North Carolina statute of limitation over-what happens now?

[merime]

If unpaid debt from CC is over 3 years old its past the state of limitations in NC. What happens then? The calls and letters pretty much stopped a year ago. Does a credit score go up? Just curious, thanks !

[df04527]

The only thing that happens is you have an affirmative defense if they sue you. No impact to credit scores as the derogatory accounts will stay for seven years. hth

[CCM620]

How many credit card accounts did you reach the SOL and for what amounts. I am going into my third year here in SC and so far 1 of 7 have sued. The only thing the SOL means is you are in the clear as far as judgements.

[LadyInTheRed]

The only thing the SOL means is you are in the clear as far as judgements.

Not exactly. A creditor can still sue you and get a judgment if you don't file an answer asserting the affirmative defense that the SOL has expired on the debt.

[keepmine]

Research NC Senate Bill 974. It prohibits debt collectors from suing on debts beyond the SOL.

http://www.vujoviclaw.com/article.php?table=article&mode=search&archived=0&article=57

[Charlie777]

The creditor can still post to your credit report because the debt is still "owed", they are just time barred from suing. Check that the DOFD is is accurate on your credit report, the debt cannot be reported more than 7 years plus 180 days after DOFD.

[merime]

I wish I had counted the CCs I had, before I shredded them all. I owed about $100,000 between about 5-11 cards. Only citi sued, and that was 2 years ago. I was so worried, but it really has not damaged my life as I had expected. The only calls I get are from Chase, in which I owe about $4,000. I figured once a company goes through the costs of suing , other CC companies can see that. In a case like mine, where the judgement is not collectible, why sue?

[justbroke]

In a case like mine, where the judgement is not collectible, why sue?

Because a judgment can be renewed in most States, keeping it alive for 20 years. It's a strategy and it allows the creditor to file a "judgment lien" against all your property... even if it's not "currently" collectible.

[merime]

That is what I thought! Somehow I got into a loophole. After Citi sued me, I never heard from them again. No notification that there was a judgement or lien on the property. My husband refinanced, and the bank asked him if he was aware of the judgement, in which he was not. It did not effect the ability to refiance at an excellent rate (he has PERFECT credit). In fact the lien and judgement got dropped? Not sure how or why that happened, but take it as a blessing. I figured I would be in a credit nightmare for 20 years. Still know the ,I have to be careful. I don't want to tempt the credit karma Gods.

[tobee43]

a creditor can really attempt to do what ever they want unfortunately. as keepmine points out there is actually a bill that should prevent a creditor from going after you, but as lady points out, then can still sue you, which is such a hassle even though as the bill which prohibits the creditor may protect you, it may have to still be addressed in black and white.

you'd think they'd have better things to do.

of course, once you file bk even if you had or have a judgement you can move to vacate it after the discharge of one's bk, that way there is a court order preventing them from renewing or continuing to attempt to collect on the judgement.

[GoingDown]

While yes, in theory the creditors can still file a lawsuit and win if you don't file an answer, the reality is that they rarely file a lawsuit after a debt gets so old that it is beyond the SOL.

I can tell you from my personal experience with a lot of defaulted credit cards, that NONE of mine bothered to sue me after the statute of limitations expired on the debts.

They are far more likely to sue you within the first few years (while they are still within the SOL) than they are later on.

We have to keep in mind that they simply cannot and will not file a lawsuit against every defaulted debtor. And they have to channel their limited resources to the accounts which they are most likely to collect. A debt that is so old that it is beyond the SOL is almost worthless. They know it will probably never be collected. Most of the time they won't bother wasting any additional, time, money and effort on it.

In those rare instances where the debt gets sold to a very aggressive and unethical junk debt buyer who employs a shotgun approach to lawsuits, then you have to file a written answer to the lawsuit to beat them in court. I want to say again, that is a rare event.

[merime]

That is exactly what I believe. I live in NC and the SOLs are all up now. Capital One sued and have been unable to collect a penny. Wages are not garnishable here, and there are no accounts with my name on them. Seems a no brainer on a waste of debt collector time. Thanks for every ones personal stories. I think they help tremendously.

[GoingDown]

Capital One is, in my own experience, the most aggressive one of them all. They are the only one to sue me. They sued me before the credit card was even charged off. That's how fast they came after me.

They won, but just like you, they never got a penny from me.

In my case, I made sure I was judgment proof, so they couldn't get anything from me.

[merime]

That is the way to do it! Actually, I forgot, it was Citi that sued me, but I have heard Capital One was most aggressive. Wow-before you were even charged off, that is nasty. I can remember back when I was actually TRYING to work with creditors. What a waste of time and money used to pay minimums. I suppose they sued because I have my name on a house. In NC they can't do much with that. I think we all just need a do over sometimes. Judgement proof is the best way to go.

[bcohen]

It is true that most creditors carefully examine the debtor's circumstances and probability of collecting before bringing suit, but a lot rely on the "shotgun approach". Capital One and some JDB's behave this way--they sue everyone and worry about collecting on the judgment later. Discover is another creditor known to be very aggressive, and the only one to sue me. It took them more than 3 years, though. I plan to file BK if they win.