When Does Sol Begin?

[egidius]

My last payment on a car repossessed in November 2001 was in April 2001.  I think Colorado staute of limitations is 6 years.  Does the date begin 6 years from my last payment made(4/01) or when the bank wrote off the debt(August 2002)?  I am about to be sued for over $17K and I believe the collection agency thinks by mistake my last payment was April 2002--but it was April 2001.  Thank you so much for the help!!

ANSWER: Six years seems to be what it is. Starts when you failed to make the last payment that came due in many states. You would have to research your Colorado Statute of Limitations law to find out for sure. So your last payment was april 2001 and in most states the SOL would have started in May of 2001. If they do sue you then you will have to come back with a properly prepared statute of limitations defense or you will lose the defense in local court and would have to take it to federal in order to enforce it. No need to do that if you don't have to. ---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Thank you so much--I've painfully gone over the Colorado SOL and cannot seem to find for certain when the countdown actually begins...any thoughts on how I can find out, or where specifically I could look?  Thanks again, you scored all 10's from me!

Gratefully,

Daniel

[Crist]

While statute of limitations seems an easy thing to understand the truth of the matter is that it can be an extremely complex issue and if questions are raised by one side or the other it can require the decision of a judge to resolve the matter. Different judges have been known to rule differently on the same or identical types of cases. All you can do is to argue that the SOL has expired and let the court rule.

I can't give you the exact answer. All I can tell you is that every argument I have ever heard says that the SOL starts when you failed to make the last payment when it fell due and runs until the creditor files a lawsuit against you.