SCARED: Collection Agency Letter on Old Debt that is Not on Credit Report

[plasectomy]

I received a letter from a collection agency wanting $142 on an old account that was last active about 10 years ago. The account is NOT on my credit report and I would like to keep it this way. Of course, the account is beyond the SOL. I was thinking about ignoring the letter since it's beyond the SOL, but then I read the following on the "ACH Disclosure" on the letter which states:

"Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. if you notify this office in writing within 30 days from receiving this notice, that you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion theorf, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgement and mail you aocpy of such judgement or verification."

My fear/paranoia is that they might report if I don't reply within 30 days. Should I just pay them and get the collection agencies off my back and not worry about them bugging me, or should I safely disregard the letter? I don't want to fight for having it removed from the CA if they report for whatever ridiculous reason. I don't know if a DV letter, C&D letter, or ignoring them is the best.

[chwebb1]

I would send them a debt verification letter. They will then have to prove it's within the statue of limitations.

[guiness56]

If the deb is 10 years old it cannot legally be put on your CR.  And even if it is beyond your states statue of limitations, they can attempt to collect forever.

You can send them a DV letter but it doesn't make them have to prove it is within the SOL.

[K9Veteran]

Most Attorneys will tell you to IGNORE IT, The danger in calling them is you could accidently REACTIVATE the debt by agreeing to pay it, set up a payment plan etc. OLD DEBT CAN COME BACK TO LIFE (Reset) if you agree to make payments and in some cases PAY IN FULL (AKA Settlement) FOR A LESS AMOUNT.

ONLY YOU CAN REACTIVATE THE DEBT BY DOING SOMETHING.

Those letters are designed to scare you into calling them. If it were me, I would let a dead horse lay.  

BE CAREFUL !

[guiness56]

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@K9Veteran wrote:

Most Attorneys will tell you to IGNORE IT, The danger in calling them is you could accidently REACTIVATE the debt by agreeing to pay it, set up a payment plan etc. OLD DEBT CAN COME BACK TO LIFE (Reset) if you agree to make payments and in some cases PAY IN FULL (AKA Settlement) FOR A LESS AMOUNT.

ONLY YOU CAN REACTIVATE THE DEBT BY DOING SOMETHING.

Those letters are designed to scare you into calling them. If it were me, I would let a dead horse lay.  

BE CAREFUL !

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Please do not tell anyone to ignore their debt.  No matter how old it may be it is still a valid debt. 

Even if they chose to ignore it and decided to buy a house down the line, that unpaid debt could come back to haunt them and they could still be made to pay it.

Yes, in some states making payments on an old debt can restart the SOL.  So can acknowledging the debt in writing.

A settlement should never restart the SOL as the debt is paid and they legally cannot attempt to collect the rest.

[plasectomy]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Understandably, I am being given mixed responses from reputable board members which makes it difficult for me to decide on what to do.

I feel like there is a danger in all my options:
A. Pay in full the amount, with a probability that that were report the credit bureau, even if it is "Paid in full". I would hate that to happen.

B. Ignore, and get paranoid about them trying to track me down, resell the debt, and have me thinking about the ACH disclosure which stated

"Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid".

Can someone please let me know what the text in bold really means?

C. Send a Debt Validation letter. I can use the template from page 118 on http://credit.org/assets/ebooks/ConsumerGuideToGoodCredit.pdf . My fear is that they may (for whatever silly reason) think that I'm admitting the debt although the letter clearly says I'm not.

What would you guys do in my shoes? Please keep in mind that if I'm going to pay, I will PIF and not do partial payments (not sure if it makes a difference but I think it does).

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@K9Veteran wrote:

.... OLD DEBT CAN COME BACK TO LIFE (Reset) if you agree to make payments and in some cases PAY IN FULL (AKA Settlement) FOR A LESS AMOUNT.

...

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That freaks me out, especially considering that I can still get screwed if I PIF.

[Lechte]

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@ojjlkjlkj wrote:

Thank you everyone for the replies. Understandably, I am being given mixed responses from reputable board members which makes it difficult for me to decide on what to do.

I feel like there is a danger in all my options:
A. Pay in full the amount, with maybe a probabilty that that were report the credit bureau, even if it is "Paid in full". I would hate that to happen.

B. Ignore, and get paranoid about them trying to track me down, resell the debt, and have me thinking about the ACH disclosure which stated

"Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid".

Can someone please let me know what the text in bold really means?

C. Send a Debt Validation letter. I can use the template from page 118 on http://credit.org/assets/ebooks/ConsumerGuideToGoodCredit.pdf . My fear is that they may (for whatever silly reason) think that I'm admitting the debt although the letter clearly says I'm not.

