A letter about a credit card you stopped paying years ago. A caller who says a small payment today will "settle things before legal action." A debt you don't recognize at all, now owned by a company you have never heard of. These are some of the situations people in San Antonio bring to us, and old debt is where collectors most often cross legal lines.

Texas Debt Law represents consumers in San Antonio, a city of about 1.53 million people in Bexar County, in claims under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Texas Debt Collection Act (TDCA). We work with clients by phone, text and email, in English or Spanish. If a collector misled or harassed you, you may have a claim, and the review is free.

Free Case Evaluation(210) 968-0020

Old Debts in Texas: What "Time-Barred" Means

Texas generally gives a creditor four years to sue on a debt, counted from when the claim accrued, which for most credit cards and loans is the default (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004). After that, the debt is "time-barred." It may still exist, and a collector may still ask you to pay it voluntarily, but the ability to sue is limited:

Debt buyers cannot sue or arbitrate. Since 2019, Texas Finance Code § 392.307 bars a debt buyer from suing or starting arbitration on a consumer debt once the limitations period has run.
A payment does not bring it back. Under the same statute, a payment, reaffirmation or other activity does not revive a debt buyer's right to sue on a time-barred consumer debt.
A required notice. A debt buyer collecting a time-barred consumer debt must include a statutory notice in its first written communication with you.

Our law update on House Bill 996 explains the Texas rule, and our Q&A pages cover suits by debt buyers on time-barred debt and "zombie debt". For more on how the clock runs, see our guide to the statute of limitations on credit card debt in Texas.

Federal Rules on Stale Debt Collection

Federal law adds a second layer. Under Regulation F, an FDCPA debt collector must not sue or threaten to sue on a time-barred debt (12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)); see our update on Regulation F's validation and time-barred debt rules. The Fifth Circuit has also applied the FDCPA's ban on false or misleading representations (15 U.S.C. § 1692e) to old-debt tactics:

In Manuel v. Merchants & Professional Bureau (2020), letters on a wholly time-barred debt that said nothing about its age, while using "urgent" settlement offers and vague threats of "additional collection efforts," misrepresented the debt's legal enforceability.
In Calogero v. Shows, Cali & Walsh (2024), the court held a jury could find a collection law firm violated the FDCPA by threatening suit on debts past the limitations period and threatening attorney's fees it had no right to recover.

Those decisions involved specific letters and facts. Whether a particular San Antonio collector's letter crosses the line depends on its exact wording, which is why we ask to see every page and envelope.

Other Conduct That May Support a Claim

Old debt is not the only issue. The same laws prohibit repeated calls meant to harass (15 U.S.C. § 1692d; Tex. Fin. Code § 392.302), threats of arrest or of actions the collector cannot legally take (§ 1692e; § 392.301), unauthorized fees and interest (§ 1692f(1); § 392.303(a)(2)), and discussing your debt with third parties (§ 1692c(b)). For service members at Joint Base San Antonio, that third-party rule applies to supervisors and the chain of command as it does to any other employer. Collectors that are third-party debt collectors must also have a surety bond on file with the Texas Secretary of State (§ 392.101).

Your Proof, and Why Effects Matter

Gather every collection letter with its envelope, screenshots of call history and texts, and voicemails, and write down what each caller said. Then note what the contact did to you. In Perez v. McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, a case about a letter on a time-barred debt, the Fifth Circuit held that a consumer who was merely confused, and who paid nothing, lacked standing to sue for damages in federal court. A payment made under pressure, lost work time or real distress are the kinds of effects that matter, so record them when they happen.

Where San Antonio Cases Are Heard

Under 28 U.S.C. § 124, Bexar County is in the San Antonio Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. That division also includes nearby Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, Atascosa and Wilson counties, among others. We file San Antonio-area FDCPA claims there as their own federal lawsuit, and a TDCA claim based on the same conduct can be joined in that case.

Collection suits against Bexar County residents are often filed in one of the county's four justice of the peace precincts, which hear cases up to $20,000, or in county or district court for larger amounts. If you are sued on an old debt, limitations is a defense you must raise in your answer. Your answer is due by the end of the 14th day after service in justice court, or by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days in county or district court; our answer deadline calculator can help. Defending the Bexar County suit is a debt defense matter handled by our San Antonio debt defense attorneys. A suit on a time-barred debt may also violate the FDCPA or TDCA, but we do not raise that inside the collection case. We bring it as a separate lawsuit in the Western District's San Antonio Division, which is why the one-year FDCPA clock matters even while the collection suit is pending.

If a judgment already exists, see our page on post-judgment debt settlement.

Timing and Possible Recovery

You generally have one year from each FDCPA violation to sue (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d)). A threatening letter from last fall may be near that limit even if newer contacts are not. If a violation is proven, the court may award actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000 per action, and attorney's fees and costs (§ 1692k(a)); TDCA remedies include actual damages, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees and costs (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.403). Each case depends on its facts, and we don't promise results.

How We Handle San Antonio Claims

We review the paper. Letters, the dates of your last payments, and any lawsuit papers tell us whether the debt may be time-barred and whether the collector said something it shouldn't have.
We identify the players. Debt buyer, servicer, collection agency, law firm: each may have different obligations, and we check bond filings.
We choose the path. A demand and negotiation, or a separate lawsuit in federal court in San Antonio. The review is free, and a consumer who wins an FDCPA case may recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the collector (§ 1692k(a)(3)).

Our statewide Texas FDCPA attorneys page covers Regulation F's call limits and the broader legal framework.

San Antonio FDCPA Questions

The collector says a small payment will "reactivate" my account. Should I pay?

Talk to a lawyer first. If the debt is owned by a debt buyer and is past the limitations period, Texas law says a payment does not revive the right to sue. Other creditors are treated differently, especially if you sign a written acknowledgment of the debt.

I live in New Braunfels or Schertz. Is my federal court the same?

Generally yes. Comal and Guadalupe counties are in the Western District's San Antonio Division along with Bexar. See our New Braunfels and Schertz pages for local debt defense information.

A collector called my unit about my debt. Is that allowed?

Without your consent, an FDCPA collector generally may not discuss your debt with your employer, and military supervisors are no exception. Write down who was contacted, when and what was said.

Can I talk to someone in Spanish?

Yes. We speak Spanish and can review your letters in either language. Our debt lawsuit Q&A answers many common questions in the meantime.

Get a Free Case Review

Call or text (210) 968-0020, or fill out our free case evaluation. Se habla español.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts.

Sources

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General information, not legal advice for your case.