Collecting Debt: Tight Limits

CK - Washington.   New rules on the terms of the statute of limitations cut short the terms for collecting on old debts. For instance, the 30-year term governing the expiration of claims under old law--if those debts existed at the end of 2001--expire at the end of 2004. That is true even if the old law would have allowed the claim to be enforced until 2031. The federal justice department in Berlin urges creditors in a circular of December 6, 2004 to examine any claims or contracts, such as loan agreements, for the need to file a collection complaint before the end of 2004 in order to preserve their rights. Sending a reminder to a debtor is usually insufficient to toll the statute.