SOL in Ohio / Steps to Take

[mer313131]

What is the name of your state? Debt incurred in Ohio / Currently live in New York

I received two letters from 3rd party collection agency regarding two different store credit cards that were charged off/no activity since 7/2001. Debt incurred in Ohio. Moved to New York late 2007. These are no longer on my credit report. I have done some research but have a few additional questions.....
Since I moved to NY, am I bound by statute of limitations for Ohio or NY?
Is the OH statute of limitations 4 years or 15 years on store credit cards?
If it is 15 years, should I still try and fight as if it is 4 years and hope they consider it an open account?
I have also downloaded a template for a cease contact letter/dispute of debt owed. Should I send this within the 30 day timeline set by the collection agency to dispute the debt, or just ignore them until they try to sue?
The amounts of the purchased debt balances are each below $800. With ridiculous amounts of interest, the debts are around $1400 apiece. What are the chances the agency is willing to sue? I believe it is a pretty large agency.
Any other advice on the best way to handle this situation would be greatly appreciated.What is the name of your state?

[Debt Guy]

Your situation is complicated -- moving from one state to another always makes SOL complex. You must look to the state laws of both the old state and the new state to see exactly the impact.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act you may be sued either in the judicial district where you signed the agreement or the judicial district where you now reside. In most cases, you will be sued where you now reside as a matter of economy. If you are sued in the judicial district where you signed the agreement, the creditor must domesticate the judgment in the state where you now live.

If you are sued where you now reside, the judge will want to apply the SOL for that state. After all, that is what she/he knows and understands.

In my opinion, store charge cards are open accounts and bank credit cards are written agreements. There is disagreement on this point. Some think all cards are open accounts and some think all cards are written agreements. Ultimately, the law of your state will be interpreted by the judge and that will be the answer (unless, of course, you can find precedent cases in your jurisdiction).

SOL begins to run from the date of first default. DOFD is generally 30 days after the last regular payment made on the account.

So, clear as mud. Right? There are no straightforward answers to your questions.

Whatever you decide, it is entirely possible the creditor will disagree. Once sued, you will have the honor and duty of defending yourself in court and to make the argument to the court in the manner and format required by the local rules of civil procedure.

You can fight. You can hide. You can settle the accounts. Those are your choices. Which one you choose is up to you.

If the balances are small, then you might be able to settle the accounts for nominal amounts. Some would consider that a small price to pay for certainty of the outcome and elimination of risk.

Others would say to dig in your feet and fight. Of course, they would say fight to the death if the DOFD was last week and the sol in your state was 15 years. Some people are fighters out of principle. I suspect they lose more often than they win.

Others would tell you to examine the ethics of the matter. If these are your debts (I suspect you know they are) then the honorable and ethical thing to do is step up and deal with it. Just because they are old does not diminish your ethical duty. There is no SOL on honesty. Dishonest behavior is way bad karma.

A pragmatist would suggest to you that if the debts are truly out of statute, then send a certified letter (forget the trash you find on the internet) and just say "cease all communication with me" and "I dispute this debt" and "this debt is time barred in my state". From there you don't know what will happen. They might go away or they might sue you. If the latter, then you get to reconsider the decision to fight.