"zombie" debt collecter

[kitten party]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

HI All,
I received a letter from a law office saying they were trying to collect a debt of mine. This debt is 5-7 years old (don't have any documents from that time). I looked up the attorneys (wright lerch and litow) and found that they specialize in "zombie debt". I also looked up their cases in justia and they were all with wright lerch and litow as the defendants with the fair debt collection act as the cause of the cases. The letter i received is from July (I guess it got buried). Is this something I should be worried about, they seem like they aren't doing a good job at collecting these old debts...

Thanks in advance, sorry for the mistakes im sure i made, im new to this site :/

 

[Zigner]

A: Maybe.

 

[kitten party]

A: Maybe.

is there a B: ?

 

[Zigner]

is there a B: ?

The "A" stands for answer. The answer to your question is "maybe". Based on the (lack of) information in your post, there is no way any of us could tell you if you have anything to worry about.

 

[kitten party]

The "A" stands for answer. The answer to your question is "maybe". Based on the (lack of) information in your post, there is no way any of us could tell you if you have anything to worry about.

Fair enough. Their letter specified to contact them in 30 days to dispute the debt and otherwise it is valid. Am I still able to dispute the debt even though that time has passed? Im unsure what kind of time frame these people usually work in but I would assume that they would have taken this to court or sent me more information by now if they were going to follow up, is that a fair assumption to make?

I also assumed that since looking them on justia that ALL of their cases have them as the defendant for the reason as "fair debt collection act" that they were operating illegially and appear to have stopped filling claims. Is this also a fair assumption to make?

 

[Zigner]

Fair enough. Their letter specified to contact them in 30 days to dispute the debt and otherwise it is valid. Am I still able to dispute the debt even though that time has passed? Im unsure what kind of time frame these people usually work in but I would assume that they would have taken this to court or sent me more information by now if they were going to follow up, is that a fair assumption to make?

I also assumed that since looking them on justia that ALL of their cases have them as the defendant for the reason as "fair debt collection act" that they were operating illegially and appear to have stopped filling claims. Is this also a fair assumption to make?

Do you dispute that the debt is yours?

 

[kitten party]

Do you dispute that the debt is yours?

No, I just saw this letter today. It was buried and came up while cleaning. It was from July.

 

[Zigner]

No, I just saw this letter today. It was buried and came up while cleaning. It was from July.

So, you know the debt is yours, right?

 

[single317dad]

What is the nature of the debt?

What is the date of the first delinquent payment?

Depending on the answers to these questions, this may not be a "zombie" debt but a perfectly valid debt that can be collected via a court judgment and asset seizure.

In fact, that may already be happening. Since you received the notice 4 months ago, you should probably check your local courthouse to see if there are any pending cases or judgments against you.

 

[kitten party]

So, you know the debt is yours, right?

That is correct. My understanding is that debt is not valid if it is of a certain age. this debt is ~5-7 years old. I do not have documentation of this debt and am unsure how to obtain it to see if it is old enough to be invalid. Should I make an attempt to contact these people and argue the validity of the debt? I do not have enough money to hire an attorney.

 

[kitten party]

What is the nature of the debt?

What is the date of the first delinquent payment?

Depending on the answers to these questions, this may not be a "zombie" debt but a perfectly valid debt that can be collected via a court judgment and asset seizure.

In fact, that may already be happening. Since you received the notice 4 months ago, you should probably check your local courthouse to see if there are any pending cases or judgments against you.

It is credit card debt. I check justia.com to look at the cases and say none, I also have not recieved a summons. Should I call the courthouse and inquire?

 

[kitten party]

I would also like to add that when researching the attorneys, they were consistently related to "zombie" debt cases and it appears to be their specialty if not only source of claims.

 

[single317dad]

It is credit card debt. I check justia.com to look at the cases and say none, I also have not recieved a summons. Should I call the courthouse and inquire?

It's always a safe bet to call your local court clerk and see if there are any cases against you.

You can check doxpop.com in most Indiana counties, or mycase.in.gov in some other counties.

The statute of limitations on collection of credit card debt in Indiana is generally 6 years from the first delinquency. That doesn't mean they can't collect the debt after that; it just means you have a strong defense to any complaint in court. Filing a case after the expiration of the SoL can be a violation of the FDCPA, which explains a lot of the cases against "zombie collectors" or JDBs (junk debt buyers).

 

[kitten party]

It's always a safe bet to call your local court clerk and see if there are any cases against you.

You can check doxpop.com in most Indiana counties, or mycase.in.gov in some other counties.

The statute of limitations on collection of credit card debt in Indiana is generally 6 years from the first delinquency. That doesn't mean they can't collect the debt after that; it just means you have a strong defense to any complaint in court. Filing a case after the expiration of the SoL can be a violation of the FDCPA, which explains a lot of the cases against "zombie collectors" or JDBs (junk debt buyers).

I have checked all this out now and I have no cases against me. How would you recommend that I proceed?

Thanks everyone for being helpful and patient with me.

 

[single317dad]

I have checked all this out now and I have no cases against me. How would you recommend that I proceed?

You appear to be under the impression that an old debt (6 years for credit cards in Indiana, generally) is somehow "invalid." This is not the case at all.

The expiration of 6 years from the first delinquency would be a defense if you brought it up after the collection company sues you in court. It does not bar the creditor from collecting the debt, and the debt does not "go away" or "become invalid."

If you don't plan on paying this debt, then you do nothing at this time. Nothing you could do right now would help your position of "not paying this." All you can hope for is that 6 years passes before this agency/firm files a lawsuit. If they're sending demands, I would bet that the 6 years is close but hasn't yet passed.

If you do plan to pay the debt, contact them and arrange payment. Tips for negotiation of settlement and payment are in the sticky post on this subforum.