<prompt> Human: Figured this would be the best place to ask:About 10 years ago I had a vehicle repossessed and the loan sent to collections. I was in kind of a shit place job-wise and couldnt do much about it. Ended up repaying about 95 of the debt 2 years later, but dropped my phone into a hotel ice bucket and lost the agencys contact info. Im never home due to work and they havent mailed anything since The debt is not on my credit report anymore.They got ahold of my dad we have the same name, and my mail goes to his house about a week ago with an offer to settle on the remaining. If I pay the settlement offer, will it show up on my report as a charge-off?  <response>: Theyre fishing. Dont pay them a cent.8 years after your last payment, you are past the statute of limitations on claims for remuneration of debt via most state courts. You are past the FCRA regulated period, which is why the debt doesnt show up on your CR. There is literally nothing legal they can do to collect the remainder--they had 5 years depending on state to take you to court, and the debt lived on your CR for the maximum period. If they did take you to court as things stand now, you have an affirmative defense and could have the case dismissed with costs.If you pay them anything, you re-open the statute of limitations. You give them the possibility of returning the debt to your credit report and actively collecting on it again. There are also a million reasons why you should not consider paying it. Did you agree to pay their fees and interest rates on the reposession? If they re-sold the vehicle at auction, did they deduct the amount they received from the sale from your total? Do they have accurate information about the sum they claim you owe, and do they have enough detail in the file to validate the debt in a manner which would stand up in court? Do you know if this debt has changed hands over the years following your last payment, and whether this collector is the rightful debt owner? Theres a ton of stuff there that you are taking a guess at by dealing with this company. And you have no compulsion to do it. If you want to have any contact with them at all, write them back and tell them its past your states statute of limitations and beyond the FCRA age-limits, and is thus uncollectable. Tell them to cease communications with you altogether. After that if they keep sending letters, you can return to sender them, or look into FDCPA violations if you feel inclined. Most likely, theyll just realise there is nothing they can do with it, and either eat it unlikely or sell it off to someone else who may try to resurrect it as a zombie debt. Your hope is to never hear anything about it again.Wow! Thanks for the gold! 