Recent content by Debt Guy

On the front page of Sunday’s New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson described Diane McLeod’s spiral into indebtedness, and now a debate has erupted over who is to blame. You can read the article at this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/business/20debt.html?fta=y Some people emphasize the...

You sent me a private message. But, your settings don't allow you to receive a private message response. So, I am posting here. You can go to your control panel to reset your message settings. Mary The answer is confusing to most people. Here is how it works in most states: The check is...

FIRST ARTICLE There was a mood of disconnect at the Federal Trade Commission workshop on the debt collection industry as consumer advocates on one side and industry reps from collections agencies and law firms on the other discussed the state of the industry. The consumer advocates were joined...

An Outcry Rises as Debt Collectors Play Rough By SEWELL CHAN Published: July 5, 2006 The rise in American consumer debt has been accompanied by a sharp increase in complaints about aggressive and sometimes unscrupulous tactics by debt collection agencies, a phenomenon that has government...

You are not personally responsible for your mother's debts. Her estate is responsible to pay her bills. Your state may require probate. You should find out. If her estate has no assets, then send a letter to that effect to the credit card companies. If they ask you to pay personally, tell...

You aunt has a choice. Either pay the debt or file a police report. The lender is going to take the position that she is obligated to pay until she takes some minimum action to demonstrate that a fraud took place. Once you aunt files a police report, then it literally is in the hands of the...

next time they call, ask for the name of the agency and their mailing address. Send them a cease & desist letter. You can find samples at www.creditinfocenter.com

The date open has nothing to do with the SOL. All that counts is the Date of First Default on the debt to the original creditor. Find the First Select entry on your credit report. Look in the column for Date of Last Activity. What does it say?

If I understand your post -- you are saying that you no longer owe the debt since the original creditor charged off the debt and sold it to a 3rd party. You are mistaken in that belief. Neither action (the charge off or the sale) modifies your obligations under the contract. There are some BS...

If you default, the creditor has the right to sue you and to obtain a judgment. Following the judgment, they can garnish your wages and any bank account that you have. You will not be arrested. This is a purely civil matter. I suggest that you try to find a local community based credit...

Jimmy It is inconsiderate to hijack someone else's question and answer string. It also gets folks really confused. Yes, I know the answer to your question. Please post it as a separate question and I will answer it.

I've never heard of x-years plus 80 days. Every reference I have says x-years. Again, everything is key to when the SOL started. You need to know for sure when the date of first default occurred. You sound pretty sure of the date of your last payment -- so this should be just arithmetic. I...

I think it always looks better that the debt is paid and gone.

California SOL is 4 years. The time begins to run from the date of first default. If the SOL expires then the debtor may raise the fact that the debt is time-barred in any lawsuit to collect the debt. I am not positive, but I believe California actually forbids the collection of time-barred...

Any liens on property would be recorded in the real estate records. You might be able to go to the courthouse, speak with the county clerk (or the equivalent in your state) and ask about an liens recorded on such and such a property.