5 ms·

I don't believe it is illegal for a collection agency to try to collect on a debt that is beyond SOL. If you were to not realize the debt was past SOL and made

by jrs235 11y ago

I don't believe it is illegal for a collection agency to try to collect on a debt that is beyond SOL. If you were to not realize the debt was past SOL and made a partial payment the debt would instantly no longer be past SOL. Which is why some agencies will try to get a debtor to pay on debts beyond the SOL. However, if you know that the debt is beyond SOL you may tell the collection agency to stop contacting you. If the collector continues to call you after you send them your letter, they may be violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act[1][4] and you may be able to sue the collector for damages[2][3]. [1] http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1405/how-can-i-stop-debt-collectors-contacting-me.html http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1405/how-can-i-stop-d... [2] http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/rules/civil-liability-13.html http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/rules/civil-liability-13... [3] http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/damages-fdcpa-violations.html http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/damages-fdcpa-violati... [4] http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/illegal-debt-collection-practices.html http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/illegal-debt-collecti...

toomuchtodo 11y ago
Who should I be going to in order to have legislation drafted, sponsored, and co-sponsored in the US to prohibit the pursuit of debt that is time-barred (and enforce penalties for attempting to do so)? This is a problem that needs to be fixed. I would like to find someone who is willing to help fix it.
- jrs235 11y ago
  I would suggest contacting the CFPB to start. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    Any thoughts on my reaching out to Elizabeth Warren's office as well?
    - jrs235 11y ago
      That would also probably be a good starting point too.
- pc86 11y ago
  Can I ask what the damage is by allowing collection agencies who have purchased a debt to attempt to collect said debt past it's SOL? If you touch a debt (e.g. make a partial payment) it resets the SOL, so it seems there's precedent that a debt past its SOL is still a valid debt. It also seems like a beneficial negotiation tactic for the consumer. Some states have an SOL well below the ~7-year period where it falls off your credit report. So if I live in Louisiana with a 3-year SOL on consumer debt and someone tries to collect a 4-year-old debt, pay-for-delete obviously becomes a much more likely scenario. My credit goes up a lot with the removal of a delinquent account, and the collector makes money off something I could otherwise ignore without penalty.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    > Can I ask what the damage is by allowing collection agencies who have purchased a debt to attempt to collect said debt past it's SOL? If you touch a debt (e.g. make a partial payment) it resets the SOL, so it seems there's precedent that a debt past its SOL is still a valid debt. If the law says you can't collect, you should not be able to ask either. You're relying on someone's ignorance to collect a debt. > It also seems like a beneficial negotiation tactic for the consumer. Some states have an SOL well below the ~7-year period where it falls off your credit report. So if I live in Louisiana with a 3-year SOL on consumer debt and someone tries to collect a 4-year-old debt, pay-for-delete obviously becomes a much more likely scenario. My credit goes up a lot with the removal of a delinquent account, and the collector makes money off something I could otherwise ignore without penalty. Again, you're assuming a shred and educated citizen who is attempting to use a loophole (pay-to-delete, which violates a collector's agreement with all three credit reporting agencies). No. Asking someone to pay after the SOL has passed as the debt is time barred is tantamount to fraud. I've already placed called to Senator Warren's office, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
    - dragonwriter 11y ago
      > If the law says you can't collect, you should not be able to ask either. The law doesn't say you can't collect, it says you can't enforce the debt in court. Its not theoretically impossible that a person who had undertaken a debt that had become unenforceable might be inclined to pay it off for social reasons that don't rely on the legal enforceability of the debt, so it probably shouldn't be illegal to notify and ask. > You're relying on someone's ignorance to collect a debt, and I will work to apply a boot to the neck of collection companies who practice that. To the extent that an attempt to collect an unenforceable debt relies on false implications of legal consequences like wage garnishments, seizure of property, etc., it is already barred by the FDCPA, which prohibits a variety of types of false representations and implications in the context of debt collection, and punishes debt collectors who use them. There may be a good case that this should be tightened and require explicit notice of debts that are beyond the statute of limitations and not legally enforceable in collections (which would also give the collector a positive obligation to make this determination.) But I think that prohibiting asking for payment beyond the statute of limitations is probably going to far, for the reasons above.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > Who should I be going to in order to have legislation drafted, sponsored, and co-sponsored in the US to prohibit the pursuit of debt that is time-barred (and enforce penalties for attempting to do so)? Your members of Congress (in both Houses) would probably be the most natural place, but note that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act goes pretty far in this regard already, in that collection contact activity must stop once the consumer notifies the collector that they refuse to pay the debt [0], and if the statute of limitations has expired, the collector has no further remedies available at that point. Further, the FDCPA prohibits mischaracterizing "the character, amount, or legal status of any debt" and a variety of other false representations or implications; I can't imagine that collection of a legally-unenforceable debt is generally attempted without prohibited false representations and/or implications as to consequences of non-payment. [1] [0] FDCPA Sec. 805(c), 15 USC Sec. 1692c(c), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/fair-debt-collection-practices-act.pdf https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/fa... [1] FDCPA Sec. 807, 15 USC Sec. 1692e, generally. Same link as above.

