Pay for Delete Letter in Maryland

An offer to pay a collection account in exchange for the collector asking the credit bureaus to remove it. Collectors are not required to agree; get any agreement in writing before you pay, and check your state's rules on whether a payment restarts the time limit to sue (below).

What Maryland law says

Can a payment restart the clock?	For consumer debt, once the limitations period has run out, a payment, a written or oral acknowledgment, or any other activity on the debt does not revive or extend it, and a creditor or collector may not sue on the time-barred debt. A separate written payment agreement made before the period expired can carry its own limitations period. For sealed instruments (specialties), a payment of principal or interest suspends the 12-year period for 3 years (§ 5-102(b)). Source: Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-1202
Time limit for credit cards and open accounts	3 years, the general period for civil actions, including credit card and open-account debts. Source: Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101

Can a payment restart the clock?

For consumer debt, once the limitations period has run out, a payment, a written or oral acknowledgment, or any other activity on the debt does not revive or extend it, and a creditor or collector may not sue on the time-barred debt. A separate written payment agreement made before the period expired can carry its own limitations period.

For sealed instruments (specialties), a payment of principal or interest suspends the 12-year period for 3 years (§ 5-102(b)).

Source: Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-1202

Time limit for credit cards and open accounts

3 years, the general period for civil actions, including credit card and open-account debts.

Source: Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101

Fill it in

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[today's date]

To: [collection agency name and address]

Re: Account [account number]

I am willing to pay $[amount offered] to resolve this account in full, on the condition that you ask each credit bureau to remove the account from my credit reports.

If you agree, please confirm these terms in writing on your letterhead before I send payment.

This letter is not an acknowledgment that I owe the debt.

[your name], [your address]

Pay for Delete Letter for other states · Maryland tenant rights

General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.