I had an auto loan that originated in 2005. In 2007 I started to fall behind on my payments, and by the fall it was repossessed. I was able to recover it by making a large payment, but then at the end of the calendar year it was seized by police because it was used in a crime by a relative (fortunately I had absolutely no involvement in that). At that point I had to help my family with much more pressing bills, so I (admittedly, stupidly) stopped making car payments. A couple months later they demanded the car, I explained that the police had it. They were quiet for a couple months, then started sending me a letter about every other month asking for payment (which again - stupidly - I just ignored). By July 2010, they officially charged-off the debt and sold it to collections. I got a few letters from different agencies, all of which I ignored. Then it went quiet for a couple years, until two months ago, when I got a letter from the original lender offering to settle for less than owed. I got another similar letter two weeks ago. The settlement offer is still way beyond my ability to pay - several thousand dollars.
I feel plenty of guilt about hiding from a debt. If I had the means I would pay, but my family still relies on me for support and I don't make much, so I just can't. What I need to know in the immediate term is whether or not I am safe from a lawsuit, since that would be devastating for both me and my family. The last payment I made was in January 2008, and the charge-off is dated July 2010 (not sure which, if either, of those would be the clock-starter on the statute of limitations).
Can anyone here tell me whether or not I can still be sued for this? Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer. I greatly appreciate it.
Starting score 3/30/13: 570s across the board
You need to look up the SOL for your state for written contracts.
Starting Score: 11/29/12 TU 527; EQ 565; EX 564 fako - bk7 dc'd 2/15/13
New goal 675Thanks so much for bringing that up - I had meant to include that above.
Both the state where the loan originated and the state where I currently reside have 6-year statutes of limitations for written contracts. Do you know how this would then apply to my situation?
Thanks very much for the responses, I really appreciate it. As of right now I am not being threatened with a lawsuit, but it is something I worry about so I wanted to know whether I could stop worrying about being sued for this account. Receiving the latest offer to settle for less than owed made me nervous that if I didn't respond, a lawsuit might be next.
It sounds like I am not in fact out of the woods just yet, and if the creditor does take any further action I will take your advice and see if I can find an attorney that will do a free initial consultation.
Thanks again everyone.