Can Old Debts Appear Again On My Credit Reports?

by Amy
(Missouri)

If I have a debt that's over 7 years old can they keep reselling it and reporting it to my report? I have 3 hospital bills from 2000 and they keep selling the account and then its re posted as a debt from the date they purchased it. The new dates on my report are showing that one of the accounts is past due as of 2011 and we have not lived there (Illinois) since 2000.

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com:

It is not unusual for collectors to sell or buy old debts. However, collection accounts that are more than seven years and six months old (from the date you first fell behind with the original creditor ) should not appear on your credit reports. That’s true regardless of whether you paid them off or not.

In addition, collection agencies are supposed to report the original date of delinquency when they report collection accounts to the credit reporting agencies. It sounds like this is not happening in your situation.
Please read our tips for how to dispute credit report errors. It sounds like you should be able to dispute these items because they are too old, and it also sounds like they should be removed from your credit reports.

Be sure to put your disputes in writing so you have a record in case the credit reporting agencies do not correct them. If this does not solve the problem, you will want to talk to a consumer law attorney. You may have a case for credit damage.

Please keep in mind that if the statute of limitations has not expired on these debts, the collection agencies may still decide to sue you to collect. It is our understanding that the statute of limitations for most consumer debts in Indiana is ten years, so it may be the statute of limitations may have expired on these debts. We are not attorneys, though, so please don't take that as legal advice.