Is this allowed by law, and what can i do if not?

90 days before a car loan reched its seven yr mark, a collection group called me to collect. they bought the debt from the finance company. before they called me they ran my credit with out my permission. after i asked them to stop calling me 5-10 times a day they told me they would take me to court and throw me in jail. what do i do?

I have posted a link at the bottom so you can look up the statute of limitation for your State.

If this date has passed the only thing they can do is sue you and you must show up in court and show that the S.O.L. has expired and the case will be dismissed.

If this date has not passed, yes they can sue you but it takes a long time and cost money. In the mean time do not pay them anything because if you do this starts the S.O.L. all over again.

Yes they can run your credit, sorry it's legal but they can not threaten you with jail.

Good luck.


http://www.bcsalliance.com/index.html

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I don't remember where, but I just saw something where certain people/companies are supposedly buying out these debts but scamming people to get the money. I'd contact a lawyer about this to see if it is legit or contact the 3 credit bureaus directly - Experian, TransUnion, Equifax - because it seems strange that the finance company would not have been trying to collect on this sooner.

Whether a debt is collectible depends upon the statute of limitations on the debt. That varies widely from state to state, from as little as 3 years for an open end account to over 20 years for a contract debt (such as a car loan). Without knowing which state you live in it's not possible to even look it up for you.

If they bought the contract, they can run your credit as they now have a "business relationship" with you whether you like it or not. That is not illegal.

About the only thing that they have done to date that is wrong is threaten you with jail. That's a technical foul as there is no legal bar to their making that claim.

They most certainly CAN take you to court over the debt. If the SOL has passed, you have an absolute defense but you still must assert your defense in court of they will get a default judgment against you.

A debt collector may not:

* Contact you at unreasonable times, for example, before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree
* Contact you at work if you tell the debt collector your employer disapproves
* Contact you after you write a letter telling them to stop, except to notify you if the collector or creditor plans to take a specific action
* Contact your friends, relatives, employer or others, except to find out where you live and work
* Harass you through threats to harm you, profane language or repeated telephone calls
* Make any false statement, or claim that you will be arrested
* Threaten to have money deducted from your paycheck or sue you, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so and it is legal

To file a complaint, contact your state or local consumer protection agency and the Federal Trade Commission.

If you're getting 10 calls a day, you can call your phone co and file a complaint. Once they get it on tape, they will take the necassary actions against the collection agency.