Old Debt

[Roso]

New York State

I bought a television (1991 I believe) for about $600.00. My, then, Father-In-Law cosigned for the loan. Not very many payments were made and before I stopped paying on the loan. I recieved a phone call a few days ago from a collection agencey asking for the money. I refused to make any arrangements because I thought that my ex-Father-in-Law paid the debt to protect his own credit ratings. Also I requested information on the debt via mail so that I may look into it further. Today I recieved a bill for $1,287 total balance ($493. principal and $794 interest). The letter also states that they are willing to settle for $785.

My questions are:
Is this debt still valid?
Could my ex-Father-in-law have had his name removed from this debt somehow?
Should I pay this?
How can I find out if my ex-Father in Law paid any money on this debt (We haven't spoken in over 6 or 7 years and dont plan on it in the future)?

 

[gryndor]

I am no lawyer but this issue has been addressed enough that I feel I can make a competent reply.

The debt is 13 years old... OMG... The SOL begins when your account became delinquent, or when you started missing payments. The SOL in NY is six years for written contracts and six years for open accounts. The only thing I would worry about is if your father-in-law made a payment within the last six years. That would reset the SOL, if I'm not mistaken.

The site where I got the six year stat is: http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html

Hope that helps,
Gryn