally entitled to bypass a collection agency and settle with the original creditor — a business cannot reasonably or legally refuse a good faith attempt to make good on a debt. It’s not like the business is going to be out money to the collection agency; a collection agency takes their fees out of money actually collected.
Posted by Phase42 …“It should be noted, however, that there is no statute of limitations on Federal student loans. They can chase you till the day you die.”
True. But let us not forget tax debt. I understand for unpaid taxes they can chase you till the day after you die. (i.e. confiscation of your wife’s entire personal assets forcing her on welfare and onto the streets! 
)
DO NOT in anyway respond to debt collectors. Don’t answer the phone, shred their mail collection notices.
I’ve been there and it isn’t very nice. Been served twice by the sheriff.
What happens (Here in NC) is that they serve you, with a bunch of papers, which you fill out (and there are a lot of exemptions, including your house and car) and send back to the court. IF they want you to appear, they will let you know via supenoa. (sp?)
Stay away as far as you can from debt collectors!
I was contacted earlier this year by an agency stating that they were attempting to collect 856.32 that I owed to Red Zeppilins, Inc. (Not the real name, but still a name I didn’t recognize.). I didn’t recognize the name or amount and told them so, obviously they hear that alot and so chose to keep annoying me. I went online and found the Fair Debt Collection site. They have a complete set of form letters for whatever the situation may require as well as details on collection legislation for each state. I printed out the letter requiring them to send me documentation validating the debt and sent it to them. I haven’t heard from them since.
Moving thread from IMHO to MPSIMS.
ricco, this was a link in regard to the Fair Debt collections Act, a federal law. Just saying.