My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Pennsylvania.
I received a voicemail which explained that I had a line of credit (Visa card) through HBSC that they have been unable to collect on. Therefore, the voicemail said I was being sued. For some reason, the voicemail was left with my wife and not me. She promptly called back and the gentleman talked with her (which surprised me; usually they refuse to discuss debt with anyone but the one who owes it, don't they?), and he explained that I would be served papers on Monday, would be required to appear in court, that my wages would be garnished, and other untold horrors would be visited upon me. He also very quickly said they were willing to settle out of court and provided the terms.
I did some research. This guy said the final payment on this debt was received in December of 2008. From what I could find, the statute of limitations on credit card debt in PA is 4 years. That would put the first missed payment in January of 2009. My first question is: does the statute go by month? That is, did it run out in January of 2013? Or is it valid until the end of the year? Or is this something that is open to interpretation?
I've got no issues paying my debts. Been working at that for years. But after doing some research, I'm skeptical about a company that threatens such doom and gloom before serving your papers. From what I've seen, if a legitimate creditor is going to sue you, they don't come after you 4 days before they plan to serve you papers and warn you that it's coming. I also thought I had the right to request verification of the debt. Proof that I owe it. If they're warning me that on Monday they're going to serve me papers, that doesn't allow me time to verify it's even MY debt.
Very skeptical, but obviously I want to honor my agreements. Not sure the best course of action. I guess knowing if the statute has indeed run out would be a first step. I'm unclear if the debt is considered run out as of January 2013 or if it's valid until the end of that year.

