Tuesday, March 18, 2008 FEDERAL statute of limitations for cell phone collections is 2 years
What Happens If Alabama Consumers Have Suffered A Default Judgment On A Cell Phone Bill?
We recently posted about the widespread problem of debt buyers suing Alabama consumers for cell phone bills more than two years after the bill was not paid. As we noted in the post, there is a two year statute of limitation that applies that debt buyers such as Palisades (AT&T Wireless) and other debt buyers ignore. These suits are often brought by law-firms such as Zarzaur & Schwartz (who represents Palisades in hundreds of cases brought every month in Alabama). A question we are often asked is whether there is anything that can be done when a default judgment has occurred. The answer is “Yes” - you can sue the debt buyer who brought the bogus suit - but the default judgment is often impossible to overcome.
As we discussed, the suit is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) if it is brought after the statute of limitations has expired. Almost every suit over a cell phone bill we have seen is brought closer to five or six years, not two years. So the debt buyer has likely violated the FDCPA by bringing the suit.
But unfortunately the default judgment will often stand. There are certain time limits that apply to getting default judgments set aside. But even if you cannot set aside the default judgment, you can still often sue the debt buyer.
So, if you were sued over a cell phone bill and a default judgment was entered against you, you still have options. Please feel free to contact us for a free consultation. If you have just been sued, then you have even more options. We look forward to helping you any way we can.
Usually STATE law applies to debt collection, but this is FEDERAL law:
The FEDERAL law: Title 47
There’s all kinds of great stuff at the Alabama Consumer Law Blog with many LINKS missing in my copy/paste of the blog entry.
With regards to getting default judgments from debt buyers for debts with expired SOL vacated, I would definitely sue THEM and then get THEM to vacate the judgement. After all, the judgment on your credit will cause you damages and I’m sure they’d rather vacate than pay for CONTINUED damages for the next 7 years.
Also, in addition to the FDCPA claims, always check for FCRA claims too.
Alabama Consumers Sued By Debt Buyers Or Collectors - Two Essential Things To Remember
Hundreds and hundreds of Alabama consumers are sued every single month by debt buyers (Palisades, Asset Acceptance, Unifund, etc). First a bit of background and then we will mention the two essential things Alabama consumers should remember when sued by a debt buyer.
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Check it out, very good info and much of it applies to all states.
