topic Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago in Rebuilding Your Credit

Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:24:00 GMT

So when I was younger and dumber I bought a car and financed it through Nissan. Shortly thereafter I ended up going through a nasty divorce and losing almost everything and had to stop paying the note on the car. The car was never repossessed and Nissan never sued me.

Fast forward to today when I get a call first thing in the morning from a debt collector informing me they were going to take action if I didn't pay this 14k debt I owed on this car.

This was well over 12 years ago. I am at a point now where I've been turning my life around and actually paying all my bills, I've bought a home and trying to get the rest of my $15k in credit card debt paid off.

What can this collection agency legally do? They got very upset when I told them I wasn't doing anything until I spoke with an attorney or someone to give me advice on this matter.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

calyx — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:33:21 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So when I was younger and dumber I bought a car and financed it through Nissan. Shortly thereafter I ended up going through a nasty divorce and losing almost everything and had to stop paying the note on the car. The car was never repossessed and Nissan never sued me.

Fast forward to today when I get a call first thing in the morning from a debt collector informing me they were going to take action if I didn't pay this 14k debt I owed on this car.

This was well over 12 years ago. I am at a point now where I've been turning my life around and actually paying all my bills, I've bought a home and trying to get the rest of my $15k in credit card debt paid off.

What can this collection agency legally do? They got very upset when I told them I wasn't doing anything until I spoke with an attorney or someone to give me advice on this matter.

At 12 years, this could be past the SOL (statute of limitations). You should look into your state's SOL first. Use terms like "time barred debts" or "statute of limitations" and make sure to see if it applies to unsecure (sometimes called 'open') or secure (sometimes called 'written') debts

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:42:48 GMT

Did you admit that it was your debt? Hopefully saying you wouldn’t do anything without talking to an attorney won’t somehow work against you.

Was it 12 years ago that you bought the car or 12 years ago that you last paid on the car? What is the DoFD? That will really matter. If you bought it 12 years ago, and had a long repayment term, and you paid on it for several years prior to defaulting, it is possible you are still within the SOL. Maybe on the very edge of it, but finding out when you last paid is important.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Rebuild2019 — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:44:27 GMT

Good luck

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:49:22 GMT

So I looked at the Court in Houston Texas where it was purchased and back in 2009 there was a lawsuit from Nissan but the plantiff dismissed the lawsuit without predjudice and the case was closed and dismissed by the original creditor

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:50:07 GMT

I am in Texas and this is well beyond the SOL.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

pgtackle2003 — Mon, 20 May 2019 15:56:11 GMT

First this depends on the state you live in. States vary on their Statue of Limitations. This ranges between 3-6 years depending on the state. If it's been 12 years, so as long as you've made no payment whatsoever in the past 12 years, than it's likely they don't have the legal right to collect on the debt. You will likely need to send them a letter in regards to the SOL being past. I would make a copy of this letter as well as certified so you have record they received it.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:01:29 GMT

It is great that you know they tried suing you 10 years ago, since it means you defaulted prior and it’s outside of the SOL. I’d just be concerned that telling the CA that you wouldn’t do anything until you talked to an attorney would count as acknowledging the debt and reset the time they can force collections on you. I hope that isn’t the case!

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

calyx — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:05:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I am in Texas and this is well beyond the SOL.

It seems that while you technically still owe the debt, and the debt collectors can contact you to collect, they can't take you to court or do anything beyond ask you to pay.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

gdale6 — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:09:26 GMT

It sounds like it is past SOL in most all states. ALs can also be governed by a states UCCs over their standard SOLs. A collector can attempt to collect as long as it remains unpaid but making threats are another thing. They could sue but they wont get a judgment if you use the SOL as your defense. I would just send them a cease and desist all collection efforts and be done with this collector.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:12:50 GMT

Thanks for all the advice. This has been stressing me out all morning. I've gotten my life back on track and this is just an ugly reminder of the past and my ex husband and what I've had to go through to get where I am now.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Queen_Etherea — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:19:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It is great that you know they tried suing you 10 years ago, since it means you defaulted prior and it’s outside of the SOL. I’d just be concerned that telling the CA that you wouldn’t do anything until you talked to an attorney would count as acknowledging the debt and reset the time they can force collections on you. I hope that isn’t the case!

FYI, acknowledging the debt wouldn't reset the time. The DoFD is a date set in stone and they would have to make other payments after that date in order to reset the clock.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:19:56 GMT

Queen_Ethera, sorry, I don’t know how to quote. See what you said was my understanding too, but last night I was reading an article and it said acknowledging the debt can reset the SOL for collection purposes but not CRA reporting purposes. I thought that was weird so I googled more and several articles said the same thing. That it is easier than people think to reset the debt collection time limit if they aren’t careful when talking to a collector.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Queen_Etherea — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:41:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Queen_Ethera, sorry, I don’t know how to quote. See what you said was my understanding too, but last night I was reading an article and it said acknowledging the debt can reset the SOL for collection purposes but not CRA reporting purposes. I thought that was weird so I googled more and several articles said the same thing. That it is easier than people think to reset the debt collection time limit if they aren’t careful when talking to a collector.

Unfortunately, you can't quote if you're using a mobile device. Oh ok I see what you're saying there, but I'm still a little confused. Can't debt collectors try and collect a debt as long as there's a balance owed even if it's too late to show up on your reports? Resetting the SOL for collection purposes doesn't mean that they can sue you still, right?

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

pgtackle2003 — Mon, 20 May 2019 16:46:06 GMT

They can continue and try to collect up until you send them a letter notifying them it is past SOL and to no longer contact you. Once you do that they cannot legally contact you.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

gdale6 — Mon, 20 May 2019 18:24:10 GMT

The DoFD is set in stone, it can never be changed once an account is COed. CRTP is calculated from this date.

SOL is different in each state as they all set their own time limits. Certain things can reset SOL in a state and again they are different across them all so you would need to look up the state you are living in and the state the creditor is incorporated in. A creditor can use which ever is longer. Talking about a debt with an OC or CA does not reset anything in any state. In 2 states Wisconsin and Mississippi the debt is actually extinguished once it reaches SOL and all collection efforts must cease. Once a debt is past SOL you can send a collector a cease and desist all communications if you wish, I would not do it prior to SOL as it most likely would result in a lawsuit.

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Mon, 20 May 2019 19:57:50 GMT

Thank you for clarifying!

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:29:33 GMT

The SOL in Texas is 4 years. This is WELL beyond 4 years

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:48:20 GMT

so if it's passed the SOL, and they start garnishing your wages. Would it reset the SOL from the beginning payment or the last payment they took from you? I have one that's now 10 years old at this point but they garnished from my jobs 4 and 2 years ago...Arkansas SOL says 2-5 years...

Re: Debt Collection call this morning on a Nissan auto loan from over 10 years ago

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:14:59 GMT

I'm assuming a garnishment was after a court case. Did you not hire an attorney to argue the SOL?