Furious21

I received a letter the other day from some company trying to get me to pay off a REALLY old debt thats over 10 years old. The debt doesnt show up on my credit report and my credit score is really good (it took me a long time to get it up) and right now, theres nothing on my report that shows anything as being late or charged off.



Im guessing the company is one of those annoying companies that buy old debt for pennies on the dollar and try to collect on it. So my question is, should I pay it and if I do, will it mess up my credit or should I just toss the letter out and live the life of having a great credit report currently?

majik

interesting.



i'm really not sure. What happened with the company? Sounds like they never tried to collect on non-payments and went bankrupt.

300D50

I'd contact a professional about this, too many ways it could go south.

faithofadragon

look up the statute of limitations in your state



for example in arkansas its 3 years for debt



again look for a pro as stated above

Visionz

I know this is bad to say but DONT pay it, DONT talk to the company, DONT reply to the letter or their calls. If you do any of the above, the process will start over and it WILL show up on your credit report. Since its past the statuate of limitations, theres no obligations on your part. The original creditor charged it off and the company that owns it now are bottom feeders. They dont follow traditional rules, they will harass and threaten you with all kinds of BS. Dont fall into it. Most of those companies are extremely unethical and usually have a ton of bad reports againt them with the BBB and state attorney general office. I know all this not from my own experiences but from my gf and other friends.

Stocker

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clar...lectors/nPgJX/

majik

If you accidentally answer, say they have the wrong number. They're searching for you and can't verify it's you. If they can't find you, they can't collect. Take your name off your voicemail, or change it to "Bob"

i8acobra

Not true. Fair Credit Reporting Act says collections can only be on your record for seven years from the date it was FIRST delinquent with the ORIGINAL creditor. They can report it (whether you respond or not), but you merely need to tell the reporting agency that the debt is more than 7 years old and they will remove it because the reporting agency doesn't want to get sued.

OTECTom

Don't pay it.

Stocker

but IF you pay just a penny on an old uncollectable/unreportable debt, the whole thing is fresh so . . . don't pay unless you are going to pay