Other Debt Apartment & cell phone company SOL

R

Rhoomega

New Member
Jurisdiction
South Carolina
My first question): I abandoned my apartment back in Oct. 2014, leaving furniture, etc., when I left but paid that months rent. I got notice that I owe the apartment complex $2,600. I'm assuming b/c the complex had prepare the unit to be rented out for next tenant. Is there an applicable SOL for this situation?
Second question): I left a cell phone company b4 my contract was up. It went into collections on June 19, 2014. Got a collection letter dated June 21. 2017. It seems that the SOL for S.C. for written contracts (3yrs) has passed in this case. Is this true?
Thank you
 
SOL isn't even an issue unless someone is taking you to court. SOL has nothing to do with collection attempts. They can still send you letters and call you but it's up to you whether to acknowledge them.
If you aren't being sued don't be concerned with SOL. Either pay the debts or ignore the requests.
 
I would think SOL has everything to do with collections. If, after a 3 yr. SOL has run out, while a bebt is still in collections, the debtor can no longer proceed with getting a judgement. Altough collections can continue, the threat of legal action can't. If I am wrong, please let me know. I am the writter of original post & the last response really didn't help with my qiestion.
Thanks
 
The threat of legal action Absolutely can continue, it just might not be successful if you assert the defense of the SOL. The SOL means nothing until you appear in court to defend yourself.

Regarding the apartment:
Who did you receive a notice from? If from the landlord it is an attempt to collect a debt and has nothing to do with SOL. If it is a notice of a judgment or a court document you could have bigger problems.

Has this already been to court? Did they previously obtain a judgment? If yes then it is too late to argue SOL. If no, then IF you should ever be taken to court you could potentially argue SOL. If successful this only means the landlord can not obtain a judgment. It does not prevent the landlord from continuing to attempt to collect on the debt for the rest of eternity.

You indicate you abandoned the property in October of 2014 with rent paid through the month. It is reasonable to assume the landlord did not reclaim the property for 30-60 days after that. The SOL here appears to be 3 years, which means you likely can still successfully be sued if the matter is filed before approximately December of this year. It is hard to say for sure as we don't know when the landlord reclaimed the property.

Regarding the phone:
You indicate you did not compete the term of the contract. When was it supposed to end?
It is possible they might try to use that end date as the beginning of the SOL term. Typically the last date of activity on the account is what will be looked at though. Again, the SOL doesn't prevent them from attempting to collect or filing suit against you. The SOL is a defense you present in court. If you fail to show and raise the defense they can obtain a judgment even if the SOL is expired.

Did you use the account or make any payments at all since June 2014? Any payment or other action on the account would restart the clock on the SOL.
 
Rhoomega, I have deleted your other two posts as they are duplicates of this one. Please keep all your future discussions on these matters in this thread and don't start any new ones.

To clarify both your questions, a statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit and, you are correct, that the deadline is 3 years from the date of the breach of the contract.

However, a statute of limitations has to be raised by the defendant as an affirmative defense in order to get a lawsuit dismissed as being time barred. Theoretically, you can be sued after the SOL runs out and if you don't raise the SOL as a defense the creditor could win, especially if you ignore the lawsuit and a default judgment ensues.

Rhoomega said:
I abandoned my apartment back in Oct. 2014, leaving furniture, etc., when I left but paid that months rent. I got notice that I owe the apartment complex $2,600. I'm assuming b/c the complex had prepare the unit to be rented out for next tenant. Is there an applicable SOL for this situation?
Click to expand...

The apartment owner has at least until Oct 2017 to file a lawsuit that would not be time barred by the SOL. If your departure caused the owner to incur expenses then your breach would have been on the day you left.

Rhoomega said:
I left a cell phone company b4 my contract was up. It went into collections on June 19, 2014. Got a collection letter dated June 21. 2017. It seems that the SOL for S.C. for written contracts (3yrs) has passed in this case. Is this true?
Click to expand...

Were you to be sued it is likely that you can raise the SOL as a defense and get the lawsuit dismissed.

That, however, doesn't prevent the creditor from pursuing the debt without filing a lawsuit by trashing your credit for 7 years from the default.
 
Thank u so much for the prompt response and clarification. Will be sure to keep future posts w/in same thread as well. Brand new to this. Regarding Verizon the 3 yr. old debt was bought by another collection agency, Tate & Kirland. An attorney friend of mine informed me that there is a 120 "grace period" after the 3 yr. mark, which has passedd for a creditor to file suit. In your opinion, how likley will it be that they can get a judgement and win at this point, given that this much time has passed & only this grace period is left.
 
