Statute of Limitations for Phone Bill Debt in Alabama

If you stop paying your telephone bill, you'll accrue a balance you remain responsible for after the phone company shuts down your service. The telephone company may turn an unpaid phone bill over to a collection agency, but the collection agency has a set period of time in which to force you to pay.

Significance

A collection agency may file a lawsuit for an unpaid telephone bill. In Alabama, the judgment from the lawsuit allows a creditor to seize a portion of your wages and bank accounts to cover the overdue debt. It may also place liens against personal property such as your car.

Time Frame

The statute of limitations for lawsuits on a bad phone bill debt in Alabama is two years. Thus, after two years pass, a collection agency can continue using alternate debt collection methods, such as telephone calls, but cannot legally file a lawsuit to recover the overdue telephone bill.

Considerations

Sometimes collection agencies ignore the statute of limitations and file lawsuits anyway. If the debtor does not inform the court of the expired statute, the collection agency can obtain a judgment by default. In cases like these, the consumers may sue the collection agency for violating federal collection laws upholding each state's statute of limitations.