i cancelled my cell phone account in 2002 because the company had my phone disconnected for over a month. they charged me an early cancellation fee which i have refused to pay because they gave me no choice but to cancel. the phone company then went out of business and passed on the collection to a CA. when first contacted by the CA, i explained to them what happened, and they said they would go back to the phone company to discuss my situation. i haven't heard from the CA in almost 2 years now. am i correctly understanding the SOL to mean after a certain number of years, if the debt is not paid it cannot negatively effect your credit? if i am incorrect, please explain to me. also, does anyone know what the SOL is in utah? thanks in advance!
Was the company's disconnection of your cell phone related to or shortly before their going out of business? Were the company's accounts sold to another cell phone company, or did they entirely cease operations?
My phone was disconnected a few months before the company went out of business. The disconnection was not in relation to the company going out of business, it was entirely initiated by me because I had no service. All I wanted to do was change my number from a Utah number to a number in my home state (where I had since moved). They told me they had to disconnect my phone but it would be active again in 48 hours. After a month or so and many phone calls later, my phone was still not active, so I felt I had no choice but to cancel my account with them. The account had not been active for 2 years, so I was subject to an early cancellation fee. That is the amount "outstanding" right now. But I feel I had no choice but to cancel so I refuse to pay the fee. The company I signed up with was a reseller for a national cell phone service so I suspect when they went out of business they didn't need to do anything with their accounts because they were simply a reseller. I haven't heard from the collection agency in a long time. Last I heard, they were going to go back to the reseller and ask for more documentation. So far, nothing has shown up on my credit report. Should I worry? Is it true that if nothing happens within a certain number of years it can no longer affect my credit? Is that the correct definition of SOL? Thanks!
SOL refers to how long after the last payment made a creditor can sue for a debt. It depends on the type of account, and may vary with state law. The creditor or CA might still sue, but not legally under FDCPA, and the debtor can raise the passing of the SOL as a defense to have the suit tossed out. There is an FCRA specified 7 year limit after an account went delinquent that it can be reported negatively on credit reports. The creditor or CA posting a negative tradeline on a credit report must notify the CRA of the initial delinquency date, which the CRA uses to determine when the negative information is removed from the report.
Did you notify the cell phone company that they were not providing service when your service stopped? (notification to company of breach of contract due to their failure to deliver contracted services) Did you notify the cell phone company that your reason for cancellation was their continued failure to provide service? (mitigating damages resulting from company's breach of contract) Where either of these notifications in writing, and do you have copies? Were these notifications to the company that you signed up with, or to the company who provided the service? Did the company you signed up with go out of business, or did the company providing the cell phone service go out of business? Would the account have been active for 2 years, completing the contract, if you had kept the account open until the company went out of business?
