My question is on unpaid bills . i recieved a phone call from a credit company demanding money from an "unpaid" bill that dates back 13 years . i am sure the bill was paid 13 years ago . but i have no proof . can a company come after you 13 years later?
by 
plumn4u
ANSWERS: 7
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THEY MAY ATTEMPT TO, BUT NORMALLY IT STOPS AT TEN YEARS
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they have up to 21 yrs to collect but if you are sure you pay then there just looking for more money and if you never hear of them 9 times out of 10 you never real had relation with them ok so dont let them fool you out of money they should not have a lot of ilegal companies do these thing all the time ok do not worry.
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At this point, it is safe to assume the original debt has been sold to a business that buys debt for pennies on the dollar. They can keep whatever they collect regardless of the amount so they put you on robo calls and such hoping you will get tired and settle for a few bucks. This happened to me a few years ago and I had never recieved any kind of bills saying I owed anyone any money. Unfortunately I started checking to find out what was going on. I was later told by someone in the business that I has 'reset the clock by contacting the collection agency' I was told unless I was going to try and reach some kind of settlement to never respond to these people or the clock starts ticking all over again. Fortunately for me my credit was excellent and it never prevented me from getting a loan. The original company probably doesn't even own it anymore. They bundle these things up much like bad mortgages and sell them again and again for pennies to some other company that will continue with the robo calls and such.
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I would have thought there was a statute of limitations on this. Even the IRS only holds you to the last three years. None of us (or a slim minority) keeps receipts for 13 years. I wouldn't pay it.
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Statute of limitations.
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Everything Normal Guy said is true. Don't even speak to them again! Ignore them. You probably did pay the bill and there was a mistake somewhere along the line. I had a $42,000.00+ bill at a hospital for my surgery that I paid and found later when I checked my credit report that a $25.00 unpaid amount went into collections! I couldn't even tell you what the $25.00 was for, so it just sits on my credit report now.
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Unless you live in the State of Rhode Island (where the statute of limitations is 10 years - I think), that debt expired long ago (in most states, it's about 4-6 years with Louisiana being 3). Therefore, they have no legal right to anything. Next time they call you, simply ask for their mailing address, write them a cease and decease letter (you essentially tell them that you no longer wish to be contacted in any manner and that if they don't abide by your wishes, you will sue them for violation of the FDCPA and report them to the FCT). Trust me, they'll leave you alone but you have to do it in writing Most likely, they have purchased that debt from someone for a few pennies and are now trying to bully you into paying it in full banking on the fact that you don't know your rights
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