What you need to know about the collection of old debts

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.

How to kill 'zombie debt' using the statute of limitations

They call it zombie debt because it's so old that by the time a debt collector picks it up, you've totally forgotten about it. Creditors sell old, uncollected debt to debt buyers for pennies on the dollar--that's why you may be getting phone calls or letters on a debt you don't even remember having. Just as there are very specific ways to kill a zombie (click here only if you don't scare easily), there are specific defenses you may have against zombie debt. One of these is the statute of limitations.

Statute of limitations: The statute of limitations is the legal term for how long a party can sue you on a debt. The statute of limitations for suing for breach of a credit card contract in Minnesota is six years. This means that a creditor or debt buyer can sue you anytime up to six years from the date of your last purchase or last payment, whichever was later. There are some exceptions to this, so you'll want to consult an attorney.

Special statute of limitations: There may be a shorter statute of limitations if the debt was a store credit card. It's a store card if you could only use it at one store (store-branded cards with Visa or Mastercard logos don't count.) Those lawsuits are governed by a different law, called the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), and they may have a shorter statute of limitations of only four years.

Super-special bonus statute of limitations: Minnesota has a borrowing statute. In short, this means that if a legal claim "arises" in another state with a shorter statute of limitations, that shorter statute of limitations may apply. This may be relevant for credit card companies based in states such as Delaware, which has a three-year statute of limitations. But be warned, the law is tricky on this. We would recommend you only try this defense under supervision of an experienced attorney.