If you're facing debt collection on an account that is more than a couple of years old, the first thing you should do is figure out how long the statute of limitations is. The statute of limitations is the amount of time set by law for a creditor to start a lawsuit against you. In Minnesota, for example, the statute of limitations for most debt collection lawsuits is six years. This means that the lawsuit only has to be started within six years. It doesn't mean that the lawsuit has to be finished within six years.

Once you know what the statute of limitations is, you need to determine when it starts to run in your case. Generally, the statute of limitations begins to run on the first day that you are in default on your account. A quick way to figure out when your account went into default is to determine the date that you made your last regular payment. Although this won't always be a precise date that the statute of limitations began to run, it's a good estimate.

When you know the applicable statute of limitations and the date it started in your case, the rest is just simple math. Using Minnesota's six-year statute of limitations as an example again, if you defaulted on your account on December 15, 2014, the creditor must start the lawsuit against you no later than December 15, 2020.

If the creditor doesn't start the collection lawsuit within the statute of limitations, it loses its ability to use the judicial process to collect the debt. This doesn't necessarily mean that the creditor can't call or write you to collect the debt. In Minnesota, a debt collector may collect a debt that is past the statute of limitations. But it can't threaten to sue you or sue you for an old debt that is past the statute of limitations. And if the debt is more than seven years old, it can't be reported to the credit bureaus.

If the debt collector brings a lawsuit on a debt that is past the statute of limitations, you have an absolute defense to the collection lawsuit. You need to raise this defense in your answer or it may be waived. Also, it's your burden to prove that the statute of limitations is up and you may need to gather some evidence first. But this is a powerful defense that, if proven, will result in the debt collector's case being thrown out.

In addition, many courts have held that a debt collector violates the FDCPA when it threatens to bring or brings a lawsuit for an old debt that is past the statute of limitations. When a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you have the right to sue them and the law provides that the collector has to pay you up to $1,000, plus any provable actual damages--such as emotional distress. Further, the debt collector has to pay your attorney fees and costs. So if everything goes your way, you could get the debt wiped out and get some money back from the debt collector.

A quick summary of the law on the collection of old debt

(1) In Minnesota, a debt collector can attempt to collect a debt past the statute of limitations through phone calls, letters, or similar methods. This rule may be different in other states.

(2) A debt collector in Minnesota cannot, however, threaten to sue you or sue you for a debt that is past the statute of limitations. This is also true in most other states.

(3) A debt collector cannot put a debt that is more than seven years old on your credit report. This is true everywhere. I would also take the position that a debt collector cannot even threaten to report a debt that is past the statute of limitations.