A department store charged off a debt I had owed them in 1998 and a collection agency bought the account. The collection agency is now trying to collect the debt. The collection agency has added over 400 dollars onto the original debt. Can collection agencies do this? If they cannot, how do I handle the situation. Thanks for your help!
I'm sure they can. Go back and read your cardholder agreement. I'm willing to bet that there are provisions in there regarding additional costs in the event of default.
I believe that once the account is sold to a CA the CA can add interest depending on the state. Did the CA win a judgment against you? http://www.cardreport.com/laws/judgement-sol.html
They didn't get a judgement against me. But thanks for that link , it helps me regarding another problem I posted about before. I live in another state now and was wondering if the bill collector would file another one against me in my new state. Is this possible?
As far as the account you mentioned previously goes, I think Tmitchell was right and interest charged is governed by the original contract. As far a the second account goes, I am not sure. You would think the SOL would come from the state you were in when you agreed to the contract.
It can be the state where you signed the contract or the state where you are now, but with CC's you can always have the venue changed to where you are now, if they sued you in another state.