What would you guys do in my shoes? Please keep in mind that if I'm going to pay, I will PIF and not do partial payments (not sure if it makes a difference but I think it does).

---

@K9Veteran wrote:

.... OLD DEBT CAN COME BACK TO LIFE (Reset) if you agree to make payments and in some cases PAY IN FULL (AKA Settlement) FOR A LESS AMOUNT.

...

---

That freaks me out, especially considering that I can still get screwed if I PIF.

---

Don't worry about the "30 days".   They cannot legally sue you if it is outside of the SOL.   No matter what you do...after 7 years from the DOFD from the OC, it's removed.. they are not allowed to report it to the CRA's after that date.  If you want them off your back....DV them, let them prove the debt is valid...and if they validate then pay it.  If you don't wanna go through the charades of going back and forth, and know it is your debt...forget the DV and just go ahead and pay.  Either way, it's not allowed back on your CR's.

[Lechte]

You have absolutely nothin to worry about it.  From the sound of it...you got the $140 to pay...if that's extra cash you're not gonna miss, pay it now.  If it's not...wait til you're financially comfortable and then pay.  Unless you're applying for a large loan, that unpaid collection shouldn't surface.   If it does then... BAM!!  Pay it!!  Bam!!  Gone!!    ...if the CA tries some shady business and it shows up on your CR's...dispute it and the CRA's will have to delete.  

[RobertEG]

The blurb you are concerned about, "Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid", is straright out of FDCPA 809(b).  It is not of real concern.  It only states that they can make an assumption as part of their collection activities.  It does not establish legal validity of the debt.

Whether or not to send a DV depends upon why you are sending it.  If you do send a DV, make sure to do so within 30 days of their dunning notice, or it will not invoke a cease collection bar.

If cessation of communiations with you is your primary objective, you can send a cease communication letter under FDCPA 805(c), which lasts forever.

A cease collection bar imposed by a DV will be ovecome simply by their sending of a statement that they verify the debt.  They need not prove the debt in order to verify.

If you legitimately question the debt and want their statement that they have verified its accuracy, or want an itemiization of the alleged debt, such as if it has increased from its original amount, then you may wish to send a DV, and later consider sending a formal cease communication letter.

Personally, I would seriously consider simply paying it, thus removing any potential of future impact of having an unpaid, delinquent debt that comes to light in a future application for credit.  As previously stated, neither expiration of SOL nor or its credit report exclusion period results in satisfaction of the debt itself, and many standard loan apps ask for disclsoure of any unpaid, delinquent debt.

If you do plan to negotiate payment, then sending a DV would actually work to your detriment.  The cease collection bar that it imposes will preclude the debt collector from negotiation of any settlement terms until they have first responded to your DV.  It will thus place any negotiations in limbo.

[guiness56]

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@ojjlkjlkj wrote:

Thank you everyone for the replies. Understandably, I am being given mixed responses from reputable board members which makes it difficult for me to decide on what to do.

I feel like there is a danger in all my options:
A. Pay in full the amount, with a probability that that were report the credit bureau, even if it is "Paid in full". I would hate that to happen.

B. Ignore, and get paranoid about them trying to track me down, resell the debt, and have me thinking about the ACH disclosure which stated

"Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid".

Can someone please let me know what the text in bold really means?  This means if you dispute anything you can ask for a DV.  That just means they tell you who is collecting and how much.  If you ask for the name and address of the OC and an itemization, they have to give you that also.

C. Send a Debt Validation letter. I can use the template from page 118 on http://credit.org/assets/ebooks/ConsumerGuideToGoodCredit.pdf . My fear is that they may (for whatever silly reason) think that I'm admitting the debt although the letter clearly says I'm not.

What would you guys do in my shoes? Please keep in mind that if I'm going to pay, I will PIF and not do partial payments (not sure if it makes a difference but I think it does).

---

@K9Veteran wrote:

.... OLD DEBT CAN COME BACK TO LIFE (Reset) if you agree to make payments and in some cases PAY IN FULL (AKA Settlement) FOR A LESS AMOUNT.

...

---

That freaks me out, especially considering that I can still get screwed if I PIF.  No, if you PIF there is no longer any debt to come back and haunt you.  They cannot legally report it to your CR and they cannot sue you.  In some states it is illegal to even attempt to bring suit on a debt where the SOL has expired.

If you chose the DV route, keep it simple.  "You are attempting to collect on this alleged debt.  Account______.  Per FDCPA 809,  please validate.  Also incllude the name and address of the original creditor and an itemization of alleged debt."

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