I had a charge-off placed on my CR by Citibank 21 years ago, following a dispute over double and triple billings, that were repeats that would show up a few months apart as new charges. I stopped using the card in May or June of 1986, cut it up and sent it back in a certified letter to Citibank, asking for an explanation and recommending that they conduct an internal investigation for fraud at their billing site. EVERYTHING STOPPED - no more statements, no response to my mail, etc. I sent two additional payments without a statement in July and August of 1986, and still heard nothing. I quit paying.
In the summer of 1987 I got a copy of my CR and a charge-off was reflected for this account. I called Citibank; hoping to finally get some answers so that this problem could be resolved, but they told me that they did not have a record of my account. No judgment was ever entered, and I just figured that whoever was tapping my account there had somehow destroyed the records after the charge-off had been entered. The charge-off was removed from my CR in early 1993.
Then in 1999 or I got a letter from a collection agency, whose name I do not recall. I went to an Attorney, who sent the CA a cease and desist letter stating that I did not owe anything and that the SOL had long run. A second letter was sent by the Attorneys a few months later, because another threat came from the CA. The Attorneys told me to ignore any and all future correspondence from collectors because they could not do anything unless I elected to give in.
The letters stopped, and nothing happened for several years. However, somewhere along the way the legal correspondence from my Attorneys must have obviously been considered null and void by someone, and the account ended up with Asset Acceptance. Yesterday, April 25, I got a letter from AA, LLC (over 20 years after charge-off), saying that they were going to enter a judgment against me in excess of $16000.00 (the original debt was approximately $2700.00; but that included the bogus double/triple charges to the tune of about $800.00 or $900.00), and that they would also place negative information in my CR. I was able to cleanly reseal the letter and send it back with an *RTS* sticker.
I no longer have any paperwork, nor do I have any idea what the account number was back them. I remember the sequence of events, because I worked very hard to get my credit in good order after my children were grown, and had to maintain a credible financial status to hold my security clearance. I now live on SS, am very scared, and cannot possibly afford to fight this. Can they do the terrible things they threaten after all this time? I am quite sick to my stomach, because I truly view this as unjust. Can anyone offer a solution or advise me on this nightmare?
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