Creditor harassment and time-barred debt

The call seemed to come out of nowhere. In fact, a Tennessee resident may not really understand what was behind the call. The only thing that is clear is that there is a collection agency claiming that he or she owes money and is insisting that it be repaid. Is creditor harassment going to become a problem, and if so, what can be done to prevent it?

It is possible that the debt in question is an older debt. The agency may have recently purchased the debt from another company is now attempting collection. Depending upon the age of the debt, it may be considered a time-barred debt. This means that while the individual does still owes the debt, enough time has passed so that the statute of limitations has been reached. In other words, it is possible that the debt does not have to be paid and the individual should be careful in how he or she proceeds.

One option for dealing with time-barred debts is to simply ignore them. However, it is possible that the collector will attempt to sue. Additionally, the debt will remain on the individual’s credit report. Another option is to have the debt discharged in bankruptcy. Legal counsel can assist the individual in knowing the best way to proceed.

When it comes to time-barred debt, a Tennessee resident will want to proceed with caution. It may seem like a good idea to send the company a token amount to get the collection calls to stop. Unfortunately, this can backfire and cause the statute of limitations to be reset and start all over again. The individual will want to keep detailed records of all communications and possible creditor harassment with the collection agency. This can be beneficial when discussing the situation with legal counsel and in deciding how to handle the situation.