My husband has a small debt from 1990. $446 to be exact. They have been trying to collect it for years and my husband just keeps saying they can't try to collect it after 7 years has passed. Today we got a notice saying it's been sent to a collection agency. He tore it up and said it's been over 20 years and they can no longer go after him. Can our excellent credit score be ruined from this 20+ year debt? We have bought a house and cars and have never been turned down. All other student loans are paid off as well as credit cards.
A big thank you to all you wonderful mommies :) I knew I was right but just wanted to hear it from other people. I will discuss this with him tonight, ask why he hasn't paid this one single debt of his off. I have a feeling it has to do with his x livein-GF. That was the time he would have been living with her.
If it is HIS debt, why doesn't he man up and pay it? He needs to stop hiding behind the statute of limitations and do the right thing.
The only way debt is extinguished is paying it. Bankruptcy will legally stop all collections but the debt remains. There is no limit as to how long someone can try to collect. There are times it can be thrown out but only if they haven't been actively trying to collect, that doesn't sound like the case here.
It is only 446 bucks, he owes it, why doesn't he just grow up and pay it?
He needs to stop being a jackass, and pay his freaking debt. Of course, your credit can be affected. He should pay, just to act like a dang man.
Why doesn't he just pay it? Isn't this much ado about something that could have been settled long ago? He took the courses, he should pay for them.
Maybe it's not about the statute of limitations, but about doing what's right?
It's a zombie collector. Zombie collectors try to collect old debts that you never paid, never taken to court to collect, and are past the period of time they can legally collect. The thing is that if you send any part of a payment to a zombie collector it reactivates the debt. Your hubby should have certainly paid that bill from 1990 because it's dishonest not to pay your debts however now that this much time has passed they can no longer collect.
ETA: This made me do some research...so I found these links. Bottom line? Your husband KNOWS he owes the money. PAY IT.
http://www.insidearm.com/daily/debt-buying-topics/debt-bu...
http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html
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The statute of limitations has long since passed. They cannot collect on the debt UNLESS he has paid anything - EVEN A PENNY - on it.
No collection agency should have taken it. Even student loans have statute of limitations.
Can they TRY and post it to your credit report. Yes. Will it stick if you dispute it? No.
However, IF he knows he has the debt, why not pay it? This is what causes rates to go higher and makes it harder on others to get loans - yes, it's ONLY $446 - pay it. Be done with it. Why have this monkey on your back? If it's your debt - pay it.
good luck!
There are very few debts that don't get discharged with bankruptcy. It is my understanding that student loan debt is one of them. What kind of debt is this? And like the others... it is less than $500. Why hasn't he paid it off in 20 years?? You have bought a house and cars.... so clearly he/you could afford to pay it. So why wasn't it done. It's the grown up thing to do. And the RIGHT thing to do.
We're not rich or anything but since I am the CFO of the house I could actually get away with "moving" 400-500 dollars without my husband noticing. I know not all couples work in this way. I guess I'm lucky hubs has never really paid close attention to our finances (I never take advantage, BTW!)
Anyway, if you happen to be in the same situation as me, I'd write the check now if I were you, send it off and never say another word about it. Let him think they forgot about him, and you can rest easy knowing its not affecting your credit.
A weird solution, I know. Just what I'd do in your sitch, to avoid the hassle and worry.
If he owes it - pay it. Ethically a debt does not go away with time.
I think if it's someone else's debt he shouldn't have to pay it. If he owes it why not pay it.
I thought it might be a lot more than that. Why didn't he pay it?
Anyway, you need to know about fair debt collection and zombie debt.
http://money.msn.com/debt-management/attack-of-the-zombie...
Of course they can try to collect it. He owes it. He doesn't stop owing the debt just because a certain length of time has passed. Now that it's gone to a collection agency it WILL affect his credit rating and future purchases until he pays it off.
Your husband is wrong.
They can try to collect the debt until the end of time. They just have to remove it from his credit report after 7 years. They also can't sue him over it as the statute of limitations is expired.
He owes it, he knows he owes it.....he should pay it. It's not like it is that much money.
Is $446 really worth screwing up your credit?
No, debt does not just disappear into thin air....
This has happened to me in the past, but the ONLY debts I did not pay were ones that were errant. For instance, the student loan I never took out for a school I never went to-and calling and proving it did no good...or the time Bally's had me owing a SECOND lifetime membership after I paid mine off-somehow they had a duplicate signature. The fact that it was impossible for me to have TWO lifetime memberships didn't matter....
Anyway. Those debts followed me for YEARS and YEARS past seven years. And I never paid a dime or answered a call or letter, but I swear it took like 20 years for them to "go away". It didn't really stop me from getting things I needed, but I always had bad credit and there they were on my credit report with no way to remove them...
As for all the annoying other debts-I PAID them. Why is he not paying it? If it's legit he should pay it for the sake of karma. He should pay it.
It may be too late already to fix this by just paying it. It's now on record as being in the hands of a collection agency and the companies that create credit ratings will know that. Doesn't look great on the credit record, even for a small amount. Pay it today but I'd then check your credit ratings over the next few months and if they worsen, it likely is because the credit agencies saw that he had a collection agency on his tail. You might get lucky and have no ill effects if you get this money paid immediately. I would hope that the threat to his credit would shake him up enough to do the right thing the first time if he ever has any other debts, however small.
The whole "they can't collect a debt under a certain amount after X years" is a myth that people love to cling to.
Since the statute of limitations has passed, they can't sue him in court. However, the debt isn't erased just because it can't go to court. They still have the right to attempt collection outside of court.
(A couple exceptions would be a tax debt or a government-backed student loan.)
Each time it is sold to a new collector, the series of letters and calls will renew. In that sense, they can go after him forever.
If this is a legitimate debt, he should pay it.
If it is not a legitimate debt, then he needs to mail a validation letter to the agency via snail mail with return receipt. If the debt is not legit, they can't validate. If they don't, then he can send a Cease letter that says they are not to contact him except in the case of legal action. Since legal action can't be taken, that will be the end of it.
Until the debt is sold to another company. Then he will have to repeat the process, unfortunately.
Keep all documentation related to this matter forever so you can always refer back to the paper trail.
As for his credit, the bad debt has probably scrolled off his report by now. You can obtain free copies of each report once per year via annualcreditreport.com
There is no "our" credit score - he has his, you have yours. Only a jointly held debt would impact both scores.
