very old debt...very new payment "request"

What is the name of your state? Arizona

I just tried posting a message and then got a screen inviting me to "log in". I'm a slow typer and this is most irritating. In essence, I got a letter today fro "Debt Recovery Solutions, LLC". Is this a legitimate organization? They are requesting payment on an OLD Sears account that they say was "recalled" from Allied Interstate.
My last copy of my credit report is April 2002. There was no mention of Sears or Allied Interstae on it. My Sears account became past due in early 1993. Hasn't the statute od limitations expired on this?

[Ladynred]

Oh yeah.. it exprired a LONG time ago !! The SOL in AZ is 3 years for credit cards.. this thing's a dinosaur .. so bury it's bones !!

You need to send this collection agency a cease and desist letter telling them never to contact you about the debt again as it is time-barred. There's quite a bunch of sleaze-ball CA's out there who 'specialize' in tyring to extort money from people, aka 'victims', for out-of-statute debts.

At this site, you'll find an excellent expired SOL letter along with the state statutes you'll need to fill in the letter:

[url]http://community-2.webtv.net/Y-Chat/WhyChatsCredit/page3.html[/url]

Tell 'em to crawl back into their cesspool and leave you alone

[bigun]

The SOL ran long ago. According to this site, the SOL on cc debt is 3 years in Az.
[url]http://www.fidelityinfocorp.com/state_list.html[/url]

Send them a letter {CRRR} stating the debt is timebarred and never contact you about this matter again.
Check your credit report to be sure they didn't re-age.

Please check the SOL in Arizona - I was caught up in an old debt problem - and found out the the SOL was 6 years. I would think that your credit report with the dropped off report would hold up against their claims. Lots of luck - Arizona is a tough state on these issues

[bigun]

It is 6 years for a written account but this is a credit card and that is considered an open acount with a 3 year sol.

Thank you very much for your information. This site is the best!

We get that a lot

regarding bigun's response: What does the term re-age mean and when I check my credit report, how will I know if this has been done? What do I look for?

[Ladynred]

Re-aging is most obvious when the date of last activity listed for a debt has been changed, usually to a much more recent debt. When they do this, which is illegal, they are trying to 'run the statute' on you. If you have an older credit report that shows a date of last activity that is earlier than what is being reported by a collection agency, then you're likely looking at an illegal re-aging - and you can sue 'em for it !

If you don't have an older credit report, then checking your statements or cancelled checks to find out when your last payment to the creditor was made is also a good indicator.

I have the "letter" ready to send except for one thing......I am having a problem finding the last date of activity.
I have credit reports....the earliest I can find is April 2000...and there is nothing on it to show this account. The letter that Debt Recovery Solutions sent me says that my Sears account has been recalled from Allied Interstate (a collection agency that Debt Recovery Solutions says was previously handling my Sears account). They don't give any dates at all in the letter. They just give me the original creditor (Sears) and the account # and the amount they say I owe. Is there any place that I can get a date to prove that this account is as old as I say it is? It originally went delinquent in 1993! I need to get this cease and desist letter off by the 2nd or 3rd of June at the latest. Help!

[Ladynred]

Wow.. if the debt is THAT old, then its dropped of your credit report long ago - 7 years is the MAX to report negative entries. If its not even on your credit report any more, its pretty good proof that its a dead duck. Only in RI or WY is the statute of limitations longer than 7 years.

At this point, I wouldn't worry about proving the DOLA, its LONG gone and the SOL expired long ago. Just send the C&D letter and be done with the jackanapes !!

Besides, the burden of proof isn't on you, its on them.

I mailed the letter certified...requesting notification that it was delivered. I got that back in the mail. Now I have another collection letter from them. Do I need to respond to each letter or was once enough? What now?

[bigun]

Save the letter and the envelop. Don't respond. Once is OK. If they send you anything else, sue them for violating the Cease & desist letter.

[tigger22472]

Hate to hoard in on your post but since it was addressed here I'll ask it here...

Does this only count if it's not on your credit report? I have somethings on mine that are nearing the 7 year (which I think is what it is in Indiana) but with no record on it.

[bigun]

To FSWII,

Here is Az. requirements for a collection agency to operate. Check and see if they're in complaince.











Collection Agency Licensing Requirements:


A person desiring to conduct a collection agency must comply with Arizona's licensing requirements prescribed under Title 32, Article 9, Sec. 32-1001, et seq., of the Arizona Revised Statutes. The requirements include the submission of an application and financial statement, an application fee of $1,500, posting of a bond in an amount based on the gross annual income of the licensee for the preceding year with a minimum amount of $10,000, and a maximum bond amount of $35,000.and compliance with all regulations set forth in the statutory provisions. Application and licensing information may be obtained from the Department of Banking
2910 North 44th Street, Suite 310,
Phoenix, Arizona 85018,
[url]http://www.azbanking.com.[/url]

These requirement are covered by Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1001 to 32-1057 available here. See ARS 6-123, which prescribes the Collection Agency Application Fee of $1,500.00, and is available here.



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