Hello all, This may have beaten to death in the past, but I am going to ask again here anyway. If I wrote to a Collection Agency in the past offering to settle the account in exchange for a deletion of the credit listing, would this renew the statute of limitations on the account? The reason I ask is that I know that a "promise to pay" can renew the SOL on bad debts, and making a payment can also renew the SOL (not the credit reporting SOL but the legal SOL for filing suit). I have an old Discover account that I am validating with a CA (First Credit Solutions, what jerks) and they say "we have a record of an offer by you in September of 2000 offering to settle the account in exchange for deletion". The account charged off in 1996 and the SOL has expired in both the state I signed the contract in and the state I live in now. Did I renew the SOL by writing that letter in 2000? I don't think a settlement offer constitutes a "promise to pay" but I may be wrong. Anyone know?
A settlement offer does not constitute a promise to pay unless it's worded incorrectly. Something like this should do: "I have no way of knowing that this account belongs to me but because I am concerned with my credit, and that of my credit reports I am making a good will settlement offer in the amount of XXX. Should you accept this offer, you are required to remove this item from my credit report. This is a good will attempt to settle a debt and while I have no knowledge of the said debt, I am agreeing to a one time settlement only because I am concerned about my credit rating." Okay it's 1:30am. It's simple and to the point. Something like that properly worded should do. SOL doesn't exist for debts that aren't yours. Send a validation...
