5 Year Old Debt.

I had a vehicle repossessed in July 1994. The bank in question has been updating my credit history, however, after calling Credit Consumer Services, the physical account has been charged off and closed. The individual I worked with at CCS said that since it was a zero balance and charged off, technically I own nothing. Today I received a letter from a collections agency (5 years later) stating that they may be pursuing legal action in regards to paying off the account. If the account is closed with a zero balance, do I need to pay anything or am I also having my 'cord yanked'??

~Rich

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face=" Arial, Verdana, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rich Wallace:
I had a vehicle repossessed in July 1994. The bank in question has been updating my credit history, however, after calling Credit Consumer Services, the physical account has been charged off and closed. The individual I worked with at CCS said that since it was a zero balance and charged off, technically I own nothing. Today I received a letter from a collections agency (5 years later) stating that they may be pursuing legal action in regards to paying off the account. If the account is closed with a zero balance, do I need to pay anything or am I also having my 'cord yanked'??

~Rich<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


My response:

To quote a wonderful person, "Your cord isn't being yanked."

You have a typical misunderstanding of the term, "charged off." You don't owe the bank any longer, because they sold the debt to someone else. That's why you have a zero balance with the bank - - you merely owe the debt to someone else. In other words, the bank got tired of dealing with you, decided to take 20 cents on the dollar, and call it a day, and let someone else have the headache of collecting the debt. That's a "charge off" as regards the bank.

It makes no difference that the debt may be five years old; however, you never told us your State, or the date of your last payment (to anyone) on the debt. Therefore, can't help you without that info.

Good luck.

IAAL


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Sorry. I'm in Arizona and I have not made any payments to any organization since the repossession.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face=" Arial, Verdana, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rich Wallace:
Sorry. I'm in Arizona and I have not made any payments to any organization since the repossession.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My response:

Okay, your Statute of Limitations on a written contract is 5 years from the date of last payment. You said that it's a 5 year old debt, yet you say the car was repossessed in July 1994, and hadn't made a payment from that time - - making it 5 year and 11 months. Which is it? Since you are so close to the S.O.L., we've got to count days; so, make sure you know the EXACT day, month and year of your last payment. You may have just been "rounding off" the years, but this is no time to do that. Now you need to be absolutely sure, and exact, with surgical precision.

Who knows, they just might be yanking your cord. But, you better be absolutely sure - - right down to the "day." For all I know, the Statute might run tomorrow, because you forgot that you made a payment, and they could "squeek" in with a timely filed complaint against you. Let me know.

IAAL

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By reading the “Response” to your question or comment, you agree that: The opinions expressed herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE" are designed to provide educational information only and are not intended to, nor do they, offer legal advice. Opinions expressed to you in this site are not intended to, nor does it, create an attorney-client relationship, nor does it constitute legal advice to any person reviewing such information. No electronic communication with "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE," on its own, will generate an attorney-client relationship, nor will it be considered an attorney-client privileged communication. You further agree that you will obtain your own attorney's advice and counsel for your questions responded to herein by "I AM ALWAYS LIABLE."



[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited June 06, 2000).]