I would just like to second LSmith's suggested text that collectors would be required to use in the case of time-barred debts ("Although it is past the statute of limitations in which you can be sued, the debt is still valid, can be subject to calls from collection entities, and can still be reported to the credit bureau which may impact your credit rating.") or something similar. The amount of effort a consumer must go through to get a creditor to acknowledge that a debt has become time-barred is needlessly long - and usually goes unacknowledged. This kind of statement would go far to clear up the mutual understanding of a debt. Furthermore, a statement from the collector on when a debt will become time barred would be even more useful (so consumers can contest if an error detected) but less likely, I imagine, to be something that CFPB might additionally propose.
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1I would just like to second LSmith's suggested text that collectors would be required to use in the case of time-barred debts ("Although it is past the statute of limitations in which you can be sued, the debt is still valid, can be subject to calls from collection entities, and can still be reported to the credit bureau which may impact your credit rating.") or something similar. The amount of effort a consumer must go through to get a creditor to acknowledge that a debt has become time-barred is needlessly long - and usually goes unacknowledged. This kind of statement would go far to clear up the mutual understanding of a debt. Furthermore, a statement from the collector on when a debt will become time barred would be even more useful (so consumers can contest if an error detected) but less likely, I imagine, to be something that CFPB might additionally propose.
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