Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection

The statute of limitations relates to a creditors right to sue to collect money. The original creditor is mandated by federal law, to charge-off an account when no payments have been received for 180 days.
That date is refered to as the ‘Date of Last Activity (DLA)’ and reported as such, to the credit reporting agencies by the creditor.
The DLA determines two critical issues that you should be aware of:

(NOTE: Texas allows the date to start when you last make a payment, it can ONLY be re-started if the account is brought current)

1. It starts and stops the seven year clock on your credit files.

2. It starts and stops the statute of limitations for taking legal action in your state by any subsequent owner of the account.

Many, many bottom-feeder, scavenger debt collectors file suit on debts that are past the statute of limitations. These are commonly referred to as ‘Time Barred Debts.’ A lot of consumers, unaware that the statutes have expired, take a default judgment on debts they no longer may legally owe. A default judgment has value to a scavenger as they know the consumer can no longer raise any legal claims (in most cases) and collections are easier to attain.

If you are ever unsure of what the DLA is, get copies of your credit reports direct from the three credit bureaus, (Credit Bureaus) and look at the date of last activity as stated by the original creditor. I always recommend that you hold on to those credit reports for at least five years as many of the bottom-feeders are known to change the DLA to inflate their portfolios.’ A credit report is an excellent resource should legal actions be commenced against the bottom-feeder.
 

Statute of Limitations State (in years) Oral Agreements Written Contracts Promissory Notes Open Accounts Alabama 6 6 6 3 Alaska 6 6 6 6 Arizona 3 6 5 3 Arkansas 3 5 6 3 California 2 4 4 4 Colorado 6 6 6 6 Connecticut 3 6 6 6 Delaware 3 3 6 3 D.C. 3 3 3 3 Florida 4 5 5 4 Georgia 4 6 6 4 Hawaii 6 6 6 6 Idaho 4 5 10 4 Illinois 5 10 6 5 Indiana 6 10 10 6 Iowa 5 10 5 5 Kansas 3 5 5 3 Kentucky 5 15 15 5 Louisiana 10 10 10 3 Maine 6 6 6 6 Maryland 3 3 6 3 Massachusetts 6 6 6 6 Michigan 6 6 6 6 Minnesota 6 6 6 6 Mississippi 3 3 3 3 Missouri 5 10 10 5 Montana 5 8 8 5 Nebraska 4 5 6 4 Nevada 4 6 3 4 New Hampshire 3 3 6 3 New Jersey 6 6 6 6 New Mexico 4 6 6 4 New York 6 6 6 6 North Carolina 3 3 5 3 North Dakota 6 6 6 6 Ohio 6 15 15 - Oklahoma 3 5 5 3 Oregon 6 6 6 6 Pennsylvania 4 4 4 4 Rhode Island 15 15 10 10 South Carolina 10 10 3 3 South Dakota 6 6 6 6 Tennessee 6 6 6 6 Texas 4 4 4 4 Utah 4 6 6 4 Vermont 6 6 5 6 Virginia 3 5 6 3 Washington 3 6 6 3 West Virginia 5 10 6 5 Wisconsin 6 6 10 6 Wyoming 8 10 10 8

Credit cards are generally considered open accounts.
The Federal Truth in Lending Act, Section 127 talks at length about credit cards as open accounts. However I have received some information recently indicating that some courts have ruled that credit cards are written accounts. This area of the law seems to be fluid. Meaning that what your court rules may be based upon what evidence is presented and other factors.

While the Federal Truth in Lending Act is written in legal terms, meaning good luck trying to read it, the The State of New Hampshire’s Department of Justice's Sourcebook has a very readable definition, check the second paragraph, of why credit card accounts are open-ended.