Help...Did I open a can of worms???

[Virbena]

I'll try to make as clear as possilbe.

Back in 1989 my current husband (and his wife then) filed chapter 13 banckruptcy on all personal debt because of their divorce.
Now he and I have been married 2.5 years and just bought a house. The credit report seemed clear of any problems. Just a few knicks that we had to fix in escrow.

Now... we just received a letter in the mail from a financial inst. collector demanding we pay $5K+ for an account he and his wife had included in the bankruptcy in '89. I understand it's against the bankruptcy law to try to collect on a debt that was included in the filing but it's been 10+ years and I just don't understand why this would come up now since we just bought a house. By buying a house did that open us up for old creditors to contact us? Did we open a can of worms???? This is not the only very old debt/letter that has come in the mail. We have never heard from this collector - ever until now.

Do I write and letter back disputing it - of course! Is there a suggestion on what I should say? Do I ask for proof? What's really funny is that a credit report from 1999 says the account had a payment made to it in 1998....go figure...

Thanks, Verbina

 

[gottago]

Send the collector a letter via certified, return-receipt mail. In it, tell them that the statute of limitations has run out on the debt, and that you do not want to be contacted any further concerning the matter. Further, explain that if they continue to contact you concerning the debt, you will consider suing them for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Whatever you do, don't pay a dime to them at this point, regardless of what they tell you. At this point, the debt is too old to sue you over, and it's too old to be on your credit report.

Also, send the credit bureau a dispute letter (also certified, RR mail). Ask them to remove the debt from your drport, since it is over 7 years old.

 

[bigun]

First of all, do what Gottago says. May I ask the name of the collection agency? Is it Sherman? On www.creditnet.com someone posted the same thing happened with them. A discharge from bk and a collection letter. Someone found their web site and they say they buy bankrupt debt! A member emailed them asking for an explanation and they said they try and collect "passively" whatever that means. The person involved turned his lawyer loose and said they will keep the forum posted.