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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
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    13,916

    Default Threatened Over a Forgotten Debt

    A man took out a payday loan more than ten years ago, intending to pay it back, but forgot about it.

    He was just contacted by somebody who claims to be calling from a law firm, claims that he missed a court date, has told him that he's being criminally charged with check fraud, and demanded money. What should he do?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Threatened Over a Forgotten Debt

    My suspicion is that the debt was purchased by an unethical junk debt buyer, who is now engaged in unlawful collection methods to try to scare him into paying the debt. The debt is almost certainly expired under the governing statute of limitations, meaning that he can raise the statute of limitations defense to any lawsuit (if done in a timely manner) and that no debt collector should be threatening to sue over the debt.

    Debt collectors do not file criminal charges, and there is absolutely no way that a prosecutor's office has suddenly decided to pick up a 10+ year old case over a loan default -- something that would almost certainly be a civil matter, not a criminal matter, in the first place. If the debt collector also said that the charge will be dropped if he pays them money, that's even more evidence that they're an unethical collector engaging in illegal debt collection tactics.

    He should contact a consumer lawyer in his state about his rights under the FDCPA and about the possibility of taking legal action against the collector.

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