What should you do if collectors are calling you about debt that is more than 10 years old?

A reader, Mary, had this question:

Hi Mr. Credit Card,

I have a question about a phone bill that is at least fifteen to twenty years old and I can’t even remember it. I am getting phone calls almost everyday and Ignore them mostly, but today I did say yes my name is Mary and then was told that it was Portfolio Recovery trying to collect a debt for Southwestern Bell.

I am so tired of them calling me every day. I usually don’t pick up the phone. Today a customer service rep. told me that they could put it back on my credit.

I denied being the person they are looking for and told them that I would start collecting all the letters they send me and keep track of all the calls and report them to the proper agency as this is harassment….

Well, I guess my question is, Can they, after all these years, put that back on my credit report? My credit is in very good standing but I know nothing about this Southwestern Bill , it’s been so long, and if I try to ask them anything then they will just know it’s really me and then I’ll never get them to quit calling.

I did also tell them that I would report them and after I said this they informed me they would remove my number. Can you give me some advice, because I have a feeling that they will still keep calling as my caller ID shows my name , or my previous name, and they could have seen that when I called them back. Just to let you know, I only confirmed my first name. They tried to get me to tell them the last two digits of my social and I wouldn’t.

I denied that I was the Mary they are looking for. Now since I’ve spoken with them I’m afraid they may be able to put this back on my record. Sorry this was so long, I will appreciate any answers you can give me.

Thanks Mary

Thanks for your question Mary.

You have a couple of options here, but first you need to check your credit report.

You can check all three of your credit reports for free by using Annual Credit Report.com. You will be looking to see whether or not this account is being reported to the credit bureaus. Make sure you check all three of your credit reports too, or you can’t be sure.

If the account is being reported to the credit bureaus:

If the account is being reported then you will want to do a debt settlement with the collection company to get it off of there. Since the account is so old, you could probably offer them 50% of the total and have them accept. Just make sure that you have them mail you, or fax you something that says they will accept a 50% settlement from you. Then, you can pay that amount, and the headache will go away.

If the account is not being reported to the credit bureaus:

If you check all three of your credit reports, and do not see the account listed, then you’re probably in the clear since the debt is so old.

You are correct in thinking that if you acknowledge the debt in any way, they can begin collecting again. As long as you keep telling them that you have no idea what they are talking about, and that you are not the right person, it is going to be very hard for them to pursue collection.

However, I have to tell you honestly that they might continue collecting anyway. It’s just the way these types of companies work. It could even get to the point that the company will try to get a judgment to make you pay the past due amount.

If I were in this position, these are the steps that I would follow:

• Continue to ignore the calls for now (just for now!) and take the time to pull your credit reports.Don’t admit to owning the debt until you have decided what you want to do about it.
• Check all three of your credit reports (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) to see if this is showing up and lowering your credit score.
• If it isn’t showing up, you can settle the debt, or not, as you choose.This is mainly because the account is so very old. Newer debts don’t work this way! If it is showing up, you will want to pay the debt as soon as possible.
• Make a settlement offer with the collection company – old debts have a way of biting you in the rear when you least expect them to. The only way to know that it is handled once and for all is to be proactive – call the company back and arrange a settlement.
• Clean up your credit report – If this account has been reporting as past due, you will want to make sure that it shows up as settled once you pay it off. You could also consider challenging the account itself to have it removed. You can find out more about how to do that by reading this article.

That’s pretty much it. If you don’t acknowledge the debt, they will have a hard time collecting it from you since it is so old. In the event that they do threaten to take you to court, you can offer a settlement at that point. Or you can be pro-active, and negotiate with them now, pay a percentage of the debt, and have the problem go away immediately.

Thanks for your question!

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 17:56 and is filed under Debt Reduction FAQ. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.