Collection on a Very Old Debt

by Kristeena
(Grants Pass, Oregon)

i got a ticket last year for two hundred dollars in california. i live in oregon and always have. the ticket got sent to collections for $705. i made $50 payments every month. in the mean time, i got married. i owed the last remaining $5.00 and they told me to send a check. i did and they later called me saying i had never payed it. they had put it in a different collections account that was not mine, but instead my husband's from the year 2000. they said that HE had sent the check. it is a joint account with both of our names on it and i signed the check, not him. they said that they will not remove the $5.00, that i will have to send it again and that my husband owes them the remaining $811.66 and if they don't get it they will garnish his wages, etc. they now have our account number because of this check. can they get into our account and take money? also, this is over ten years old, is there any way this will drop off or can the amount be lowered in any way?

Comments for Collection on a Very Old Debt

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Jan 28, 2011
 very old ticket in collections
by: DebtCollectionAnswers.com

Kristeena,

You need to talk with an attorney asap about this. While most consumer debts in California are subject to a statute of limitations of four years (and six years in Oregon), traffic tickets may not be subject to those statutes of limitations.

It sounds like California is really getting aggressive about this collection (they probably really need every penny they can get!) And you do not want them to go after you or your husband's bank accounts. Even if they are wrong, it will be a terrible hassle to get the money back.

You can try contacting Robert Brennan, the coauthor of the California edition of Debt Collection Answers at SoCalCreditDamage.com (we're not sure if he can help you since you are in Oregon, but he should be able to answer questions about California law), or a local consumer law attorney. Find out how to get FREE or low cost legal advice about debt collection from a consumer law attorney here.

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