Q. I am receiving calls and letters from a credit collector on a charge card that was closed over 10 years ago. What are my rights?
A. The answer for all consumers with old, unpaid debt is to be aware of the defense of the statute of limitations on your debts prior to any judgment against you by your creditors. The statute of limitations begins to run from the day the debt-or payment of an open-end account - credit cards - was due. You can double check when your statute of limitations on your credit card debts start ticking by using your credit report as a reference. Your credit report will tell you the date of the last activity for your account. You will have your credit report with the date of the last activity as proof and a defense.
In Illinois the statute of limitations is 5 years on open-end accounts which are revolving lines of credit with varying balances. The best example is a credit card account. That time period begins with the last activity such as a charge or payment on the account.
5 years after the last payment or charge, the statute of limitations begins to be an absolute defense. If the creditor files a suit, the consumer has an absolute defense. It is important that you keep track of the last payment on the account so that you can prove there has been no activity for the 5 years covered by the statute of limitations.
Also, unknowing consumers will make payments on their credit card accounts even when they are not on their credit report. You make a payment and the credit collector gets another 5 years. Finally, the statute of limitations does not cause your debt to go away after it expires even though there has been no judgment against you.
Also, The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act governs how collection agencies must behave with consumers. You can find a copy on the Federal Trade Commission's Web site, www.ftc.gov .
Report problems to your state attorney general' s office, which oversees the application of any state debt-collection laws, and the Federal Trade Commission. You can file a complaint at www.ftc.gov or by calling toll-free to 1-877-FTC-HELP.
