Its off credit report cuz of SOL, but DH still wants to pay it

If it's been sold, any money you pay is not going to who you borrowed it from.

Why not take that money and donate to a charity. The original company isn't going to get anything out of your payment (with a few exceptions of companies who don't sell their paper).

 

I am by no means an expert, but just a person trying to clean up my own credit. I would go by the saying "let sleeping dogs lie", from what I have read and understand, if you pay this bill, they could and may report it on your CR, and even though it will reflect a "paid" status, it will still show as a deliquent record. As of now, its out of date and cant be report, so even though "morally" you know you owe the money, that doesnt mean that the creditor will feel that way and be good to you by not reaging it and putting it on your CRs. If you feel you must pay them, write them, offer to pay them, but ONLY if they do not report it. Do it certified mail with signature required, and make sure they send you a letter agreeing to the terms, and saying they would not report it. That is the only way I would pay it, and risk opening up any old unwanted debt on a CR. Good luck with it all.

 

I like your idea Hedwig.
If the poster knows who the OC was and they never sold or transferred the debt then she could pay back the OC
if she really felt the need. I would prefer to use the money on doing a good deed in my area, and get the deduction to boot!

 

Do you plan to buy a new home or refinance the one you have at any foreseeable point?

Old debt never dies. If it's in the hands of a JDB, at some point you are likely to get a 1099-c because after the "Debt Buyers Association v. Snow" case whoever has it must send a 1099-c if they go 36 months without collection activity.

And if it's in the hands of a nasty JDB ... a couple of things will happen. One, they will lurk, waiting until a propitious moment to place a reaged TL on your reports (in an effort to derail a homebuying or refinancing process by popping the TL on there between the first pull and the second pull). Or they may try to sue and get a default in some distant place (or even nearby using "sewer service") then let that judgment season for a year or however long it needs to wait before it becomes difficult to get vacated. Many times you'll never know this has happened until they zap your bank account or take some other nasty action.

There are also JDBs of the "Buffalo School" of abusive bill collectors who will call every friend, neighbor and family member and tell them about the bill ... they violate the FDCPA like crazy, but guess what? Suing them does you no good, they're far away. When enough judgments accumulate to make life difficult, they just fold it and open up another one ... using the same database of charged-off debt and calling all the same debtors. These are the guys who get caught posing as lawyers, cops and fraud investigators time and time again. And they still do it. Your debt could eventually fall into their hands as well. So if you don't mind having a case of the buffalos somewhere down the road...

I'm not saying this debt has to be paid from a moral standpoint. I don't believe in that. I am saying you might want to find out who has it and see if it can't be settled for a nominal amount (say 30% of what they're asking) with a settlement agreement that it's doubtful and disputed and no 1099-c will ever be issued for the balance that once had been claimed.

Even that won't stop it from ever being sold again, sued on or what have you ... but that settlement agreement and your canceled check will be a powerful talisman against certain evils that could befall you otherwise...

 

How much $$ are we talking about here? That may make a huge difference.

 

No telling how much has been added to it in outrageous interest and collection fees. Then also, if you aren't careful you might re-start the SOL by acknowledging the debt. I say let it go.

 

Well, there is another option.

You can bait 'em, tape 'em, and go after 'em on FDCPA violations. Playing dumb and denying a lot but asking what they can do if you don't pay tends to bring out the violator in any exasperated, ill-trained cube drone.

Flyingifr made a profitable hobby of suing creditors for violating his rights on stuff he actually owed, and consumers around the country owe him a debt of gratitude and their emulation until the JDB industry is garroted by a million lilliputians.

The flyingifr program can get you to Dave Ramsey nirvana quicker than Dave Ramsey himself.

 

Lizardking and others here were suing long before someone decided to name it after themselves.

 

Bottom line, if paying the $1,000 makes you feel better about yourselves, then do it. I understand the emotional part of this, if it causes one of you to lose sleep, then pay it and move on.

But, you may want to offer a reduced amount for a settlement, and whatever you do, make sure everything is in writing, specifically NO reporting to CRAs. End it clean.

There is no advice we can give that will change your husband's mind, pure and simple. If you can afford the $1,000, do it for the sake of your marriage, that is "cheap money".

 

Unfortunately, it turned out that LK was doing a bit more than suing legit creditors he hadn't been able to pay.

IIRC, the Lizardkingexposed website pretty much assembled puzzle pieces that depicted a fraudster hiding behind false allegations of ID theft that he himself and engineered by, for instance, varying his signature on documents that he would later claim he never signed.

I know flyingifr's real name. And it's not tough to find out what it is, nor do I think he hides it. The method is named after his posting handle ... which I think is a lot less indicative of inflated ego than what, say Dave Ramsey does.

Which is not to deny Dave Ramsey the right to create an approach and name it after himself. When someone is willing to attach their own name to something, it shows confidence in what they've developed.

People sued creditors before flyingifr ... but he has been a consistent exponent for sets of tactics and methods that enable oppressed people to stand up to their oppressors--and he has not been discredited.

 

What happened to donating to a charity? How can yo go from morally wanting to pay and your husband being adamant about it, to now not paying and also not giving it away?
Hmmmmm
I don't get it.
Woofer

 

Read up. They are dumping it in savings in case it does become a factor.

Why would anyone even question this? If morals came into play, we would all pay our bills, if not on time, then whenever we can come up with the money, we would not question additional charges, interest rates, and phantom fees of CAs and JDBs. Further, we wouldn't even need this site for credit repair tactics, because, after all, our baddies did happen.

 

One's own mother trumps any charity. If you don't believe it, just ask your mom.

 

Thanks for explaining more.
I just get ticked off when it seems people run off their mouths and never do help someone else.
I have heard so many times someone say to me they are going to give to our not for profit and they don't especially after I have helped them on something.
Good luck to you and it sounds like a good plan.: )
Woofer