Bad Debt May Be Collectible, Even After It Fades Away
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
Your credit might wane during difficult times. How you handle it is essential. For those who have difficult repaying a debt, a creditor may end up charging it off - however that doesn’t mean you’re free and clear. It’s quite possible that you will nevertheless be liable for that bad debt - even after it disappears from your credit history.
Charge-offs: The light side
Here is a charge-off scenario to consider. Bankrate states that you will find different rules for collecting debt and reporting debt which means it might be off your credit report however might still belong to you. There’s a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that is for reporting debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is for collecting debt on the other hand. The FCRA claims that a charge off cannot stay there forever. After seven years it can’t be reported on credit anymore. That involves whatever financial debt collection agency owned the debt. You can look at your credit score pretty easily. Just do it a month after the charge-off was intended to happen. If the bad debt is still there, dispute it with the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can’t charge off Chapter 7 bankruptcies, student loans or tax liens.
Charge off financial debt does not necessarily leave
FCRA rules help individuals out a bit. It keeps bad credit from staying on a credit history forever. Unfortunately, the FDCPA makes it possible for debt collectors to pursue your financial debt almost in perpetuity. There is a lot of concern for one who needs debt repair even though bad debt is purchased in a market. At least once, an agency will make an effort to collect from you. A charge-off will not happen until then. With the unemployment, there has been lots of credit card debt individuals have had to take out. The statue of limitations is there for a reason though. This means consumers can get away from this charge card problem. Charge cards usually have a 4 to 6 year time period and auto loans, payday advances and installment loans will typically have a 6 to 10 year period. The state will determine this though. Your state’s attorney general can be accessed. This is where you need to go for more information.
Financial debt collection law
If a charged off financial debt is past your state’s statute of limitations for collection, it can’t be legally pursued and also you can ask not to be contacted against concerning that debt. You are able to do a counter-suit if a debt collector continues. Legal action will require time, money and the advice of an attorney, however. Either pay or get to a settlement with a financial debt collector if there is one pursuing you in a legal fashion.
Articles cited
Bank Rate
bankrate.com/finance/debt/debt-dropped-from-credit-report-still-owed.aspx
Equifax
ai.equifax.com/CreditInvestigation/
Experian
experian.com/consumer/cac/InvalidateSession.do?code=DISPUTE
Trans Union
annualcreditreport.transunion.com/entry/disputeonline