Question About Collection Letter for Super Old Account

[Queen_Etherea]

Hello again everyone!

So the weirdest thing happened... I had made a comment on another post about Credit One and how I used to have a credit card with them when I was in my early 20's (I am now in my early 30's, just to give some reference to the age of this account.) It never showed up on my credit report, or if it did, I never saw it because I never really monitored my reports until earlier this year. So even if it was, it's been over 7 years since I had this account, and way past the DoFD.

Then out of the freaking blue, I get this letter from Dynamic Recovery Solutions telling me I need to pay this account! Like do they monitor these forums or something?? It honestly creeped me out, but that's not why I'm posting. I'm wondering if I should pay this or not. If you look at the very bottom, it has a thing about California residents, which is where I live, and have lived my entire life. It says they will not sue me and it will not go on my credit reports. It also says if I make a partial payment, it could restart the statute of limitations.

So why now? Is this one of those zombie debts that I hear about on this forum? Are they just trying to get some money out of me from this 10+ year old debt? I don't know EXACTLY when I had this card, but I know for sure it was when I was in my early 20's, probably even 19. Should I send them a letter, call them, or ?? I've worked so hard on rebuilding my credit and have finally crossed over into the 700's, so I don't want this stupid old debt to ruin things.

Thanks as always! you guys!

[Anonymous]

What will happen if you do nothing? 

I don't want to sound like I'm saying to not honor your debts, but this is so weird and OLD... It sounds like they're flinging stuff to the wall just to see what sticks. But what do I know? I'm curious to hear what others think. 

[Queen_Etherea]

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@Anonymous wrote:

What will happen if you do nothing? 

I don't want to sound like I'm saying to not honor your debts, but this is so weird and OLD... It sounds like they're flinging stuff to the wall just to see what sticks. But what do I know? I'm curious to hear what others think. 

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Maybe it's a coincidence, but it definitely freaked me out! My Fiance is always saying not to put negative thoughts out into the universe haha. The universe apparently heard and passed along the message.

[calyx]

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@Queen_Etherea wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

What will happen if you do nothing? 

I don't want to sound like I'm saying to not honor your debts, but this is so weird and OLD... It sounds like they're flinging stuff to the wall just to see what sticks. But what do I know? I'm curious to hear what others think. 

---

Maybe it's a coincidence, but it definitely freaked me out! My Fiance is always saying not to put negative thoughts out into the universe haha. The universe apparently heard and passed along the message.

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You can call them and tell them to pound sand, if you'd like, but I would probably ignore them.

I do think there's some truth to zombie debts re-emerging when predatory collection agencies notice/are alerted that someone's score is improving, so they reach out.
I had an older debt and I reached out to the creditor to fix and they refused to budge.
After about three months of score improvement, I got a phone call from them to come to an arrangement.   I think they got the same kind of "flag,"  however that works (when I see my credit report, there are so many soft pulls that I can't account for, I think it's related).

[tparks5961]

Hey Queen,

The same thing happened to me about a month ago..

Roughly 2 months ago, I started on my credit rebuilding journey.. Signed up for a credit repair service (That I eventually dropped), Negotiated PFD and had 20 out of 22 collections removed that were posting on the 3 different CRA's.

At the age of 43, I know that I dont have it in me to start over again.. And realize how stupid I was to ignore my excellent credit at a young age..  Silly silly mistakes..  But anyway, I got a letter in the mail from an account that I opened in 1998.  Balance of $4700.00. They were kind enough to include vouchers for repayment that totalled about $3600.00 spread out over 6 months. The letter they sent me said a judgement has been placed against me for the debt.  The debt collection agency is also located in California.

This was somewhat confusing to me as the debt was over 20 years old. I began to do as much research as I could about judgements and general debt collection from the state of California.. What I found is that California has some of the most debt collection friendly laws in the county.. Which is why Collection agencies and sub prime loan companies are located there. I read that at the end of a 10 year judgement, they can re file and start a new 10 year timer.. After all the hard work I put in to fix things.. I'm almost certain they were monitoring my credit, saw some improvements and are trying to capitalize.

I sent them a debt validation letter about 30 days ago, and waiting on a response.. This is straight up crazy.

[Queen_Etherea]

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@tparks5961 wrote:

Hey Queen,

The same thing happened to me about a month ago..

Roughly 2 months ago, I started on my credit rebuilding journey.. Signed up for a credit repair service (That I eventually dropped), Negotiated PFD and had 20 out of 22 collections removed that were posting on the 3 different CRA's.

At the age of 43, I know that I dont have it in me to start over again.. And realize how stupid I was to ignore my excellent credit at a young age..  Silly silly mistakes..  But anyway, I got a letter in the mail from an account that I opened in 1998.  Balance of $4700.00. They were kind enough to include vouchers for repayment that totalled about $3600.00 spread out over 6 months. The letter they sent me said a judgement has been placed against me for the debt.  The debt collection agency is also located in California.

