If you have not made any payments towards a credit card debt in ten years, can the company still come after u?
140863
there are some pretty specific rules on this. as i recall if you did not acknowledge the debt at any point along the way then they are out of luck.\n\ndouble check the info however.\n\nsee this page http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20040116b1.asp
825880
I don't believe there is a statute of limitations on debt collection here in Georgia.  If you owe the debt, the collector can try to collect it at any time, even 10 years from now.  However, as far as your credit goes, it now stays on your credit report for 10 years.  I would just tell you to bite the bullet, contact them and just make arrangements to pay it.  Don't let them bully you into paying what you can't afford because then  you'll never pay it at all.  Whatever you think you can afford to pay them, tell them thats what you're going to pay each month.  That way you won't always feel like you're just waiting to be served those papers by the magistrate court.
297587
Yes the can.\n\nIf/when a creditor "charges off" a debt, he is taking it off his books.  The loss can be taken off his taxes as a bad debt.  \n\nCollection agencies buy these contracts, and will continue to attempt to collect on them.  The only thing stopping them is the Statute of Limitations.  Depending on the state you live in, (Michigan, for example, is 6 years), they can still sue you.  After that, you no longer have a legal obligation to pay.
770913
Have you contacted the company?  That would be the first and most obvious step.  You may be mistaken about being owed money or the company may not be legally obligated to pay it to you at this point in time.
175445
You need to look at the original contract with the credit card company.   Generally it's 60 days.
584719
FIRST YOU NEED TO FIND OUT IS THIS IS A JUDGMENT OR NOT.\n\nIF IT IS NOT, THEN THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS HAS PROBABLY RUN ON IT.  THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU DON'T STILL OWE THE MONEY, IT JUST MEANS THAT THEY CAN'T SUE YOU NOW.  THEY CAN STILL ACTIVELY COLLECT THE DEBT.\n\nIF IT IS A JUDGMENT, THEN YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH SCREWED.  DEPENDING ON STATE AN LOCAL LAWS A JUDGMENT CAN STAY ACTIVE FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND ALSO REFLECT ON YOUR CREDIT FOR THAT AMOUNT OF TIME AS WELL.\n\nREQUEST VALIDATION OF THE DEBT AD GO FROM THERE.\n\nGOOD LUCK
1055841
If you have had any credit during those ten years then your credit should be just fine.  That is if you have paid on time.  I was in that situation and after 10 years my credit score is in the top 78% of the country.
491605
Hello!?!?  You owe them money!  To get them to stop calling, PAY IT!!  Just because you didn't publish your phone number doesn't mean you're no longer liable!\n\nP.S. The answer about the collection agency is not right.  It may have been in your original written agreement that you would still be liable after the debt was sold.
822474
They can write off a debt after unsuccessful "reasonable collection efforts" are exhausted - usually 90 days. I don't recall any laws stating any time period but only reasonable efforts to collect.\n\nLook in the agreement, it may have the proof you are looking for. Some creditors have their own criteria for this and document it in the agreement.\n\nHave you tried to negotiate it with them? That is pretty cold to do that especially when you have proof you actually moved.\n\nGood luck\n\n================
537303
The debt is void if request for payment has not been made in 7 years. If they contact you, requesting payment, every 6 years the debt is still valid until bankruptcy or death.
