Collection call on over 10 yr old payday loan

[toxinburn83]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas hi I had a payday loan back in 2006 the last payment on it was in August of 2006. I was injured in the Army severely and once I got out of the hospital I was on Va disability so now I get a call over 10 years later threatening to come and Sue me the loan was issued in the state of Washington I reside in Arkansas now and Arkansas was my home of record at the time too. From what I see they cannot actually Sue me or do anything really since written contracts Sol is at least 4 years past so not to say I shouldn't pay them back finally but am I correct that they actually cannot Sue me or bring me to Court? Thanks a lot.

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas hi I had a payday loan back in 2006 the last payment on it was in August of 2006. I was injured in the Army severely and once I got out of the hospital I was on Va disability so now I get a call over 10 years later threatening to come and Sue me the loan was issued in the state of Washington I reside in Arkansas now and Arkansas was my home of record at the time too. From what I see they cannot actually Sue me or do anything really since written contracts Sol is at least 4 years past so not to say I shouldn't pay them back finally but am I correct that they actually cannot Sue me or bring me to Court? Thanks a lot.

The statute of limitations may have been "tolled" (paused) since you left the state. You may wish to have a local attorney review the matter.

 

[adjusterjack]

am I correct that they actually cannot Sue me or bring me to Court?

No, you aren't correct.

They CAN sue you. You would have to raise the SOL as an affirmative defense.

And, as Zigner points out, there may have been in issue with the WA SOL not running after you left WA.

That can get complicated so you would be wise to consult a local attorney.

Or, you can just tell the collection agency to buzz off and take your chances.

 

[justalayman]

RCW 4.16.180
Statute tolled by absence from state, concealment, etc.
If the cause of action shall accrue against any person who is a nonresident of this state, or who is a resident of this state and shall be out of the state, or concealed therein, such action may be commenced within the terms herein respectively limited after the coming, or return of such person into the state, or after the end of such concealment; and if after such cause of action shall have accrued, such person shall depart from and reside out of this state, or conceal himself or herself, the time of his or her absence or concealment shall not be deemed or taken as any part of the time limit for the commencement of such action.

That means that unless you were in Washington for the entire 4 years after the debt became delinquent or an accumulative period of 4 years time has not run out

Now, depending on where you are sued, you have more possibilities. If Arkansas has a borrowing statute the time to sue may have expired, at least for suing you in Arkansas. That doesn't preclude them from suing you in Washington though.

 

[LdiJ]

RCW 4.16.180
Statute tolled by absence from state, concealment, etc.
If the cause of action shall accrue against any person who is a nonresident of this state, or who is a resident of this state and shall be out of the state, or concealed therein, such action may be commenced within the terms herein respectively limited after the coming, or return of such person into the state, or after the end of such concealment; and if after such cause of action shall have accrued, such person shall depart from and reside out of this state, or conceal himself or herself, the time of his or her absence or concealment shall not be deemed or taken as any part of the time limit for the commencement of such action.

That means that unless you were in Washington for the entire 4 years after the debt became delinquent or an accumulative period of 4 years time has not run out

Now, depending on where you are sued, you have more possibilities. If Arkansas has a borrowing statute the time to sue may have expired, at least for suing you in Arkansas. That doesn't preclude them from suing you in Washington though.

I think that the fact that he was a legal resident of Arkansas at the time that the debt was incurred is going to make a different. He never "moved" from any legal standpoint. He was always a resident of Arkansas.

 

[justalayman]

I think that the fact that he was a legal resident of Arkansas at the time that the debt was incurred is going to make a different. He never "moved" from any legal standpoint. He was always a resident of Arkansas.

The contract was made in Washington. Washington law applies as does their clock.

 

[Zigner]

I think that the fact that he was a legal resident of Arkansas at the time that the debt was incurred is going to make a different. He never "moved" from any legal standpoint. He was always a resident of Arkansas.

It doesn't matter...the debt was incurred in Washington. Once he leaves Washington, the SoL is tolled. It's in the statute that justalayman posted.

 

[Zigner]

The contract was made in Washington. Washington law applies as does their clock.

Yeah, that

 

[toxinburn83]

The law you posted?

The law that was posted about leaving the State, I was and always have been a legal resident of Arkansas including the time the loan was made so was the law you posted a Washington State law or what? We do not even allow payday loans in Arkansas at all. The claim was that they would Sue me here locally but the Sol has been surpassed regardless of which state from the info I have been able to obtain. The person that called me is a creditor as well not an attorney, so my guess is that it is just a scare tactic and I plan on recording them the next time since I do not have to even tell them I am doing it in Arkansas and they are making some false statements in order to scare me which would be a counter claim if they actually tried to Sue. The amount they claim in only 483 with a settlement of 276 I think the original loan was only 250. And the reason of me leaving was unforseen circumstances in which I was injured on military duty I think their may actually be a clause that protects in that sort of event as well but I prefer to not leave things to chance so to speak as I would rather pay it off than deal with a legal matter so I guess I may bring up the Sol and offer to pay less or not at all and see what happens. Since it's not a ton of money I think it would be foolish to bother with attorney fees as I'd pay more than I would save. I did ask the guy for more info in a hard copy via the mail in which he refused and offered to email it to me which took me to some esign page which I chose not to click the button as it had a ton of small print which seemed to be an attempt to bind me to an electronic contract. The guy claims they already sent me something in the mail which I have never seen so if I choose to pay this off what would be the smartest way to do it to ensure I get it wiped from the record and never to be brought up again. I just don't feel comfy with dealing with someone I k ow zero about over the phone.

