I live in North Carolina. A collection agency filed a
summons against me. The last payment on the credit card in
question was very close to the
three year mark when the summons was filed on June 22, 2005.
Our last payment was June, 25 2002. Does the three year
statue of limitations go from the date of last payment to
the court date or does it go to the date the summons was
filed?

Thanks,

You may be able to find some useful information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_limitations

Your'e question is very common but the statute of limitations is meant to throw you off the real issue of what is happening and how you can be affected.

The following will be a bit long but it is intended for you to understand the issues. I will make it as simple as I can although the law in this area is complicated. I am sure you will understand when I am done.

When your'e payments first fall behind, you get nice phone calls asking for payment i.e. "we can forget this payment if you can write a check for just interest on this month's payment". Let's say your payment is $500.00, you only have to pay $48.55.

As you fall futher behind, the calls get firm. You don't answer these calls or argue with the person on the other end of the phone. The next step is for your creditor to offer a settlement e.g. a lump sum payment of 75% of what you owe OR a small amount THAT MUST be decucted electronically from your checking account. DO NOT AGREE TO THE ELECTRONIC WITHDRAWAL. This puts the ball in their hands. They have access to your checking account and will most likely cost you a small fortune in bounced checks.

Now, as youre debt gets older, the original creditor sells your debt to a JUNK DEBT BUYER. They buy these debts by the thousands for pennys on the dollar, knowining the Statute of Limitations has expired.

Your debt is one of thousands that has been ASSIGNED. An assignment or "chose in action" supposedly gives the assignee (the bastard who bought your debt) the same rights as the original person you owed the money to. JUNK DEBT COLLECTION IS SO BIG THAT THESE FIRMS TRADE ON WALL STREET.

The issue is: WHY WOULD A JUNK DEBT COLLECTOR BY AN OUT OF STAUTE DEBT?

You and everyone else will notice (If you have been served with a complaint and summons) that the Plaintiff (debt collector) will file several causes of action, one of which is a QUANTUM MERUIT theory (unjust enrichment).

What this means is "We know that the statute of limitations has run on the debt. We cannot collect ON THE CONTRACT but we are asking for EQUITABLE RESTITUTION (a court of equity is a special court action not known by the average person). They are saying "We loaned you money, you didn't pay. You have a moral obligation to pay. We are entitled to interest accumulated on your loan. We are entitled to interest lost (detriment) because we could not re-invest the money owed. We are entitled to attorney's fees that it cost us to get our money."

In conclusion, they will hit you on several counts. With the debt collector it is a calculated poker hand. They will pay for your debt, what they calculate the odds of winning. They do not want to spend money so they will razzle and dazzle you with a threat to sue. If they think you have money or you will bail out at the treat of a law suit, they won.

Believe me, they will take it to court if there is enough money involved.

There are many strategies to beat these bastards. For instance to claim equitable restitution, the court will require they have "clean hands". In most cases, they will loose on this account. Also there is Federal action available to you.

I recently beat up one of the biggest junk debt collectors in the country. They entered the hearing, prepared to cite every case possible concerning the Statute of Limitation (I did not plead the SOL as an affirmative defense).

I simply held my hand in the air and said "I have air between my hands, contract law requires documents. I have nothing that I can see, feel or touch. The burden of proof is on you counciler. Show me every document with a signature, including the initial and secondary assigment. Show me privity between your client and the defendant. Let me fill this space between my fingers with documentation that I and the Court can feel, tough and see.

The point is he could not produce the documentation and he knew it.

So, Don't fret over the statute of limitations. Your creditor sure is not doing so. They are simply INTIMIDATIING YOU!

Big V