Can you be billed for something four years later?

[ADisneyQueen]

This is a weird story, but I'm not sure what to do. Almost 4 years ago we purchased this house and a guy came in and fixed the radon system. We were not here at the time, we still lived in another state. He asked if we wanted the bill sent to the realtor or to us and I can't remember what I said.

My DH just called him to fix the system again b/c it is not working. He said that we still owed him $400 from almost 4 years ago. He says he sent a bill to the realtor and it was not paid, so he sent a bill to our house with "owner" and then our address on the envelope. Not sure why he did not know our name. I don't even have the canceled checks from that long ago and can't get them on my online banking. We are not the type of people that would ignore a $400 bill.

I want to pay him if we owe him, but I don't trust his bookwork .Why not send us a second bill or call us? We had so much going on that week as we moved in about a week after he was here and had a lot of repairmen in the house. I was writing out checks left and right. I guess I will ask our realtor if she has any record of what happened.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

If you believe him, work out an agreement to pay him whatever you feel is reasonable. If you don't believe him, I am not sure what you should do. If he takes you to court, it would be small claims, so no attorneys necessary...

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Your bank should be able to get you copies of your statements for up to 7 years prior, although they may charge you for them (if they are not available online as you state - mine are available since the credit union moved to online - 6 years).

As for if the debt is outstanding, yes, it can come back to haunt you, although most businesses/companies are sure to follow-up more regularly and send to collections if necessary.

 

[DizBelle]

I would say that, yes, you can be billed at any time for money you owe someone. No matter how long ago it is. What you need to figure out is if you actually paid him or not. Those are the only debts you don't have to pay - those you already paid.

Just because it was 4 years ago and the guy was sloppy about following up does not relieve you of the debt.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Was the radon system fixed before closing? If it was, I'd check the settlement statement to see if the attorney paid him from the escrowed funds.

Otherwise, I'd go back and get bank statements for sure. Even if I had to pay them. I'd want proof that I paid him. I'd also ask HIM for a copy of the original invoice and any documentation showing you owe him the debt.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I asked my wife who paid for the Radon equipment work at our last house because I wasn't sure. She said that it was paid for by the previous owners. The money was held in escrow and the bill paid after closing because the work couldn't be done in time for closing.

I would check to see who was responsible for that bill. Are you sure that it was you?

 

[puffkin]

I agree to check your settlement statement, it might have come out of there.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I think you need to check to see if it was already paid. However, if it was an oversight and they did send a bill to you and/or the realty company and it wasn't paid, then yes, they can bill you.

We run a computer business and we would do the same. We deal with small businesses and in the past we dealt with very small businesses. We have a few that have outstanding balances, but the amount is too small to pursue. However, when they call us again for services we make them first pay the previous balance and often make them pay in advance for future services. At the very least we would only do small increments of work for them until they proved they were going to pay their bills in the future.

 

[bookgirl]

If he's such a bad bookeeper that he never figured out to send you a second bill, then he's probably not a good enough bookeeper to have written down that the realtor paid him.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Pennsylvania Statute of Limitations
Contracts: 4 years, (used to be six).
Contracts under seal: 20 years.
Sale of goods under UCC: 4 years.
Negotiable instruments: 6 years (13 PA C.S.A. .§3118).