Are you being contacted about a debt you think may be past the statute of limitations? You have options under Consumer Financial Protection laws.
Important Facts About Your Consumer Financial Legal Rights
- Although you cannot be sued for debts that are past the limitations period, you can still receive harassing calls and unwanted letters from collectors as unpaid debts never disappear.
- Your Fair Debt rights may be different based on how old the debt is, and tactics used to collect old debts may violate the law.
- You may be able to sue a debt collector who is violating your consumer financial rights at no cost to you*.
- A Debt Help Lawyer may be able to settle an old debt for less than you owe, forever ending phone calls and collection letters.
- As a last option, Bankruptcy could put an end to your financial distress.
Contact a Debt Help Lawyer now for solutions for your debt concerns. An experienced Fair Debt Attorney could help resolve your issues through greater understanding of these complex Statute of Limitations laws in your states.
Call toll free 888-595-9111 to request a FREE* consultation. There is no charge for the review and the services of a debt help lawyer may be available to you at little or no cost.
Statute of Limitations (SoL) listed by state and type of debt
including Virgin Islands and Ontario with state civil code references.
Statute of Limitations apply to open ended contracts such as
credit cards and store credit accounts and contracts for sale under the Uniform
Commercial Code (UCC). Also covered under most State's statutes of limitation
are oral agreements, promissory notes, written contracts, loans, mortgages and
car payments as well as foreign and domestic judgments. Under the right
circumstances the statue of limitations can be renewed for just about any type
of debt.
Clicking on your State link to see the statute of
limitations.
In-depth explanation each section of the
The fair debt collection practices act
IMPORTANT NOTE: The statutes listed here are
current as of June, 2005 however they are subject to change so be sure to check
your state's civil code to verify all information.
I'm often asked how to determine which State's statute of
limitations to use in any given situation. Section 811 of the Fair Debt
Collection Practice Act; "Legal actions by debt collectors" answers this
question.
Generally:
In order to obtain court judgements on most debts, collectors
must sue in the judicial district where the consumer resides. However,
there are exceptions:
Child support orders are recognized and enforced in every
state. If you have child support judgment from NY and move to Florida, the NY
statutes of limitation apply.
Signed contracts (not revolving credit accounts); collectors
can seek a judgement in the state where the contract was signed. Once they have
a judgment collectors or creditors can use either the state where it was
granted or have the judgment domesticated to the state where you reside,
depending on which state offers the longest SoL.
Example: You live in New Jersey and a debt
collector is attempting to collect on a past due credit card bill. The
collector must obey the NJ statute of limitations for open ended credit
contracts which is 4 years. On the other hand, if you live in NJ but signed a
contract to have body work done on a vehicle in Pennsylvania, then a collector
can sue for a judgment in PA (good for 20 years).
Under written credit contracts such as car loans,
mortgages, and so forth, creditors retain the right to decide which state to
sue in, so always expect creditors to choose the state with the longest statute
of limitations and the greates amount of award!
WARNING! A judgment, regardless of which state ordered
it, can be enforced in any other state.
See FDCPA:
Legal
actions by debt collectors
In-depth explanation of the
Statute of Limitations
Debt and Credit Terms
Breach of Sale:
To break a contract; to not
honor an agreement
Contract Under Seal:
Any written instrument
with a raised or wafered (wax) seal or with the words "contract under seal",
"under seal", "sealed" or similar words written in the text.
Default Judgment:
Granted to the plaintiff
due to the defendant's failure to act (usually the defendant fails to appear in
court)
Deficiency Claim:
Used when products or
services are lacking in some way or are likely to fail or become defective or
have already failed.
Note:
A simple promise by one party to pay
money to another party.
Draft:
An order one person (the drawer) to
pay another person (the drawee), demanding that the drawee pay money to a third
person (the payee).
Demand Note:
Instrument of credit where the
creditor (lender) can call in the note (demand payment) at any time. Can be
written or unwritten.
Domestic Judgment:
Judgment awarded by a
court in state where the debtor resides.
Foreign Judgment:
Judgment awarded by a
court from any state other than the state where the debtor resides.
Judgment:
The final decision or disposition
of a court in a legal proceeding that defines how much money is awarded, to
whom and any appeal rights.
Judgment Proof:
Having insufficient assets
to satisfy a money judgment. However a more accurate term is execution-proof
because the collector was awarded a judgment but still has to collect the
money (the court does not collect money) and if the debtor has no money then
the judgment is useless.
Mechanic's Lien:
To secure payment for labor
or materials supplied in improving, repairing, or maintaining real property.
(Usually difficult to obtain)
Note payable at Definite Time:
Promise by
one party to pay money to another party no earlier than at some specified
future date.
Open Accounts (open-ended credit):
Line of
credit that may be used over and over again, including credit cards, overdraft
credit accounts, and home equity lines of credit, store revolving accounts and
other similar credit accounts.
Oral Contract:
An unwritten agreement
between two or more parties. Often confused with verbal contract ,
informal contract, and verbal contract which are legally
different from an oral contract.
Probate Claims:
Claims on real property,
typically on the estate of the deceased.
Promissory Note:
An unconditional
promise in writing to pay a person a sum of money.
Sale of goods under the Uniform Commercial Code:
Transactions for the sale (and leasing) of goods is governed
mainly by sales laws of each state. Every state, with the exception of
Louisiana, has adopted, Article Two of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) as the
main body of law regulating transactions in goods. Goods are defined as all
things movable and identified to the contract of the sale. It does not
include secured transactions, leases, money exchanged as the price, or real
property (land and property permanently attached to a piece of land).
To be identified to the contract a good must be existing and one of the objects
that is or will be exchanged. Transactions between merchants and consumers and
those solely between merchants are regulated by Part Two. All transactions that
are for more that $500 must be in writing.
Simple or Implied Contract:
Contract that
is not under seal and can be expressed or implied, and oral or written.
Tolling (Toll):
The term “toll”,
“tolled”, and "tolling" are used in almost all statute of limitations
rules and it means to "stop the running of a statutory period for a certain
period of time".
Unaccepted Drafts:
An instrument of money
was rejected i.e. non-sufficient funds (NSF), returned check, dishonored check
or draft, bounced check.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC):
Law that
governs the sale of goods and credit transactions separate from the civil and
criminal laws. Covers the sale and distribution of goods, negotiable
instruments, and the financing of credit transactions on the security of the
goods sold.
Uniform Consumer Credit Code:
Law to protect
consumers obtaining credit to finance their transactions; to ensure that
adequate credit is provided, and to govern the credit industry in general.
Seven states and Guam have adopted the code.
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