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The debt statute of limitations is the legal time limit a party has to collect a debt through the court system. After that time a creditor or third party, such as a debt collection law firm, may not sue to enforce the credit agreement. Collecting using traditional methods such as calling or lettering is still allowed. The statute of limitations varies from state to state and by type of debt, and is typically between three and 10 years (see map below)
The New York State General Assembly Tuesday passed a bill titled the Consumer Credit Fairness Act which significantly restricts the use of the legal collection channel in the state. In addition to a number of new requirements for bringing debt collection lawsuits, the bill would cut in half the statute of limitations in the state.
The patchwork of statutes of limitations for consumer debt covering the United States often causes confusion for not only consumers, but also for creditors and debt collectors.
A recent feature article on CreditCards.com, explores the issue of multiple statute of limitations laws across the 50 states and District of Columbia.
Many people closely associated with the debt collection industry have assumed for years that Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) reform is imminent. And in the last Congress, there were bills filed that would have made substantive changes to the decades-old law.
But they never went anywhere. Are legislators serious about reforming the law?
The Colorado Court of Appeals recently overturned a state court case limiting the statute of limitations to three years for unsecured debt, specifically medical debt. The statute of limitations is back to six years.
Twin bills were introduced Monday in Minnesota’s House and Senate that would place certain requirements on debt buyers that seek default judgments in debt collection lawsuits.
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson praised the bills yesterday in giving them her endorsement, noting that debt buyers should have to “prove their case in court.”
A proposed new law in New Jersey that specifically addresses the collection practices of debt buyers advanced from its Assembly committee Thursday and now heads to the full chamber for consideration.
The “Consumer Credit Fairness Act” was introduced earlier this year and had been referred to the state Assembly’s Consumer Affairs Committee.
ARM industry participant Bill Bartmann proposed Friday a moratorium on debt collection lawsuits filed by third party collection agencies until the national unemployment rate falls below 6 percent. Bartmann offered up the suggestion in an opinion piece published in the Christian Science Monitor.
You knew the what (The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Public Field Hearing on Debt Collection) and the when (October 24, 2012 at 10AM PDT). Now you know the where:
A newspaper in Ohio on Sunday and Monday published the first two pieces in an investigative series on consumer credit reporting. But so far, the series — called “Credit Scars” — has been focused more on the debt collection industry.
The Columbus Dispatch, the largest newspaper in Ohio’s capital, launched their series Sunday with an article titled “Debt deception.” The piece focused mainly on debt collectors and their use of consumer credit reporting to compel payment.
A federal judge late last month approved a settlement between a purchaser and collector of consumer debt and a class of approximately 3,000 consumers in Maryland. In addition to paying out $575,000, the related companies are to drop the debt collection lawsuits filed against the consumers in the plaintiff class.