This is going to be a long post, but I’ve never dealt with any of this before and I’m just looking to get as much information as I can.
Background: In 2017, in Texas, I bought a vehicle with financing. I was 20, didn’t have much income and was not responsible with the money that I did have. I fell behind and in early 2020 it was repossessed. I now understand that when a vehicle is repossessed it is auctioned off, and that the remainder of the balance is still owed. I did not understand that at the time. And since then, I have never been contacted about this. I was never sent a final bill after an auction, and I never heard anymore about it. Frankly the whole thing was a big embarrassing mess that I was maybe a little too happy to put behind me. I slowly started to get my life and my finances together reasonably and I finally feel like I’m at a place in my life where things are going well.
Fast-forward to yesterday, I received a call and a voicemail. The man gave his name, the initials of the company he was with, and said it was about a file number with my name. My iPhone had labeled the phone number as Spam Risk, and I didn’t know what he was talking about so I figured it was some kind of phishing scam. Today I got another voicemail and a text.
The text said I would now be receiving texts from *collection company 1* (now the full name of the company, and it matches the initials from the voice mail), on behalf of *collection company 2* about the 3,300 dollar balance on my account with *original financing company*. They also called my brother and left a similar voicemail looking for me.
Google tells me both companies are real, so this doesn’t seem to be a scam, but an actual collection. I checked my credit report but there is nothing on it about this account. The original defaulted account is not listed either, I assume because it was so long ago that it has fallen off. The only thing relevant at all is a soft inquiry listed as being made by *collection company 2* about a month ago.
I really don’t know what my next steps are here. I know I’m supposed to request a letter of debt validation, but everyone online seems to say not to talk to these people over the phone. I also know that I need to be careful because it was so long ago about resetting any statute of limitations that may be applied. I also am unsure if I should be contacting *collections company 1* at all, or if I should be talking directly to *collections company 2*. I tried logging in to my old account from the initial financing company to see if there was an outstanding balance, but my log in didn’t work and forgot-my-password said my email didn’t have an account.
Which one of these companies should I call to request the letter of validation, and is it ok to give them my new current address? I live in a different state now.
I want to get this taken care of, but I don’t have that kind of money right now. I understand that sometimes you can get them to set
What are the best steps for dealing with debt collectors for a 6 year old debt?
byu/Ruffblade027 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Ruffblade027
3 Comments
The Statute of Limitations on the debt might have run as it has been nine years
A collection company will try to collect a debt that isn’t legally valid so before you even contact them check Texas Statute of Limitations.
From what I understand, this is what they call ‘zombie debt’, meaning, it’s been dead to the original company and they wrote it off, then sold it off to a debt collection agency, and now they are in turn trying to collect on that debt that they paid maybe cents on the dollar for from your original company you took the loan out with. You see it’s no on your credit report at all. Contacting them maybe start the clock all over again…Not sure if you want to pay it off because you owe it and want to do the ethical thing. The one piece I know you never do is make an electronic payment, meaning the minute you give these companies access to your bank account, they will try and get the full amount regardless of what you agree to with them as a payment plan. From what I understand if you decide to pay it off, when you call them, tell them a $ number that you have and you cannot afford anything else, see if they will take this as a one time and final payment to settle the debt, if they agree, make sure you get that in writing from them and send them a check/money order and not give them electronic access to you in anyway. Good luck!
The debt is past the statute of limitations. If you speak to anyone at the collection company, inform them of that. In 2010, a debt collection company contacted me for a debt that I allegedly owed from 1996, when I was still in high school. After stating the debt was past my home state’s statute of limitations and I was a minor when I made the purchase, the guy said thank you and I never heard from them again.