A few years ago I bought a car I couldn’t afford. Long story short, it got repossessed, and I owe the balance of what wasn’t paid at the auction - around $4k plus interest.
They tried to garnish my wages, which I didn’t contest, but they couldn’t as at the time I made less than a certain amount which was allowed by the state.
I haven’t received a letter or phone call from them in about 8 months. The last letter I received stated that they were trying to garnish my wages again, at the same job as before, but I hadn’t worked there in 6 months so they obviously didn’t get that. As I haven’t heard from them since, I wonder what my obligations are?
On a certain level, I want to pay what I owe. I fucked up, I made bad decisions, and it’s my burden to pay the collection agency. However, they haven’t contacted me in 8 months, and I don’t go through any pains to be unreachable. My credit is already ruined, I am not worried about that too much at this point. What are the chances they’ve given up and “written me off”? Will they send me a letter 5 years from now stating that I owe the original balance + 5 years interest? Is it up to me to contact them to make arrangements?
The statue of limitations varies for state to state, but it is usually a couple years. They will keep tacking on interest until you pay. If they don’t collect the debt, it will be recorded as uncollected on your credit report. They can still pursue the debt even after they mark it as uncollected on your credit report.
Go to Annual Credit Report to view your credit report and the collection agencies information.
You may be able to negotiate with them to settle for a lesser amount.