Expert: Ray A Miller - 3/19/2011

Question
QUESTION: i recieved a default judgement 7 years ago had fallen on hard times finacialy from a injury and was too stressesed and figured it would be pointless to show to court .i guess the case i would have made was i was 18 when i got the card like everyone at that age ran up the balance in less than 6 months to the 2500 max limit .then paid over limit fees 30 and 30 for late fees and interest was bumped to 29 or so percent .i paid them minimum of around a 100 a month for 3 or 4 years with the balance still climbing instead of going down .when injured on the job i settled my other credit card for 50 percent and they offered the same but when i had the money months later they refused . so nextthing i know i had a default  judgement for 4500 . 2 years ago they took 100 from my bank act so i stoped using it .i contacted them to settle and they claimed i owed them 7,000 and woudlnt take 2 or 3 k i offered lump sum .7 years later now  they refiled to garnish my bank act out of the blue .i own  real estate property they can lien also now . i contacted them again offered 4200  now they said i owe 11k with interest included at 19% < i read online ohio law only allowed 10%?>and they took a few days to get back with me and asked me if i can do it by end of month i said yes they then called back and said discover countered at 7k im tired of the games i talked to 2 attorneys gave me differing advice both said i should deal myself directly . what are the best options i have ?

ANSWER: I need a little more information.  What is the date of last payment on this account and which state do you live in.  With this information, I can give you a much better answer.  Thank you for your patience.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: sorry i live in Ohio i guess i forgot to add that fact ... and the last payment i made was i belive 1993 and they did get 100 from my bank act without notice from the judgement almost  3 years ago dont know if that counts since it wasnt willing attempt to make a payment ...

Answer
It appears to me that the statute of limitations has run out on this account and you are not obligated to pay it.  They can ask for the money but can not take legal action to collect. To make absolutely sure you will need to seek the advice of an attorney.

If you still owe it, offer them a 50% settlement and walk away from the entire situation. I hope you have found this helpful and good luck with this