Under Oregon Law, What's the Least Amount of Money That Has to Be Paid to Any Creditor?

In Oregon, debtors are expected to pay creditors the amount agreed upon in a verbal or written contract. Consumers with credit card debt agree to pay the credit card company a minimum amount every month, which is outlined in the contract the debtor signed with the credit card company. Although debtors can negotiate with creditors to lower minimum payments, creditors are not required by law to accept less.

Overview

The Oregon Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs the collection of debt and prescribes specific ways creditors can --- and cannot --- go about collecting debt. What the Oregon Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not do, however, is require a creditor to accept less than the minimum amount due. In Oregon, the least amount that has to be paid to any creditor is the same amount the debtor agreed to pay in the contract. If a debtor decides to pay less than what was agreed upon, the debtor does not have to accept it. The debtor can turn the account over to a collection agency or seek a judgment against the debtor.

Debt Collection Practices

Oregon law prescribes how debtor's can collect debt. For example, debt collection agencies cannot call a debtor's home before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. Creditors cannot use threatening language and are only allowed to contact a debtor at work if they cannot contact a debtor at home. Additionally, creditors cannot attempt to contact debtors at work more than once a week.

Statute of Limitations

In Oregon, if debt goes "stale," or a certain amount of time has passed regarding debt, it is illegal for creditors to attempt to collect on the debt. For credit card debt, the statute of limitations is six years. This means, that if a debtor has not paid any part of a credit card balance for six years, the credit card company can no longer attempt to collect the debt. The six-year statute of limitations applies to debt relating to a contract as well.

Wage Garnishment

In Oregon, creditors can collect debt by obtaining a writ of garnishment. If a creditor obtains a garnishment judgment, that creditor can collect upwards of 25 percent of a creditor's "disposable income" per paycheck. Pursuant to Oregon wage garnishment law, there is no minimum amount a creditor can garnish, however, the maximum amount is 25 percent of the debtor's disposable earnings per paycheck.