I'll try my best to explain this so here goes; back in 1991 I had a store credit card for $1500. I was young and naive and didn't bother to pay it so naturally it went to collections and eventually onto my credit report. in 2005 (14yrs later) a Collection Agency came outta nowhere and put a lien on my back account and I had to agree to pay them $800 from my account for them to take the lien off. Id addition, I paid about another $600 before I stopped paying him. now, in 2010 (19yrs later) the same agency sent a letter to my bank asking for all information about deposits, where the money is coming from etc etc. my guess is, he's planning to put another lien on my account. I did some searching around and I found that in New York, the statue of limitations is 6 years. after 6 years, he can continue to try to collect the money but he CANNOT use the courts to do so (ie suing me or placing a lien on my bank accounts) 19 years is obviously way past the 6yr statue of limitations. my question is this. a.) can I sue him? Im assuming I can because 1. the statue of limitations had run out when he used the courts to freeze my accounts the first time. 2. the 6 year "clock" should NOT have started over again because I made a payment (which normally would be an acknowledgment that the debt is valid) because I only made the payment because he used the courts to help him when New York state law says he cannot do that if the debt is over 6 years. *the Original debt was for only $1500 back in 1991 but this guy is demanding over $6,000 hundreds of % more than the original debt.
Statue of limitations are WAY over....hmm. I would send a validation letter, I would ask them to send you a copy of the statement that shows when your last payment was made or a copy of any statement. If they actually have it, you have it from the mouth of the CA that not only are they trying to collect a debt that they can't prove you owe, but one that they themselves state has no standing due to the statute of limitations running out. If you can get that, I think you would have a cause of action against them. I am new at this though....good luck
You said the creditor "put a lien on your bank account". Your bank account can't be seized/garnished without a court order. If they have/had this, that means they also sued you (before the seizure order) and obtained a court order (default judgment, likely) for the debt itself. Once granted, the debt owner can add interest and legal fees (as allowed by state law) until the balance is paid. $1,500 can become thousands and thousands more over 14 years. Once a creditor obtains a judgment, they can (essentially) renew it indefinitely. Are/were you aware of any legal action against you regarding this account? What did you get for your $800 + $600 you paid them? No settlement of debt? No proof of payment?
