Harassed for old debt, or debt you don't owe? The following may help.

[rpannier]

There are a few links and this story which I hope you find helpful

State statutes of limitations for old debts

Once a debt passes beyond the statute of limitation in your state, a debt collector no longer has the right to sue you for payment. You may still have a moral obligation to pay back an old, forgotten debt, but you can't be sued over it.

Any debt collector who threatens to sue you over a debt that is beyond the statute of limitation in your state is in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The Chart can be found at:
http://www.bankrate.com/msn/news/cc/20040116b1.asp

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was passed in 1977 to protect consumers from abusive debt collectors. Here's a closer look at the rules a third-party debt collector must follow when collecting a debt.
This can be found at:
http://www.bankrate.com/msn/news/cc/20030519b1.asp

The original Article about this issue is at:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ManageDebt/ZombieDebtIsHardToKill.aspx