Debt collectors in South Carolina

Credit cards: S.C. Code § 15-3-530(1) gives 3 years for 'an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520', so written, oral and account claims, credit cards included, all get 3 years. Only certain sealed instruments get 20 years under § 15-3-520, and sealed notes for the payment of money only are expressly sent back to the 3-year period.

Payments and acknowledgments: S.C. Code § 15-3-120: an acknowledgment or promise must be in a signed writing, 'But payment of any part of principal or interest is equivalent to a promise in writing.' A part payment therefore restarts or revives the period; the statute makes no pre- vs post-expiry distinction. I found no South Carolina statute barring revival of time-barred consumer debt or banning suits on it, but I did not check the Consumer Protection Code (Title 37).

Judgments: § 15-35-810: the judgment lien runs 10 years from the date of the final judgment. § 15-39-30: executions may issue within 10 years of original entry and 'shall have active energy during such period, without any renewal or renewals thereof.' § 15-39-20 likewise allows enforcement within 10 years. I found no statutory mechanism to renew or extend a judgment beyond 10 years. South Carolina courts have reportedly held that judgments cannot be renewed, but I did not confirm a case in this pass.

Other rules: All text was read on the official scstatehouse.gov code pages (unannotated). The code conflicts with itself on notes. The UCC § 36-3-118(a), as amended by 2008 Act No. 204, gives 6 years for a negotiable note payable at a definite time. The general § 15-3-530(1) gives 3 years, and § 15-3-520(b) expressly puts sealed notes for the payment of money only on that 3-year period. I use 6 as the conservative negotiable-note figure; non-negotiable notes are 3. Bonds or written contracts secured by a mortgage of real property get 20 years (§ 15-3-520(a)). Sale-of-goods contracts fall under § 36-2-725. Federal Reg F (12 CFR 1006.26(b)) applies to FDCPA debt collectors.

• open account: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(1)
• written contract: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(1); § 15-3-520(b) (20 yrs, sealed instruments other than sealed notes/personal bonds for money only)
• oral contract: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(1)
• promissory note: S.C. Code Ann. § 36-3-118(a) (6 yrs) vs. § 15-3-520(b)/§ 15-3-530(1) (3 yrs)
• judgment: S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-35-810, 15-39-20, 15-39-30
• payment restarts: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-120
• other: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-600 (10-yr catch-all for relief not otherwise provided)

Sources: scstatehouse.gov · scstatehouse.gov · scstatehouse.gov