Debt Collector/Debt Buyer Fined $2.5 Million for Lying to Consumers about Debt Statutes of Limitations

Here are more reasons why you can successful not pay credit card debt you can not afford to pay, if you know what you are doing with a debt collector.

You do not have to pay if your debt is older than your state’s statute of limitations for debt collection by court action.  The statute of limitations (SOL) for open accounts begins when a consumer fails to make a payment and varies from state to state.  Here is a state-by-state breakdown of SOL.

You should not make a token a payment on an old debt to get a debt collector off your back. That action makes the debt new again and restarts the statute of limitations on it making you fair game for the debt collector again.

The New York Times reported . . .

. . . the Federal Trade Commission said that Asset Acceptance, one of the nation’s largest debt collection companies, had agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty to settle charges that the company deceived consumers when trying to collect old debts.

Asset Acceptance, based in Warren, Mich., was charged with a variety of complaints, including failing to tell consumers that they could no longer be sued for failing to pay some debts because the debts were too old. The company’s collectors also failed to inform consumers that paying even a small portion of the amount owed would revive the debt — in other words, making a payment would extend the amount of time the collector could legally sue.

Among other things, the complaint also contended that the company — which buys unpaid debts for pennies on the dollar from credit card companies, health clubs and telecommunications and utility providers and tries to collect them — reported inaccurate information about the consumers to the credit reporting agencies. It also said that Asset Acceptance failed to conduct a reasonable investigation when it was notified by one of the credit agencies that a debt was being disputed.

If you owe and cannot pay, there is hope for defeating debt collectors.  Get my free  Seven Dangers of Not Knowing How to Deal with a Debt Collector.