Rebuilding Your Credit

[windyhair]

I had a Cap One account way back when (last payment 7/8/06, total owed $1607). Things went bad, and I left the state I was in which had a 6 year statute of limitations and moved to one with a 3 year SOL. I just got a statement from them for the total amount. Suggestions? Honestly, if I had the money to pay if (if they'd remove the bad one), I would, but I just got laid off. What a terrific thing to happen when I'm rebuilding, right?

I did just recently get approved for a new card from them in March. 

[escho]

Oh man, I'm wanting to know this same exact thing.  But my situation is reverse, I moved from a 6 year SOL for written agreements (cc) to a 10 year SOL... seriously!?  I need to know which is the right SOL.

[LIGHTNIN]

Most of the time creditors use the SOL, in the state you currently live in.

[RobertEG]

In a civil proceeding, the judge must use the law in their jurisdiction of authority.  So the SOL considered by the court will be that of the jurisdiction where the action is being heard.  Most civil actions will be brought in the jurisdiction of current residency of the consumer simply to make compliance with notice of service requirements easier.

However, in some instances, the plaintiff has the option, such as with debt collectors, who have the federally mandated option of selecting to bring action in either the current state of residency of the consumer, or the jurisdiction where the contract was signed.  In those cases one may not know the prevailing SOL until action is actually brought.

Some state SOL statutes do make specfic provision for periods of non-residency, or for situations where the debt occured in another jurisdiction, and thus could effectively bring the code of another jurisdiction into proper legal consideration.  Check out your full civil code on statue of limitations for debt for pertinent residency provisions.

[windyhair]

So, even if they use the state with the longer SOL, wouldn't it expire in 3 weeks anyway?

[pizzadude]

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windyhair wrote:

So, even if they use the state with the longer SOL, wouldn't it expire in 3 weeks anyway?

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I agree that you're probably ok in either situation. Are you in a position to make them a settlement offer or PFD ?