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If the debt collectors somehow manage to trick the debtors into acknowledging the debt, the debt clock is reset & it goes back on to your credit report.
by desigooner 10y ago
If the debt collectors somehow manage to trick the debtors into acknowledging the debt, the debt clock is reset & it goes back on to your credit report.
- nickysielicki 10y agoWhat constitutes acknowledgement?
- GreaterFool 10y agoI think the options are two: bully and harass the debtors until they pay or go to courts and try to get the default judgement. As the program points out what they buy is name and number. So I suppose if the person involved showed up in court and demanded any sort of confirmation of debt (like original bills perhaps?) then the case would be dismissed. After all the company needs some proof. But they overload the courts and if no one shows up to defend then the default judgement goes in favor of the debt collector. And then they go and collect with the power of law behind them. This is crazy but that's how they roll in the land of the free :)
- ben1040 10y agoThe statute of limitations applies to whether the creditor can go to court. Since these debts we're talking about are older than that, getting a judgment is off the table. That's also why they were sold for a fraction of a penny on the dollar -- the only way you could collect on them is to call the debtors and hassle them. At this point those debtors are probably also wise to the fact that you have no legal power to enforce.
- edko 10y agoIf all they have is a name and number, can they really go to court, and win, with that alone, even if the presumed debtor does not show up?
- zimpenfish 10y agoThere's a good few examples of "bully and harass the debtors until they pay" in his segment. Most disheartening.
- ceejayoz 10y agoAny amount of payment, I believe, so they're likely offering seemingly generous "settlements" with tiny monthly payments.
- dogma1138 10y agoApparently pretty much anything including answering a phone call under some jurisdictions. Pretty much they can hook you in by calling you and saying "Good day Mr. Smith you have a debt for 50$ to Acme Medical do you want to hear about our debt relief plan with payments as low as 1$ a month". If at any point you seem to show any response to it they can use it to prove that you've acknowledged the debt at which point they can go to court and force you to pay. The laws should be made that way that debt that has expunged is not tradeable or actionable in any way period.
- yardie 10y agoThey can call and you can ask but if you say the debt is not yours or you don't recognise it that is not an acknowledgement.
- dogma1138 10y agoWell yes, but most people won't be able to not to put their foot in their mouth. Oddly enough saying "the debt is past this statutory limit and cannot be forcibly collected" might actually be an acknowledgement of the debt by itself. All the laws regarding this are completely bonkers.
- Siecje 10y agoWouldn't it still be outstanding on your credit report. It's debt that you didn't pay. How long does it stay on your credit report?
- desigooner 10y agoIIRC, these accounts fall off the credit report in 7 years from the date that was deemed as last activity date on that account.
- Siecje 10y agoSo why would anyone declare bankruptcy?
- csours 10y agoIf you are sued and found liable for more money than you can reasonably pay, you are more or less forced into bankruptcy. Declaring bankruptcy generally lets you keep your primary house and car; without bankruptcy those could be taken from you.
- brokentone 10y agoWell defaulted medical debt is in a different category than regular debt.
- CaptSpify 10y agoHow so?
- brokentone 10y agoSome of the difference: > differentiating medical from non-medical collection agency accounts. This will help ensure that medical collections have a lower impact on the score, commensurate with the credit risk they represent. These enhancements help lenders because it leads to a more predictive score. The median FICO Score for consumers whose only major negative references are medical collections will increase by 25 points. http://www.fico.com/en/newsroom/fico-score-9-introduces-refined-analysis-of-medical-collections http://www.fico.com/en/newsroom/fico-score-9-introduces-refi... http://time.com/money/3092005/fico-credit-score-changes-fair-isaac/ http://time.com/money/3092005/fico-credit-score-changes-fair...
- deaddodo 10y agoThis is not even in the least bit true. The credit report "debt clock" is static. Activity, acknowledgement, etc matters not. The debt is only valid six months from delinquency to seven years post that date. Period.