New member, long-time browser. Thought I'd share this since I didn't see anything similar in a search. My wife recently received a debt collection attempt letter that was disguised as a credit card offer. The CA is Alegis/Sherman. The original creditor is Citibank. Basically, the debt is too old to collect or report (they admit as much on the back of the letter: "We believe that the age of your old debt prevents a suit from being filed to collect it." "We believe that the age of your old debt prevents it from being reported to the credit bureaus."), so they offer a credit card that is maxed out to a limit equal to the amount of the debt. By accepting the card she would have agreed that "the old debt [...] is accurate and just, and regardless of its age, you intend to fully pay it." I found this attempt amusing to say the least...
Thanks Dirk, We do see this sometimes. Signing up for a new account transfers the liability to a new account and thus, restarts an SOL. This is a favorite tactic for Cap1. .
I actually can't believe that they put those disclaimers in WRITING!!! Proof that most people do not read the legal gobbledygook in offers. Let me guess, the front didn't even casually mention the debt (or did so once, in small print).
One quarter of the top front third of the letter details "your account information". It doesn't clearly state it is a collection attempt until the last two lines of the front at the very bottom of the paper.
There may be an argument here for violation of the "conspicuously displayed" standard. They are not permitted to "hide" that stuff.
