Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

can a debt collector call your after 9 yrs and have mailed letters to the wrong addresses for you plus can they call you when living in Pennsylvania to collect a debt? I was told that they can only send a letter once ever thirdty days.


Asked on 8/02/12, 12:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

A debt collector, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, can call you between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm, including Sunday. They have to abide by those hours in the timezone where you are located. Some will push the envelope and call at 8:59.

Have you ever written a letter to them and asked them to verify the debt? If not, then they can continue to call.

I have not heard about sending a letter every 30 days. There is nothing in the fair debt collection practices act about that.

Can they call after 9 years? Yes. Once a debt always a debt. That does not mean that you have to pay though. If this is a PA debt and you have not paid for 4 or more years, then collection of this debt is probably barred by the statute of limitations. Moreover, the debt is stale and cannot be on your credit. But the statute of limitations is only a legal defense that you raise in court. It doesn't mean that the debt collector cannot keep trying to collect. In such case, I would send what I call a "drop dead" letter to the debt collector. I would not admit the debt, I would say that collection of this debt appears to be barred and the debt collector is not to communicate with you regarding this debt any more. There are lots of sample letters on the internet - if you google "Sample drop dead letter to debt collector" you will find one.

Send the letter via certified mail and keep a copy for you, They will go away.

If you need help or want me to send a letter for you, I will be happy to do so for a reasonable fee. Please contact me at [email protected] if interested.

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Answered on 8/02/12, 8:56 pm


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