Statute of Limitations on Credit Card Debt
A 'statute' is basically an act that has been passed by a legislative assembly or a body. Statute of limitations for different events that either come under the civil law, or the criminal law are prescribed by most of the legal systems across the world.
Credit Card Debt - Statute of Limitations
Statute of limitations, in common and simple language, can be defined as the maximum time elapsed after a specific event, before which the legal proceedings based on that very event may be initiated by any individual, organization or the legal system itself. In short, according to the statute of limitations, it gives forth a specific time limit before a legal action is initiated against the guilty party. A case filed within the limited time is considered valid and one that is filed after the prescribed time limit is considered to be void.
The statute of limitations, that deals with the cases that are related to debt and credit, has been authenticated in the Article 6 of the United States Constitution. Hence, when it comes to statute on credit card debt, one has to refer to the Article 6, since credit cards are debt instruments.
The statute of limitations on debt is applicable to all credit card agreements. There are 4 principle types of agreements that are governed by the statute of limitations on debt, which are oral contract, written contract, promissory note and open-ended accounts. The credit card debt is a kind of open-ended account. In case of a credit card debt or payment, the period that is specified as per the statute of limitations, implies the time period after which creditors cannot take any legal action against their debtors. The following table gives the state wise time period of limitation. This same law is also applicable to the concept of credit card debt. Statute of limitations of different states, prescribes some time limitations after which the creditor cannot collect the debts and also cannot take any legal action against defaulters. It must be noted that the legislative bodies may change the applicable period from time to time.
| Name of State | Number of Years |
| Alabama | 3 |
| Alaska | 6 |
| Arizona | 3 |
| Arkansas | 3 |
| California | 4 |
| Colorado | 3 |
| Connecticut | 6 |
| Delaware | 3 |
| Wash, DC | 3 |
| Florida | 4 |
| Georgia | 4 |
| Hawaii | 6 |
| Idaho | 4 |
| Illinois | 5 |
| Indiana | 6 |
| Iowa | 5 |
| Kansas | 3 |
| Kentucky | 5 |
| Louisiana | 3 |
| Maine | 6 |
| Maryland | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 6 |
| Michigan | 6 |
| Minnesota | 6 |
| Mississippi | 3 |
| Missouri | 5 |
| Montana | 5 |
| Nebraska | 4 |
| Nevada | 4 |
| New Hampshire | 3 |
| New Jersey | 6 |
| New Mexico | 4 |
| New York | 6 |
| North Carolina | 3 |
| North Dakota | 6 |
| Ohio | not known |
| Oklahoma | 3 |
| Oregon | 6 |
| Pennsylvania | 4 |
| Rhode Island | 10 |
| South Carolina | 3 |
| South Dakota | 6 |
| Tennessee | 6 |
| Texas | 4 |
| Utah | 4 |
| Vermont | 6 |
| Virginia | 3 |
| Washington | 3 |
| West Virginia | 5 |
| Wisconsin | 6 |
| Wyoming | 8 |
There are however many queries that are left unheeded, when it comes to time limit of credit card debt. Some of these have been answered below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. When does the time period for statute of limitations commence?
Answer. This question is asked very commonly and has two possible answers. The time that is considered in accordance with the statute of limitations, starts ticking, either after the payment is missed or defaulted or after the creditor sends the debtor, a letter demanding a payment. The right date of commencement of the limitations period is chosen by the court depending upon factors such as plaintiff, defendant, credit card debt, statute of limitations specifications, etc.
Q. When does the time period for statute of limitations expire?
Answer. The prescribed time period for statute of limitations expires after the prescribed number of years which is different for each state. The prescribed number of years are added to the date of commencement to derive the expiry of time period.
Q. When does the statute of limitations' period restart?
Answer. The time period may restart as a result of one installment, or partial payment. However, these conditions are not valid for some genuine cases such as an intentional default.
There are several different laws and enactments other than the statute of limitations on credit card debt that are bound to come into picture, during the court proceedings of a credit card debt. The statute is a generalized provision for court proceedings and hence, must not be misused.
