Dealing with debt can be a very difficult issue. You may have worked overtime to pay back what you owed or turned to settlement options to resolve debts in the past.
When you have debts with multiple creditors and try to manage them all, it can become difficult and stressful. It may be hard to know exactly what you owe and which items have been paid, especially if creditors sell off those debts to collection agencies.
Sometimes consumers are taken advantage of
It’s the truth that consumers are sometimes taken advantage of by creditors and collection agents. They may ask you to pay for debts that you really have no obligation to pay. For example, you may be dealing with a “zombie debt buyer.” This collector buys a debt, usually for much less than it’s worth, and then tries to collect it from you. In many cases, that debt is no longer able to be legally enforced, yet they continue to pursue collection activities.
Know the statute of limitations to protect yourself
Most of the time, zombie debt buyers purchase debts and immediately try to collect. Many of those debts may be past the statute of limitations, though. Once the statute of limitations for the debt collection has passed, you are not legally required to pay it. Despite knowing that, a debt collector may attempt to “bring it back from the dead” and try to get you to pay.
You have rights if your debts are too old to pay
You may no longer owe on a debt that is many years old. This is because lenders can only attempt to collect on a debt for a limited amount of time. If a bill collector continues to call you and assert that you owe a debt that you do not, it’s within your rights to take action. Do not reconfirm the debt or make any payments toward it without knowing that you still owe it by law. If you don’t owe that money and the collector continues their collection activities, then you may be able to file a lawsuit that can help hold those collectors responsible for their unreasonable behavior.