by jrs235 11y ago

toomuchtodo 11y ago

Who should I be going to in order to have legislation drafted, sponsored, and co-sponsored in the US to prohibit the pursuit of debt that is time-barred (and enforce penalties for attempting to do so)? This is a problem that needs to be fixed. I would like to find someone who is willing to help fix it.

jrs235 11y ago
I would suggest contacting the CFPB to start. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  Any thoughts on my reaching out to Elizabeth Warren's office as well?
  - jrs235 11y ago
    That would also probably be a good starting point too.
pc86 11y ago
Can I ask what the damage is by allowing collection agencies who have purchased a debt to attempt to collect said debt past it's SOL? If you touch a debt (e.g. make a partial payment) it resets the SOL, so it seems there's precedent that a debt past its SOL is still a valid debt. It also seems like a beneficial negotiation tactic for the consumer. Some states have an SOL well below the ~7-year period where it falls off your credit report. So if I live in Louisiana with a 3-year SOL on consumer debt and someone tries to collect a 4-year-old debt, pay-for-delete obviously becomes a much more likely scenario. My credit goes up a lot with the removal of a delinquent account, and the collector makes money off something I could otherwise ignore without penalty.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  > Can I ask what the damage is by allowing collection agencies who have purchased a debt to attempt to collect said debt past it's SOL? If you touch a debt (e.g. make a partial payment) it resets the SOL, so it seems there's precedent that a debt past its SOL is still a valid debt. If the law says you can't collect, you should not be able to ask either. You're relying on someone's ignorance to collect a debt. > It also seems like a beneficial negotiation tactic for the consumer. Some states have an SOL well below the ~7-year period where it falls off your credit report. So if I live in Louisiana with a 3-year SOL on consumer debt and someone tries to collect a 4-year-old debt, pay-for-delete obviously becomes a much more likely scenario. My credit goes up a lot with the removal of a delinquent account, and the collector makes money off something I could otherwise ignore without penalty. Again, you're assuming a shred and educated citizen who is attempting to use a loophole (pay-to-delete, which violates a collector's agreement with all three credit reporting agencies). No. Asking someone to pay after the SOL has passed as the debt is time barred is tantamount to fraud. I've already placed called to Senator Warren's office, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > If the law says you can't collect, you should not be able to ask either. The law doesn't say you can't collect, it says you can't enforce the debt in court. Its not theoretically impossible that a person who had undertaken a debt that had become unenforceable might be inclined to pay it off for social reasons that don't rely on the legal enforceability of the debt, so it probably shouldn't be illegal to notify and ask. > You're relying on someone's ignorance to collect a debt, and I will work to apply a boot to the neck of collection companies who practice that. To the extent that an attempt to collect an unenforceable debt relies on false implications of legal consequences like wage garnishments, seizure of property, etc., it is already barred by the FDCPA, which prohibits a variety of types of false representations and implications in the context of debt collection, and punishes debt collectors who use them. There may be a good case that this should be tightened and require explicit notice of debts that are beyond the statute of limitations and not legally enforceable in collections (which would also give the collector a positive obligation to make this determination.) But I think that prohibiting asking for payment beyond the statute of limitations is probably going to far, for the reasons above.
dragonwriter 11y ago
> Who should I be going to in order to have legislation drafted, sponsored, and co-sponsored in the US to prohibit the pursuit of debt that is time-barred (and enforce penalties for attempting to do so)? Your members of Congress (in both Houses) would probably be the most natural place, but note that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act goes pretty far in this regard already, in that collection contact activity must stop once the consumer notifies the collector that they refuse to pay the debt [0], and if the statute of limitations has expired, the collector has no further remedies available at that point. Further, the FDCPA prohibits mischaracterizing "the character, amount, or legal status of any debt" and a variety of other false representations or implications; I can't imagine that collection of a legally-unenforceable debt is generally attempted without prohibited false representations and/or implications as to consequences of non-payment. [1] [0] FDCPA Sec. 805(c), 15 USC Sec. 1692c(c), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/fair-debt-collection-practices-act.pdf https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plain-language/fa... [1] FDCPA Sec. 807, 15 USC Sec. 1692e, generally. Same link as above.