In need of guidance...

[bridgegate]

What is the name of your state? South Carolina

Hello,

A friend of mine recently received a phone call from a debt collector attempting to contact me. So, I contacted them back. They are attempting to collect on a credit card debt, on which the last payment made was 07/03. At that time, and currently, I reside in South Carolina. From what I understand the statute of limitations is 3 years, which means that time has passed for which they can seek legal action. When I spoke with them, they claim they have a judgement against me. However, according to two credit reports I ordered as of 7/15/06, there aren’t any public records on file (which I presume means there are no judgements). In addition, I had not been previously notified of such action or notified of any court hearings. What are my legal obligations to this debt collector (This is a debt collector and not the original creditor, as the item indicates charged off and sold on credit report). What are my legal obligations to this 3rd party company? How can I prevent them from harassing me further? What would be the best course of action for me to take to let them know I will not play their games with them? Should I request any information from them at all? I am very eager to learn what I can do, as their goal seems to be to intimidate/trick you in to paying the balance.

As a last note, I received a letter from them today offering me a settlement of half of what they say I owe. And they request payment in full by Sept 30th.

Any help, guidance, advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Ladynred]

However, according to two credit reports I ordered as of 7/15/06, there aren’t any public records on file (which I presume means there are no judgements)

Do not PRESUME anything. Just because it's not on your reports does NOT mean there can't be any judgments against you. Call the courthouse in your county, or counties, where you've lived and FIND OUT for sure. Most likely it is just a tactic to get you to pay them, which would re-set the SOL.

What are my legal obligations to this 3rd party company? How can I prevent them from harassing me further? What would be the best course of action for me to take to let them know I will not play their games with them?

If there are no judgements, you have NO legal obligations. Once you are sure there were no lawsuits, no judgments, send them a cease and desist letter and tell them to get stuffed, the debt is time-barred. Send it certified, RRR and keep copies of everything.

[bridgegate]

Thanks for the reply. I definately appreciate it. I'll be following your advice and contacting the courthouse to insure there aren't any judgements against me.