Car ownership

[Janet]

I have two past debts that have been sent to collection agencies $21,626 and $1548.  Thankfully, both are more than 10 years old.  I have an Experian account and there is no record of them on there.  I do not have a credit score at all, I have paid cash for things and only purchased them if I could afford them.   I recently applied for a credit card with a $300 limit to try and build my credit.  I did get the card.  A week later I received both of those past debts in the mail with payment plans.  I do not plan on ever paying them.  I have been paying off a car from a family member in cash for the last few years.  I now own that car but I reluctant to put the title in my name because I do not want to lose it. 

Is there any way these agencies can take my vehicle from me if I put it in my name?

Why did I receive the notices after I applied for a credit card? or is that because it is tax season?

Thank you for your time!!!!

 

 

[BV80]

21 minutes ago, Janet said:

I have two past debts that have been sent to collection agencies $21,626 and $1548.  Thankfully, both are more than 10 years old.  I have an Experian account and there is no record of them on there.  I do not have a credit score at all, I have paid cash for things and only purchased them if I could afford them.   I recently applied for a credit card with a $300 limit to try and build my credit.  I did get the card.  A week later I received both of those past debts in the mail with payment plans.  I do not plan on ever paying them.  I have been paying off a car from a family member in cash for the last few years.  I now own that car but I reluctant to put the title in my name because I do not want to lose it. 

Is there any way these agencies can take my vehicle from me if I put it in my name?

Why did I receive the notices after I applied for a credit card? or is that because it is tax season?

Thank you for your time!!!!

 

 

I assume the debts are personal credit card debts?   When you say they're more than 10 years old, do you mean it's been more than 10 years since they were charged off?

[nobk4me]

If it's been 10 years since charge off, then the debts are beyond the statute of limitations for suing you.  

The only way a creditor can take a car away from you is if they sue you and get a judgment against you.

In practice, unless the car is very expensive and high-end, seizure of a car by a judgment creditor is unlikely.  The cost of doing so is too high, and the cars sell for too little at auction.

And, for debts that are outside the SOL, do not pay them anything, not even a dollar, as that can restart the SOL.

[fisthardcheese]

15 hours ago, nobk4me said:

If it's been 10 years since charge off, then the debts are beyond the statute of limitations for suing you.  

Not always.  @Janet did you make ANY payments in the last few years, even though they were charged off 10 years ago?

I would not be concerned about registering the car if this was me.  To take the car, they would first have to get a judgement in court and even after that, usually cars aren't worth much to them (if anything) unless it's some luxury car worth a ton of money.

The reason they popped up now is because they are monitoring your credit reports and noticed the new activity.  If it were me, I would respond to each of those letters within 30 days from the date I received them with a simple response:  "I dispute this alleged debt, please verify."  I would say nothing else at this point.  I would make a copy of my signed letter before mailing it and keep it. I would send the letter Certified Mail with Return Receipt requested.

Who are the debt collectors and who was the OC on these accounts?