beneficii wrote:
http://www.salon.com/2014/09/19/old_debts_fresh_pain_weak_laws_offer_debtors_little_relief_partner/?source=newsletter
Since 2006, it's generally gotten more expensive to file for bankruptcy, so that option is not available for many.
Theoretically, in the US a debt "expires" if it has gone unpaid long enough. The limit is generally five years, but it varies from state to state. However, "vulture" debt collectors, like the company that bought the man's old computer debt, tend to ignore the law. They get a hearing before a judge, a hearing which the debtor is not notified of, or notified of in a way so that the debtor never finds out until it's too late. Then the collector starts confiscating wages, etc. Since the debtor was never notified of the hearing, and thus does not attend, the collector is automatically granted a judgment. Since the US has no laws forbidding usury, the collector gets to set interest rates however high they want, sometimes making repayment impossible. In some cases the debt owed goes UP, not down, with each payment because of all the fees.
