help me understand

[rebe30]

I want to try and get some things off my credit. I have several where the company went out of business or merged. What is the statute of limitations? I read the beginners post. Still not getting it. I live in NC the number listed is 3 years, but what does that mean?

[antn]

Hi, I am surprised nobody has responded to this yet. A statute of limitations or SOL for short, is simply the time available to a creditor to enforce collection of different types of debt through the courts (in this case, state or local courts.)

After the statute runs out, the debtor still owes the debt, just that the creditor can no longer sue or use the courts to try to collect. Basically, the creditor is out of luck. This is why creditors increase collection efforts right before the statute deadline.

However, it is important to note: Certain actions on the part of the debtor can RESTART or RENEW the statute date. Typically, the statute starts from the date of last payment or last activity on the account. The statute is RESTARTED if any of the following happens:

* acknowledging that you owe the debt
* making a payment
* entering a payment plan
* making an agreement to pay
* making a charge on the account

Statutes of limitations typically cover four types of debt:

Oral,
Written,
Promissory, and
Open ended

Each type has different or similar time limits depending on the state. Open ended debt refers to a revolving type debt account such as credit cards.

However, be careful, because some states although they have a different time for "Open ended", have defined credit card debt under the usually longer timed "Written" type of debt.

For example, Georgia's appeal court affirmed that credit card debt falls under a written contract and has a 6 year statute, not the 4 year statute of an "open ended" agreement.

Specifically answering your question, it appears your state of North Carolina is on the consumer's side with a relatively short SOL on "open" and "written" contracts of only 3 years. You are very lucky