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     | Saturday, May 27, 2000 - 09:52 am  I've been reading posts on the site for over an hour in hopes of finding an answer to my question. I finally decided to post a new one in hopes someone can point me in the right direction. Just last month, my mother received a collection notice for me at her home (I have not lived there for over 8 years). The notice was from a school I attended 10 years ago and was NOT for a government student loan. I understand that the SOL in Virginia is 6 years, but to what does this apply? Does this mean only that they cannot sue me for the debt or does it also mean they can no longer try to collect the debt? They told me that they are turning me over to a collections bureau. Can they do this after all these years? (To date, it has never been on my credit report) And if they do, can I legally dispute the listing on my credit report and have it removed? They also said that as long as they had been sending me monthly statements, that the statute of limitations did not apply... but I haven't received a bill from them since 1993 and haven't paid on the account since 1991. I have tried reading the Virginia Code, but I can't find anything that seems to apply. Please help!
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| | Saturday, May 27, 2000 - 11:56 am Instead of waiting for problems to arise (credit, etc.) notify them that the SOL expired and request that they not contact you again. (Referred to as the "Cease and Desist" letter.) They cannot sue you and there is NOTHING they can do to collect. If they continue to demand payment, you can file a complaint against them. Make sure you mail certified!
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| | Sunday, May 28, 2000 - 12:51 am "They also said that as long as they had been sending me monthly statements, that the statute of limitations did not apply." This is only the second time ever that I heard of such an exception to the SOL. Obviously it doesn't apply to you since they didn't bill you. However, I'd really like to know if this exception actually exists. I'd greatly appreciate any leads on where I could find this law.
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| | Tuesday, May 30, 2000 - 02:21 pm I checked with an attorney with my company's credit division today. He said there is no such exception and that the accounts receivable department of this school needs to learn the law, posthaste!!
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| | Tuesday, May 30, 2000 - 02:32 pm Most importantly, since they are a school, and therefor slow to act or to believe anyone else: #1: Send them the standard "drop dead" letter. Send it Certified, Return Receipt. #2: DOCUMENT any further collection attempts, and #3: Retain an atty and SUE them when they don't leave you alone.
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| | Monday, June 05, 2000 - 01:05 pm Here's the latest. Remember the woman who said that the statute didn't apply since they'd been sending bills all along... here's what she says now: "Dear L: I received your certified letter. The statute of limitations states from the date of the last payment activity. Since the 6 years is not expired from your last payment activity, the balance of $2725.00 is valid and overdue. Your account has been referred to a collection agency. If you have any further comments or questions they will have to be directed to the collection agency." Now, they neglected to enclose any proof of the debt, which I very specifically requested in my letter. Can I request a complete statement of my account? I KNOW I did not make any payments to them in 1994.
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| | Monday, June 05, 2000 - 01:33 pm I would 1) Send a brief complaint to their licensing agency and copy the creditor. 2) I rarely bother with certified mail anymore. I find a fax with a receipt (Jfax.com works great, 2.95/month) much faster and cheaper. So I'd probably fax a request for proof of payment along with the entire account history with a 10 day deadline for the response and then I'd hire a lawyer. I don't know whether they have to provide you with an account history as mortgage lenders do, but it doesn't seem like an unreasonable request to me.
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| | Friday, June 16, 2000 - 05:31 pm UPDATE: I sent a follow-up letter, via certified mail-return receipt, reiterating my request for proof of the debt and a statement of the account, but have yet to receive either the return receipt or a response from the school. In the meantime, I have received a notice from a collection agency. I immediately sent in a letter disputing the debt and outlining my attempts to receive proof of the debt. I haven't heard back from them yet. Is there anything else I should do in the interim? And what do you mean by "licensing agency?" Thanks for all your advice.
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| | Friday, June 16, 2000 - 06:52 pm Yes, you should send a cease and desist letter to the debt collectors, telling them you will only deal with the owner of the debt.
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| | Friday, June 16, 2000 - 07:21 pm Just about EVERY business has to get a license with the city, but finance companies, banks, collection agencies, etc. are additionally licensed and regulated by certain "regulating agencies." For the most part, those agencies have no interest in pursuing complaints, but occasionally I get lucky. The FCC just got GTE Wireless to respond to my inquiries after a year of unsuccessfully faxing and calling GTE. See http://www.bayhouse.com/discus/messages/17/217.html?956630523 You can usually find info at your State's site when searching for collection agencies. Some have on-line complaint forms. Unfortunately those forms don't usually give you a copy of your complaint, so be sure to save it in whatever program you use prior to hitting that send button.
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| | Sunday, August 06, 2000 - 05:23 am Latest Update: I finally received a statement of my account through the collection agency. It was very interesting. They showed a cash payment on the account exactly 6 years ago to the day that the account was referred for collection. How convenient is THAT? So far this has not shown up on my credit report -- what should I do next????
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| | Sunday, August 06, 2000 - 05:05 pm Find out who licenses that collection company. If you did NOT make that payment, it seems to leave only ONE conclusion: They are doctoring their accounts to circumvent the SOL. I would put that in the "criminal activities" category and complain to the licensing agency as well as your and their State's Attorney General. Seems like an investigation is in order.
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| | Monday, August 07, 2000 - 10:25 am On second thought: It's irrelevant that it was turned over to collections exactly 6 years after that cash payment. The SOL is STILL expired. Giving an account to collections does not extend the SOL. Because they have to *prove* that you made that payment, you'll be ok. If you file the complaints, you shouldn't have any problems.
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| | Saturday, October 07, 2000 - 09:07 am I received yet another letter threatening to attach any assets. I wrote them a letter stating, once again, that the statute of limitations had expired on this debt and that any further collection attempts on their part would be cause for legal action against them for illegal collection activity. Haven't heard anything since -- but it has not yet been 30 days since I sent the letter. We'll see what happens!
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| | Saturday, October 07, 2000 - 10:41 am My August 6 posting: "If you did NOT make that payment, it seems to leave only ONE conclusion: They are doctoring their accounts to circumvent the SOL. I would put that in the "criminal activities" category and complain to the licensing agency as well as your and their State's Attorney General. Seems like an investigation is in order." Now it's OCTOBER and you're still dealing with this. There's a much better chance that a complaint will get their attention. Please let us know what happens!
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