Florida: What is the statute of limitations for debt collections?

When people get to the point in their debts that they are no longer making payments, the first thing to happen will be phone calls and letters. The credit card company, or other creditor, wants the money which they are owed.They will hound you for quite a while in this fashion, until they eventuallysell the debt off to a credit collection agency. Once this happens, your phone will seem to be ringing night and day.

When this happens there are remedies. Of course you could pay off the debt, but assuming there is a reason this has all happened and that is preventing you from paying the debt, this is probably not going to be the solution. You can endure the phone calls,ignore them and wish they'd go away. You might even get your wish, although that may not be inyour best interest. Once the phone calls and pestering start the companyusually gears up for legal action, meaning a law suit.

The other option is to contact a debt settlement company and have them negotiate in your behalf with your creditors and attempt to get the payments, interest rate and even the principal amount down low enough that you can make your payments or pay off the loan entirely.

When it comes toFlorida debt settlement there is a statute of limitation on debts. This means there is a law in place that sets the maximum amount of time after which a debtor becomes delinquent on a debt that the creditors can initiate a law suit. The type of debt you have will effect what statute of limitation applies to your situation. Open accounts are such as debts as credit cards. Installment type loans, like car loans, are called "written contracts."

According to Florida state law, the statute of limitations on written contracts as well as mortgage foreclosureis 5 years. This means that the creditor has that amount of time to initiate legal proceedings before they are stopped by law from attempting to collect on the debt any further. When it comes to open accounts, like credit cards, the statute of limitations is 4 years.What that means is that after 4 years, if the creditor has failed to bring suit against you for debts you have failed to pay them, they are powerless to pursue it any further.

Though it isn't the smartest tactic to avoid paying off a debt, the statute of limitations could actually work inyour favor if you are unable to make the payments. There is the possibility, depending upon the creditor and the amount you owe, that taking you to suit over the amount you owe, especially if you've already lost your job and there is going to be no way they can collect on it, that they will simply not sue you. This is not a safe or guaranteed method of satisfying your debts, but according to the statutes on the books, it is a possible scenario.