Of Statutes Of Limitations And Debt Collection Agencies

Although debt collectors are known for their aggressive and often, illegal collection practices, consumers now have the upper hand with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA enacted by the congress. Unfortunately, many debtors remain clueless when it comes to their rights as well as the concept of time-barred debts. This leaves many debtors vulnerable to debt collection harassment and is bullied into paying for debts when they don't really need to.

Now, every debt can be collected until a specific date. Known as the statute of limitation, the length of time until the debt validity expiration will vary from state to state. Because each state's statute of limitations will differ it is up to the debtor to determine how much time he or she have until the debt's validity expires. If your debt is already out of statutes and you still get collection calls from debt collecting agencies, you need to know the limits imposed on such situation.

For example, although the debt is out of statutes, the debt collection agency can still make attempts to obtain payment. Attempting to collect out of statute debts is by no means, an illegal practice. However, debt collector's efforts to do so is now limited. For instance, they can no longer threaten to file a credit card lawsuit. It's common for many collectors to use a credit card lawsuit as way to scare delinquent debtors into paying the debt. On out of statute debts, they cannot file a credit card lawsuit even if they followed through with the threats because the debt is no longer valid for collection. If you have old, unpaid credit card debts that are on the verge of reaching out of statutes status, do not repay the debt because this will just restart the statutes clock!

Some debt collection companies go at great lengths to collect debts, including re-aging old, out of statutes credit accounts to buy them more time for collecting the money by filing a credit card lawsuit. This means if a debt is beyond the statutes of limitation in your state, they can fool you into paying by starting the statutes clock to file a credit card lawsuit.

If you suspect that your debt has been re-aged, you can request a credit report from major credit reporting bureaus and examine the information on the report. If things do not add up to the information released by the debt collector pertaining to the old debt, take note of it, point it out and report the agency for re-aging your debt account. Do note that in some states, re-aging charged off accounts is legal as long as the debtors acknowledge that they own the debt.

Fair Credit Reporting: What You Need To Know Now

Debt collectors have always been linked to harassment, threats and use of profane language to extract debt payments, especially old debts, despite laws enforced to protect consumer rights. Out of statutes debts will be sold and resold and often, those who purchased the accounts will not hesitate to step on a few toes just to make a successful collection.

Unfortunately, unpaid debts, old and new, will cause a negative impact on your credit. Worse, some debt collectors will even try to falsely report negative remarks on major credit reporting bureaus without verifying the identities of the debtor or without waiting for the debtor to dispute the alleged debt.

This isn’t exactly a new collection tactic; many debtors will even try to report out of statutes debts in a bid to cause negative effects on debtors’ credit report. This is a major concern for many because employers and even landlords usually checks the credit of an applicant and if they see bad marks on one’s credit, their application will be rejected.

Now, the good news is, there are actually laws in place which gives consumer more rights to their own credit reports. For example, you can dispute a false claim that has been made on your credit report, in writing. You will also need to get in touch with the credit reporting agency to have them investigate the discrepancy on your report and report the result of the investigation to you. If the statement made by the debt collection company is indeed false, the statement will be removed from your report.

This means it is important to request a copy of your credit report, especially if you have old, charged off credit card accounts with unpaid debts.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA, everyone is entitled a free copy of credit report from the three major credit reporting bureaus once a year. To request a copy of your credit report, go to a credit reporting bureau's website and request for one. The Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA give debtors the power to control their credit history and dispute false debt claims that could cause negative effects on credit reports.

Once you receive your free credit report, you can check outstanding balances that need to be repaid or, if you have an existing credit dispute with a debt collector agency or creditor, you can check if the debt in question is within or beyond statutes.

Collection Agency Laws: What Debtors Need To Know

Despite laws enforced to prevent consumer rights violation, it's not unusual for debt collection agencies to cross the line and talk their way into extracting money from debtors. Unfortunately, not all debtors are aware of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA. To shed light on consumer rights laws, read

One: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was passed specifically for consumer debt. This means people with business debt are exempted from this act. Debtors who have business debts do not have the same rights as those with consumer debts.

Two: Debt collection agents are prohibited from calling debtors very early in the morning or beyond 9 in the evening. While the FDCPA did not specify how many times a collector can call up debtors, they are prohibited from threatening or harassing debtors into paying the alleged debt.

Three: Under the FDCPA, debt collectors cannot threaten debtors jail time for unpaid credit card debts. They cannot issue a warrant for arrest because only a court of law can send such warrants. Any debtors who threaten debtors with jail time or arrest warrants are violating the FDCPA.

Four: Collection agencies can file credit card lawsuit against delinquent debtors. However, they cannot use a credit card lawsuit as a threat unless they already acted on it. Debtors need to check if the age of the debt is out of statute. If such is the case, debt collectors can no longer pursue the debt via credit card lawsuit as it is already time barred. Debt collectors who plan to file credit card lawsuit should only.

Five: Statute of limitation varies from state to state. Usually, the statutes will range from three to ten years. It's best to check your state's statute of limitations for credit card debt to be on the safe side. Once a debt is out of statute, debt collectors can no longer file a credit card lawsuit nor can they collect the money in any other means.

Six: You can stop the credit harassment. If a collection agent is calling you on your home number or in your office, spewing threats and using profane language, or attempt to discuss the debt with a third party, they are violating your rights as a consumer and you can take legal action against such harassment.

Knowing your rights is the first step towards dealing with debt collectors, abusive or otherwise. Most debt collectors assume debtors have no idea about consumer rights and continuously use threats as a way of extracting debt repayments. So know your rights and stand up against abusive debt collection practices.