How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

I had an old credit card debt from ten years ago. My husband died and I could not pay it . It was not a large amount. About 400. I am confused. I thought tha I was told that it would be listed by the company as %26quot;written off%26quot; debt which meant it was gone. Now a collection agency is calling.

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

SCH is correct.

People tend to get time-lines confused. Bad credit can show on your credit report for 7-years. But collection companies can try to collect forever.

Your States statute of limitations laws will prevent them form taking you to court if the S.O.L. has expired, but it will not keep them from trying.

Check out what the S.O.L. is for your State and if it is expired, the next time they contact you tell them to pound sand. There is nothing they can legally do to you.

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

7 years

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

Check your credit report online for your state. There are 3 agencies where you can get a free report each year. Equifax,Experian and TransUnion. If you see something suspicious- they have a form to fill out with your information in question. Good Luck!

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

usually it is 7 years from the date it matured. You may be at the end or getting close to the 7 year mark so that is why they are calling.

go to annualcreditrepot.com and put ur husbands info in and one of the credit agencies, i think it is transunion, will have the actual day the debt will be taken off the account.

If you are past that 7 year mark already, you need to tell them the situation and that you were told it would be written off.

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

They can go on forever, one credit agency can sell your loan to another which can keep sellling your credit off

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

Written off means they are not going to use anymore of their time and resources to collect the debt. Usually what happens then is they assign or sell the debt to a debt collector. The debt collector can attempt to collect the debt until you die if they so choose, there is no legal statute that says after 10 years they have to quit trying. They do however have a statute of limitations on how long they can sue to collect the debt and that depends on what state you live it...here is a list of the statute of limitations on debts, credit cards fall under open ended accounts:

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/...

Now for the good news...the best weapon to combat these old debts is called debt validation. This is where you request the debt collector provide proof of debt...here is another website that gives all the info you could ever want about debt validation:

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/...

Debt validation takes some time, but trust me...it is worth the time because you can get debts eliminated using this meathod.

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

It varries by states some states it%26#039;s 3 years others as long

as 7-10 years. Go to the library or call them and ask this question. Since I have no clue as to your state I can%26#039;t give an exact answer. I remember reading about this in a book written by Suze Orman. The debt stays on your crecdit report for 7 years but collection agencies can only collect that debt for a certain number of year. You have to understand as the debt get%26#039;s older or closer to the time of the law in which the collection agencies can pursue the claim. They will start calling. contrary to what some may belive, once you make any payment that re-starts the clock over again. So do not pay.

Find out in your state by visiting or calling the library what the timeframe is in your state

How long can collection agencies try to collect on credit card debts?

%26quot;written off%26quot; debt means a charge off - meaning they took it off their books as a loss. However - it does not mean you don%26#039;t owe it anymore. If it%26#039;s been 7 years since then (not since you opened the card), the collection agency really can%26#039;t be collecting on it. They%26#039;re probably just %26quot;reaching%26quot; . . really far. Tell them the debt is over 7 years old and not to call you any more. If they do, then report them.