Are we still legally liable for this debt after 3 years?

[Xyo II]

WAIT a second. His wife wasn't working for them anymore. This is in their records, but they just didn't stop sending money. This means someone wired the OP money (at this point it doesn't matter who sent his wife the money, does it? I wouldn't think so...), he told them to stop, they eventually did, and he wanted to pay it all back- but they couldn't take it back. So 3 years later, they want it back plus more. wtf? If they messed up and didn't even ask for it back (seeing as they didn't mail it to the right address) wouldn't this rest entirely on their shoulders? Everyone is saying "you shouldn't have spent the money", but he didn't- he has more than that in his bank account. They failed to notify him to pay it back, so I don't see where he is in the wrong.

 

[Jmman]

It looks like the statute of limitations for this type of matter is 3 years in the state of Maryland anyway. If you went through all of the trouble that you said you did trying to return the money, I would just tell them to pound sand. (After seeking appropriate legal advice that is). The only prtoblem is that now you have a collection account on your credit report which will probably still be there anyway even if you pay them back the money.....

 

[HomeAppraiser]

It would be nice if the OP had sent letters three years ago asking them to stop depositing and attempting to return it. Then he could just send copies of the letters and say "You had your chance".

 

[b0mbrman]

I won't read any of the responses but that won't stop me from responding myself.

My guess is that the collection agency bought the debt from the school district at pennies on the dollar.

Regardless of the legal obligation, all parties involved knew it would be a hard debt to collect so that's why the selling price was so low.

If the district's benefit/loss is what is guiding your conscience, in this scenario, they will be no better (or worse) off if you pay (or don't)

 

[Meatyone]

just repay it.

 

[Meatyone]

NOW

 

[forrestroche]

Originally posted by: patentman

Originally posted by: forrestroche
Try to settle this alone and you will probably pay much more than is necesary.

Huh? Restitution for this would be the dollar amount of the overpayment and not a penny more. I think you would be hard pressed to find any court of equity that would impose a penalty on the OP...

You miss the obvious point that OP, with representation, will almost certainly be able to negotiate a much lower amount whether with a government agency or a collections agency.

However, I disagree with you that this is a "debt" in the classic sense of the word and that the county has necessarily "sold" it to a collections agency. As far as I can tell from the OP's messages a collections agent called him/her, but the company the agent worked for has not been identified in this thread.

All the more reason to have representation. These details are important and the proper venue for airing them is an attorney's office, not ATOT.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: Jmman
It looks like the statute of limitations for this type of matter is 3 years in the state of Maryland anyway. If you went through all of the trouble that you said you did trying to return the money, I would just tell them to pound sand. (After seeking appropriate legal advice that is). The only prtoblem is that now you have a collection account on your credit report which will probably still be there anyway even if you pay them back the money.....

Which you can sue the collection agency if they ding your credit after the statute of limitations. Isn't that correct?

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: Jmman
It looks like the statute of limitations for this type of matter is 3 years in the state of Maryland anyway. If you went through all of the trouble that you said you did trying to return the money, I would just tell them to pound sand. (After seeking appropriate legal advice that is). The only prtoblem is that now you have a collection account on your credit report which will probably still be there anyway even if you pay them back the money.....

Which you can sue the collection agency if they ding your credit after the statute of limitations. Isn't that correct?

No; because this 3 yr statute of limitations only applies to lawsuits.
For reporting of negative information to a credit report, there is a 7 yr reporting period (follwing date of charge off or delinquency). Collection agencies are allowed "permissable purpose" for reporting and access to consumers credit reports.
If reported, it must be reported correctly. This is where collection agencies screw up. Most of them report it as an "Open" account with monthly terms. They cannot report a collection account as "Open" because its not open. It was charged off and sold. Also, if they report it with monthly terms, that is wrong too. There was no agreement with the collection agency for set monthly payments, etc..

 

[Meatyone]

Why doesn't this dude just get a lawyer?

 

[JetsFanatic]

Got to Peoples Court

 

[jakedeez]

Well the bottom line is, you have the money. I don't think they have a real claim to it, but if it were to goto court, you never know what could happen. However, I don't think it will go to court. Possession is 9/10 of the law.

 

[Meatyone]

Originally posted by: jakedeez
Well the bottom line is, you have the money. I don't think they have a real claim to it, but if it were to goto court, you never know what could happen. However, I don't think it will go to court. Possession is 9/10 of the law.

One of the most oft repeated, yet incorrect, "legal" principles.

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
besides posting on OT, i think your options are:

1- pay the collector
2- talk to a lawyer



3- i guess you could talk to the school directly, but i would do 1 or 2 above

What if he just stops returning the collections agencies calls..ie, he ignores them?

 

[jakedeez]

Originally posted by: Meatyone

Originally posted by: jakedeez
Well the bottom line is, you have the money. I don't think they have a real claim to it, but if it were to goto court, you never know what could happen. However, I don't think it will go to court. Possession is 9/10 of the law.

One of the most oft repeated, yet incorrect, "legal" principles.

No man, you clearly just don't understand the idea behind the "oft repeated" phrase. Of course it doesn't actually mean possessing something implies ownership in the eyes of the law. Rather that if you have something, it has to be taken away from you. Meaning that there is far more work to be done by the person seeking to have something taken from someone who has it, then is required to keep something possessed, entitled or not.

 

[DrPizza]

"My wife was looking back at our records and determined that she thinks they overpaid her 4 times total. They are also full of crap about it being $5800. Our records indicate nowhere near that much."

Sounds like you're only looking at the amount deposited... don't forget FICA, taxes withheld, etc. Four pays, assuming biweekly, works out to an annual salary of 37,700 (if she receives 26 pays.) If her pay wasn't broken up such that she'd receive checks for the summer months, then her salary would have been 31,900. Thus, the claim for 5800 sounds about what they paid her. However, it opens a big can of worms dealing with the excess FICA paid, etc.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Maybe they are asking for her overpaid salary PLUS the 7.5% that they paid FICA!!!

 

[Linux23]

OP. I wouldn't pay them a single cent.


You should fight this, and WIN.

 

[Rudy Toody]

Anything involving the IRS has a 10-year statute of limitations.

If the IRS reverses this overpayment, the money may go back to the payer, so if you pay back the entire total, you may have to go back to the payer to get the IRS refund.

You need a tax advisor, lawyer or CPA, before you do anything.