Its anyone's guess. Again, they are not prohibited from filing suit against you. If they do then you must take action to assert the SOL defense. If you do nothing they can get the judgment easily.
Until you are being sued the SOL means nothing.
 
Rhoomega said:
An attorney friend of mine informed me that there is a 120 "grace period" after the 3 yr. mark
Click to expand...

Either he didn't explain it right or you misunderstood what he said. He might have been referring to:
http://law.justia.com/citations.html
SC Code § 15-3-20 (2016)

(A) Civil actions may only be commenced within the periods prescribed in this title after the cause of action has accrued, except when, in special cases, a different limitation is prescribed by statute.

(B) A civil action is commenced when the summons and complaint are filed with the clerk of court if actual service is accomplished within one hundred twenty days after filing.

Which means that Verizon would have 3 years to file the suit and it would not be time barred as long as the summons and complaint was served on you within the 120 days after filing the suit.


.
 
Last question, promise. So, if I understood, If Verizon (Tate & Kirlin) at this point, haven't filed suit by the 3 yr. SOL, it wouldn't matter if the summons & complaint were served b4 the 120 day deadline b/c the suit itself wasn't filed in time. Basically, if it is only in collections at this point & hasn't gone further, any subsequent actions that go beyond the 3 yrs. could be defended against if at court, by using SOL as my defense.
 
Rhoomega said:
Last question, promise. So, if I understood, If Verizon (Tate & Kirlin) at this point, haven't filed suit by the 3 yr. SOL, it wouldn't matter if the summons & complaint were served b4 the 120 day deadline b/c the suit itself wasn't filed in time. Basically, if it is only in collections at this point & hasn't gone further, any subsequent actions that go beyond the 3 yrs. could be defended against if at court, by using SOL as my defense.
Click to expand...


South Carolina Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection
Breach of Contract: 3 years, (SCCLA 15-3-530).
NOTE: A partial payment or acknowledgment in writing tolls the SoL, (SCCLA 15-3-30).
Foreign or Domestic Judgments: 10 years, (SCCLA 15-3-600).

South Carolina Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection | SC Debt Laws




If you have been sued for a debt in South Carolina, it is important to understand who is suing you, whether you have defenses, and what happens next. This article explores lawsuits filed by debt buyers.

The link BELOW \/ \/ \/ explains the SC SOL, consumer debts, debt buyers, and their $CAM%:


Debt collection lawsuits in South Carolina: What you need to know
 
Rhoomega said:
Is there an applicable SOL for this situation?
Click to expand...

Yes. It is probably three years under SC Code of Laws section 15-3-530.

Rhoomega said:
I left a cell phone company b4 my contract was up. It went into collections on June 19, 2014. Got a collection letter dated June 21. 2017. It seems that the SOL for S.C. for written contracts (3yrs) has passed in this case. Is this true?
Click to expand...

Probably, unless a complaint was filed before the SOL expired. Note that the date when "it went into collections" likely is of no relevance.

Rhoomega said:
An attorney friend of mine informed me that there is a 120 "grace period" after the 3 yr. mark, which has passedd for a creditor to file suit.
Click to expand...

As noted, this is probably a reference to section 15-3-20(B), which provides that the SOL is satisfied if the complaint is filed before the expiration of the SOL and the complaint is served within 120 days thereafter (a deadline that likely can be extended by the court).
 
Thank u for the response. I have decided, after all, to go ahead and pay the 50% reduced fee of $800, even though if/when a judgement is made, it likely could be defended against. Really wanting to get it off credit report. Thanks for the reply. It was much appreciated.
 
Before you pay a penny you better be sure they will accept it as payment in full and that they agree to change the credit report.
You should ask for the agreement in writing and make sure your concerns are addressed.
 
Rhoomega said:
Thank u for the response. I have decided, after all, to go ahead and pay the 50% reduced fee of $800, even though if/when a judgement is made, it likely could be defended against. Really wanting to get it off credit report. Thanks for the reply. It was much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Paying a negotiated settlement will have no POSITIVE effect on your FICO.
The previous collection efforts won't be erased, despite the payment you're prepared to make.
 
The only credit change likely to occur is a status change to the slightly less negative "paid as agreed".
It will still be a negative mark on credit for 7 years, just not a delinquent account in collections.
 

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