Charge off and Statute of Limitations

[CBC123]

Hello,
Can creditors write off a credit card balance that is outside of the limitations and contact the IRS to advise that this is not income on my behalf. Mother got a letter from IRS stating that the charged off balance on her credit card is not part of her income. The statute of limitation on her credit card has passed. Again can they do this?


Also, to where is the SOL applies? Is it in the state one lived in when they applied for the credit or is it the current state of residency?

[lrprn]

The very first step your mom needs to take is to write a registered, return receipt letter to the cc creditor asking them to prove the debt in question is hers and is valid. The cc creditor must then provide this proof by producing legit, signed documents or the debt can't be collected and your mom is home free.

If the cc creditor does prove the debt is valid, then that's when she checks what the state laws are where she is lving now and how long that state allows collection of debts (not the same as the time frames for credit reporting). If the debt is one that does have a statute of limitation and the debts are past the SOL, then she can again send a registered, return receipt letter to the cc creditor pointing this out and stating that the debt is no longer owed. If the cc creditor tries to take her to court for payment, be sure to show up because SOL is an excellent defense and the case will be thrown out.

Sometimes when two states are involved (the charges were made in one state, the debtor lives in another), the creditor will try to move any court proceedings to the state that has laws most tilted in their favor. If that happens, your mom needs to protest that - she will probably win and the creditor will be forced to move the proceedings to her state.

Take a look here - http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/...explained.html - this is all explained in a lot more detail and is well worth a thorough read.

[CBC123]

LPRN,
Thanks for the info and will advise her of this. Again thanks a million.