339101
Just my educated opinion.....\n\nCredit card company will generally come after you for debts over $1000 if they have contacts in your state.  That makes it easier for them to appear and court and sue you. Otherwise, the cost is too high.  So your $5000 debt makes you a prime target.\n\nI'm fairly certain that if they don't come after you, you can expect a collection agency to do it.  Either way, I'd say a lawsuit is a very real possiblilty.\n\nI don't think the SOL will help you.  The CA will certainly know when it expires and will step up collection efforts before that happens.\n\nSo my suggestion is to first look at your budget.  I'm sure that if you take a serious look at it, and cut out unnecessary expenses, you can find $100 a month.  You need to negotiate a payment plan with them, so don't insult them by offering $50 a month.  They are not going to wait several years to get paid, and if you don't offer something reasonable they will sue you.  Even $100 a month is will not go over well with them, but it's a start.\n\nIn the link below are a few sample letters you can use to form a negotiation letter.  Try that out and see what happens.  \n\nOne last piece of advice....it's a certainty that they have placed a negative item on your credit report.  Get them to remove this item IN WRITING before you pay them a dime.  It's my opinion that a judgement is just as bad as a default, and both will hurt your credit score.  But If they want their money, make them fix your credit.  Otherwise, you will have bad credit, plus you will be broke!  This is very important if you plan to get credit within the next few years for a car or home.  If that's not going to be an issue, the bad credit won't matter, as it will gradually improve after a few years.
924103
They can get a judgement but I seriously doubt they want to go through the hassle for such a small debt. Even if they could garnish wages, which I don't think they can for credit card debt, they won't even get what your minimum monthly payment would be if you can prove all of your money goes to neccessary bills and living expenses. See if you can negiotiate a settlement with the credit card company that will save you both time, money and headaches if not just send them something every month and they can't say you are not paying down your debt.\nGood Luck
963061
This is one of those urban myths, where everyone believes that if they do not repay money back to their bank after so many years it is written off. This may well be true, but I have yet to meet anyone that has actually experienced it - everyone you speak to always knows of someone who knows someone else, but you never meet the actual person.\nHowever, bear this in mind, although at one stage if you borrowed money off a bank and left the country they may have lost track of you, but considering that these days most of the banks are HUGE multinational businesses you may think that you have left your debt behind, but when you try to open an account in the back of beyond they find you again.\nComputers and worldwide communications probably stop this happening now.\nBe careful.
731806
The statute of limitations for a charged off credit card depends on the state in which you originated the debt.\n\nPlease refer to the hyperlink attached below to find out the appropriate statute of limitations for your specific situation.\n\nGood luck and 10 pts please.
585440
Read the link below.  It discusses what the statute of limitation is, and what the length of time in your state is.  Most states run 4-6 years, but some are more.  So look at the link.\n\nThe very first thing you need to do is send the collection agency a "demand to validate".  This is a demand that they send you proof that you have a legal obligation to pay this debt.  They must send you copies of contracts, bills, receipts, and everything used to calculate what they claim you owe.\n\nInclude in this letter a statement that you do not believe this is your debt, and tell them you expect some proof.  Also remind them that posting unvalidated reports to your credit history is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and they can easily be sued in small claims court for $1000 if they try to do it.\n\nAlso include wording to the effect that they must cease and desist contacting you.\n\nSee the link below for a sample letter you can use.\n\nIf you have not checked it recently, get a copy of your credit report and verify that they have not posted anything on your history.  You can get a free copy by going to http://www.annualcreditreport.com\n\nContact me if you need further advice or encouragement.
1111773
That means that they (that specific company) is no longer trying to collect the debt. They can however refer it to a collection agnecy for collection. This doen;t mena you no longer owe the bill it simply means they are not going to bill you anymore.
311169
Some people panic about not paying off those credit card debts, but in reality it's not really that big of a deal.  It costs the credit card companies far more to keep going after you ad infinitum than it does just to write off the debt as a total loss and get a tax break.  The worst thing that could happen is your credit report will be tarnished for 7 years, then it's wiped from the report as if it never happened.  You won't go to jail, as someone said, that's ridiculous.  I've worked for a collection agency for 25 years, believe me I know what can happen and it's not major in the grand scheme of things.\n\nSo don't sweat it too much.  Just ignore their idle threats, because they have no real substance.  It's just a scare tactic to try and get you to pay.  Screw 'em, get a bunch of cards, max them all out, then take bankruptcy.  You'll have everything you purchased (if you hide the merchandise), plus you'll get to bone the corporate man, which feels positive.  In 7 years you'll be back to where you started.  Heh, heh.