This was somewhat confusing to me as the debt was over 20 years old. I began to do as much research as I could about judgements and general debt collection from the state of California.. What I found is that California has some of the most debt collection friendly laws in the county.. Which is why Collection agencies and sub prime loan companies are located there. I read that at the end of a 10 year judgement, they can re file and start a new 10 year timer.. After all the hard work I put in to fix things.. I'm almost certain they were monitoring my credit, saw some improvements and are trying to capitalize.

I sent them a debt validation letter about 30 days ago, and waiting on a response.. This is straight up crazy.

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Wow! Well first congrats on getting so many collections removed! The statute of limitations on your account was up a long time ago. How can they place a judgement against you for such an old account?? I mean, they can try, but if you go to court, they won’t win. They get you by doing this hoping you won’t show up to court and they get an automatic win, so just be careful with that.

It specifically says on the bottom of the letter that they can’t sue me and can’t place it on my reports, so I don’t see the point in paying this, to be honest. I might as well just throw $300 out of the window.

My biggest concern is if I should even bother to contact them or not. Should I call them and tell them to debt is too old and to go bother someone else? Is this going to show up on some other report that will affect me down the line?

[Queen_Etherea]

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@calyx wrote:

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@Queen_Etherea wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

What will happen if you do nothing? 

I don't want to sound like I'm saying to not honor your debts, but this is so weird and OLD... It sounds like they're flinging stuff to the wall just to see what sticks. But what do I know? I'm curious to hear what others think. 

---

Maybe it's a coincidence, but it definitely freaked me out! My Fiance is always saying not to put negative thoughts out into the universe haha. The universe apparently heard and passed along the message.

---

You can call them and tell them to pound sand, if you'd like, but I would probably ignore them.

I do think there's some truth to zombie debts re-emerging when predatory collection agencies notice/are alerted that someone's score is improving, so they reach out.
I had an older debt and I reached out to the creditor to fix and they refused to budge.
After about three months of score improvement, I got a phone call from them to come to an arrangement.   I think they got the same kind of "flag,"  however that works (when I see my credit report, there are so many soft pulls that I can't account for, I think it's related).

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They probably think, oh well they're paying their debts off and we can probably scare them into paying this one too! I fell for that once and I won't let it happen again. I had a CA call me and say they were calling from the court and that if I didn't call and pay this account immediately, they were going to file felony fraud charges against me. I called and ended up paying $1,000 that I didn't have to because I believed them. Long story short, I got my money back, and paid the ACTUAL amount I was supposed to, which was $294. So I'm not in such a rush to just call and pay things just because a CA says I have to.

[bass_playr]

There are two options.  

First, you can choose to pay the debt.  This is entirely your choice.  Some people want to pay their debts off.  I caution you, if you choose to go that route, I would recommend that you first seek debt validation from both Dynamic Recovery and from LVNV itself too.  LVNV is famous for farming zombie debts out to a bunch of subsidiary debt collectors, so if you DV them right out of the gate, it forces them to either validate, drop the matter, or violate the law.  

I would make sure that:

1--the debt is legitimately yours

2--the balance they claim you owe is accurate

3--both LVNV and Dynamic have legal authority to collect that debt.

If they cannot provide those three things, as a general rule, I don't pay them.  I've seen plenty of people pay a debt collector just because they were told that the debt collector could collect.

Second option, you could send them a certified letter telling them to cease and desist.  Basically, it's a letter telling them to stop contacting you about this matter.  By law(FDCPA) they must honor it.  If you already know they cannot sue you over it, and you know for sure that it's more than 8 years since the account first became past due, then they cannot do anything to you, including reporting on your credit.  If they happen to put this on your credit report, they will have violated the FCRA because it's too old to be on there.  If you choose this route, just be sure to not admit to anything.  In some states, a written acknowledgement of the debt can restart the SOL for them to sue you.

The last time I wrote a C&D, it was basically me saying in multiple ways that I was NOT GOING TO PAY THEM.  You could make a simple one by identifying the account as they did, and then telling them that you want them to cease all communication with you regarding the matter.  

[RobertEG]

There is a trend on the state level to enact enhanced debt collection practices statutes that require a debt collector to include advisement to consumers if the debt is clearly outside of the state SOL that they cannot/will not be sued.  California is one such state, and the time-barred debt advisement is thus a requirment when sent to CA residents.

The CFPB was in the process of potentially enacting rules on the national level requiring SOL expiration advisement as part of all dunning notices, but the recent clamp down on the CFPB has likely killed any final rules to that effect.

As to whether or not to pay, I would never advise not to pay a legit debt, but you can certainly choose not to pay, and it will never be posted to your credit report or subject to civil action seeking a judgment.  It is entirely a personal decision.

The only possible negative would be if, in a future app for new credit, the creditor asks for disclosure of all unpaid, delinquent debt, and thus becomes aware of the unpaid, delinquent debt, and for some underwriting reason requires its payment.  With the debt clearly outside of SOL, that is probably unlikely.

You can send any debt collector a cease communication notice at any time under FDCPA 805(c), which thereafter makes it a violation for them to continue with any calls or letters.  If you decide not to pay, I would send a cease communication letter, thus ending any more calls or letters.

[FireMedic1]

Reading the last line on that letter. File it. Dont let it open up a can of worms as it says it may start the whole process over if any amount is paid.