 

[LdiJ]

It doesn't matter...the debt was incurred in Washington. Once he leaves Washington, the SoL is tolled. It's in the statute that justalayman posted.

I do not agree. He was military temporarily assigned to a post in WA (temporary because he maintained AR residency). Standard laws do not apply.

 

[LdiJ]

The law that was posted about leaving the State, I was and always have been a legal resident of Arkansas including the time the loan was made so was the law you posted a Washington State law or what? We do not even allow payday loans in Arkansas at all. The claim was that they would Sue me here locally but the Sol has been surpassed regardless of which state from the info I have been able to obtain. The person that called me is a creditor as well not an attorney, so my guess is that it is just a scare tactic and I plan on recording them the next time since I do not have to even tell them I am doing it in Arkansas and they are making some false statements in order to scare me which would be a counter claim if they actually tried to Sue. The amount they claim in only 483 with a settlement of 276 I think the original loan was only 250. And the reason of me leaving was unforseen circumstances in which I was injured on military duty I think their may actually be a clause that protects in that sort of event as well but I prefer to not leave things to chance so to speak as I would rather pay it off than deal with a legal matter so I guess I may bring up the Sol and offer to pay less or not at all and see what happens. Since it's not a ton of money I think it would be foolish to bother with attorney fees as I'd pay more than I would save. I did ask the guy for more info in a hard copy via the mail in which he refused and offered to email it to me which took me to some esign page which I chose not to click the button as it had a ton of small print which seemed to be an attempt to bind me to an electronic contract. The guy claims they already sent me something in the mail which I have never seen so if I choose to pay this off what would be the smartest way to do it to ensure I get it wiped from the record and never to be brought up again. I just don't feel comfy with dealing with someone I k ow zero about over the phone.

Personally, I would not pay it at all. However, since you admit that you know the debt is valid and the settlement they are offering is not much more than the original loan, you might want to pay it off, but I would make them validate it, in writing, first. You want to make sure that you are not getting scammed. Often, debt collectors who are the most demanding and threatening are actually scammers.

 

[justalayman]

I do not agree. He was military temporarily assigned to a post in WA (temporary because he maintained AR residency). Standard laws do not apply.

Standard laws don't apply? Care to share just what special laws you believe apply?

It doesn't matter if he was a resident of Washington, Arizona, or Timbuktu. He signed a contract within the boundaries of Washington so their laws apply. Arizona laws apply to some matters of the situation if op is sued in Arizona. Given the contract was signed in Washington he can be sued in Washington or since op is currently a resident of Arizona he can be sued in Arizona.

If sued in Arizona their sol applies if there is no borrowing statute that would invoke the washinton sol. If sued in Washington the washington sol applies and right now, due to the tolling statute I posted previously, the clock is currently tolled.


Toxinburn83

The law I posted is a Washington law. It applies because you signed the contract while in Washington. It doesn't matter what your state of residence is. It is the same in any state. If you travel to Delaware tomorrow and sign a contract there, their laws apply to that contract. It's if an entity from another state tries to sue you in an Arizona court that Arizona laws apply. Since you signed the contract in a state other than Arizona, you can be sued in that state. There are special rules that might allow you to avoid a suit brought in another state but that is a very fact specific determination. If you cannot be required to answer to a Washington court, the clock continues to be tolled (stopped). Then, if you are ever in Washington you can be sued, even years after the 4 years sol expires.


Personally I do agree that you might consider not paying it. Not only is it unlikely they would sue you in Arizona for the little amount involved, I doubt they would sue you at all. It's likely the debt was sold and the debt buyer is trying to get debtors to pay on old debts that are nearly impossible to collect. I think your VA disability pay is safe from garnishment so unless you have other income or property worth attempting to take, they can't even collect on a judgment.

Even if you have assets available, it's likely to cost more to actually collect on the judgment than they can recover.

Additionally, if you make a payment on the debt it will resurface on your credit report. If that matters to you I would seriously hesitate paying anything.

 

[LdiJ]

Standard laws don't apply? Care to share just what special laws you believe apply?

I would have to specifically research to pin point laws in this particular scenario. However, in my industry, for example, we are not permitted, by law, to give refund anticipation loans (back when those were truly prevalent) to military members. It had something to do with interest rates. Its conceivable to payday loans would fall into that same category.

Also, there are all kinds of things that have to do with residency and military members, that trump regular, state law that its conceivable that the normal tolling of statute of limitations would not apply either.

Therefore I am not willing to give this guy absolutes the way that the rest of you are. If he is still eligible to consult with the nearest JAG office he should probably do so.