Can two collections agencies attempt to collect the same debt ?

[Anonymous]

My private student loan collections was passed to One collections agency last July and now it is being handled by yet a new agency. Is this legal? I’ve had this since 2010 and it’s been sold from one agency to another ever since the original creditor filed for bankruptcy yet they still are ruining my credit. Isn’t it past the statute of limitations to collect?

[capricornchanges]

Yes they can. As far as SOL, check by googling your states SOL , some are 15 yrs and beyond, remember, reporting is different from collectibility, also Student loans have very different rules.

[bass_playr]

Hi, 

First, the time frame for SOL on collecting starts when the account first became delinquent.  You said that you started the account in 2010....do you remember when it first went past due?  Remember this too--if you pay the delinquent amount off, then that date of delinquency goes away and if you go past due again, that new date would be the one.  

You also need to know that in some states, acknowledging the debt and/or making payments on the debt can restart that SOL clock.  So, if you ever did that with the creditor(s), it could affect the SOL depending on your state law.  The reporting SOL is federal so it will not change no matter what state you live in.  So you need two pieces of info for this--first, you need to know the date of delinquency for this account.  Second, you need to look at your own state's laws.  Being that it's a private student loan, I believe you would be in a better position as far as SOL, because federal debts do not operate the same way regarding SOL.

[RobertEG]

Neither expiration of SOL nor credit report exclusion prevent a debt collector from continuing to attempt to collect on a debt.

The former will prevent them from obtaining a judgment, and the later will exclude the collection from normal credit reports, but the debt still remains valid until discharged, and the debt collector may continue to pursue collection provided they otherwise comply with all provisions of law.  A few states, for example, require the debt collector to provide specific notice to the consumer when/if the SOL has clearly expired.

As for multiple debt collectors, only one can have active (current) collection authority, but each debt collector who obtains collection authority can report to the CRAs.  The joint CRA credit reporting manual instructs a debt collector who has their collection authority terminated with the debt remaining unpaid to report deletion of their collection, so you should only have one collection appearing at any given time.   

Moving collections from one debt collector to another does not extend the credit report exclusion period, which is based only on one date-certain, which is the DOFD on the OC account that created the debt.

[Anonymous]

Well in this case one collection agency had been on their for seven years and is about to come off this month. In the mean time they sold it to another collections agency amthis past July and now on my reports it’s saying it won’t come off until 2021! Seems incorrect date. And they also have a second agency trying to collect on it just this week- they sent me a letter saying I have thirty days to question the validity. I’m worried both will report on my credit now and then report until 2021. What should I do? Please help. Thank you so much