Charged Off Credit Card

What is the name of your state? Card was opened in Maine, currently live in Virginia.

My husband got a Gordon's credit card in 1991, and we had some financial troubles and it got charged off in 1994. It finally dropped of my husband's credit report in 2001 or 2002. I pulled all three of his credit reports last month and it's back on there on one of them. They're calling now wanting us to make a payment on it.

What should we do?

[cmorris]

Originally Posted by jhyland

What is the name of your state? Card was opened in Maine, currently live in Virginia.

My husband got a Gordon's credit card in 1991, and we had some financial troubles and it got charged off in 1994. It finally dropped of my husband's credit report in 2001 or 2002. I pulled all three of his credit reports last month and it's back on there on one of them. They're calling now wanting us to make a payment on it.

What should we do?

The SOL in Maine is 6 years and 3 years in Virginia. Because you opened the card in Maine, the SOL is based on Maine. If the DOLA was in 1994, the SOL ran out sometime in 2000. The entry can only stay on the CRA for seven years from the DOLA. I am assuming from your post that the DOLA was in 1994 and should be removed. It cannot just magically reappear or reage, unless a payment has been made since 1994. The debt is time-barred.

Send letters, CMRRR, to the CRA's and CA. The one to the CRA's should state the DOLA and it should not appear on the credit report. The one to the CA should state it is time-barred, based on the SOL. In both letters, refer to the FDCPA. Make sure the letters are sent CMRRR. There are good letters at [URL=http://www.creditboards.com]creditboards[/URL].com. I recommend critiquing the letters, based on your circumstances.

[Ladynred]

Who is the collection agency ??

First of all, the SOL for collection of a debt has NOTHING to do with what's on your credit report. However, a debt that has aged off after the reporting period is up can NOT be legally put back on your reports. That is illegal, a violation of the FCRA, its been illegally re-aged. Dispute that entry with the credit bureaus as obsolete and illegally re-aged and re-inserted on your DH's reports. If you have a copy of an old credit report showing the actual date of delinquency, then send that along with your dispute.

Collections can NOT survive the obsolesence of the ORIGINAL debt, so if Gordon's has dropped off and this scumbag collection agency has put it back on, they're breaking the law.

I do agree that you need to send the Collection Agency a cease and desist telling them to bug off, the debt is time-barred. Here's a letter just for this purpose:

[url]http://community-2.webtv.net/YCHANGE/STORAGE/page13.html[/url]

The state statutes you need for the letter (use both VA and MD for good measure) are on that same site.