Debt collectors cannot sue or threaten to sue over debts past the state time limit, the CFPB says, but a partial payment can restart the clock in some states By Brian Lund, 11 hrs ago Main Main Street Dollars Follow https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0sxVaI_1GDVfeKB00 Debt collectors cannot sue, or threaten to sue, over a debt that is past the state time limit for lawsuits, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. In some states, though, a partial payment or even a promise to pay can bring an old debt back to life and restart that clock. For anyone getting calls about an account that went bad years ago, the order of events matters a great deal. That time limit is called the statute of limitations, and the CFPB says most states set it between three and six years for most debts. The debt itself does not disappear when the period ends. What disappears is the collector’s right to take the matter to court, which is the threat that frightens most people into paying. What collectors cannot do once the time limit passes The rule comes from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and its companion, Regulation F. In an advisory opinion published in the Federal Register on May 1, 2023 (88 FR 26475), the CFPB affirmed that a debt collector may not sue or threaten to sue to collect a time-barred debt. The ban covers the threat as well as the filing. People being chased for a credit card balance, a medical bill or a personal loan from several years back need two dates before anything else: the day of the last payment and the day the first required payment was missed. In some states the clock starts at the missed payment, and in others it runs from the most recent payment, even one made while a collector was already calling. A move to a state with different laws can also change the picture. Retirement deadlines, in your inbox: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. The Retirement Money Brief keeps you ahead of the ones that matter, ev