Expert: Michael Brotherton - 7/25/2007

Question
I hope that you can help me. I just received court papers for a judgment on a 14 year old debt. In 1993 I was going through a divorce and had just gotten laid off from my job and could not keep up with the car payment to a Credit Union. I tried to sell the car but could not and I was in contact with the CU weekly. I made arrangements to turn the car in voluntarily to them but the day before I was to turn it in they repossessed it during the night.  They then sold a 15,000 car for 7,000.  Since I was not working the CU did not file a judgment against me.  They did put it on my Credit Report as a bad debt which remained for 7 years.  I started getting letters about 4 years ago from different collection companies regarding this debt but when I requested in writing that they send me a copy of the debt they would decease and about 9-10 mos later I would get one from someone else. At the time of the first letter I contacted the original CU that had the defaulted loan and asked them if they were the ones trying to collect the debt and they said no that they had written it off 8 years prior and were not aware of who would be trying to collect the debt.  The court paperwork says that I now owe 16,577 with 9.5% interest from 7/15/93.  I live in Ohio.  Is this a valid debt?  Can this company called CU Recovery get a judgment against me?  It has taken me over 10 years to dig myself out of a financial mess that my ex-husband had left me with and I don't want to go through this again.  Thank you for any advice you can give me.

Answer
Statute of Limitations in Ohio is 15 years. If they get a judgment they can extend that period indefinitely. If you own property they may also place a lien on the property. You should go to court and demand they verify they are the rightful owner of the account and verify the balance. If it is legitimate make them a lump sum offer for settlement (25-30%) or payment arrangement until you get some funds to settle. Call me if you need help 877 270 8204 or visit www.financialemergency.com.