Five years and Chao? The truth about the prescription of debts with credit cards

Banks have a time limit to sue, and the law is clear: after a certain term, judicial collection is no longer possible.

News Colombia.

The management of credit card debts in Colombia not only depends on the relationship with the bank or financial entity, it is also regulated by law.

One of the most important aspects that any debtor must know is the prescription periodthat is, the time the creditor has to judicially demand the payment of the obligation.

What is the prescription of a debt?

The prescription is a legal figure that extinguishes the possibility of charging an obligation after a certain time, provided that the creditor has not carried out legal actions to claim it.

It does not mean that the debt disappears automatically, but ceases to be enforceable in court.

He Civil codein article 2536, it establishes that executive actions prescribe in five (5) years, unless special provision otherwise. This includes debts derived from commercial contracts.

For its part, the Commercial Codein its article 789, it reiterates that the exchange actions – which apply for securities, credits and commercial obligations – also prescribe in five (5) years, counted from the moment the obligation becomes enforceable.

In other words, if a debtor stops paying for the minimum quota of his credit card, the bank is up to five years to initiate a judicial process and claim the money.

Circumstances that interrupt or suspend the prescription

The prescription period does not always run continuously. The law contemplates situations in which this time can interrupt either suspend:

1. Creditor’s demand: If the financial entity has an executive demand, the five -year count is interrupted and starts from scratch again.
2. Recognition of debt by the debtor: A fertilizer, the signing of a payment agreement or a letter where the debtor accepts what the term must restart.
3. Conciliations or formal collection processes: They also suspend the prescription while they are in process.

Relationship with reports in risk centrals

An aspect that generates confusion is the report in risk centrals such as datacrédito or transunity. The Habeas Data Law (Law 1266 of 2008 and Law 2157 of 2021) states that the maximum time of permanence in negative records is the double of the time that was in Morawith a maximum limit of Four (4) years.

That is, although the debt prescribes at five years, the report in risk centrals may have a different treatment and remain in force in accordance with the Financial Information Law.

Does the debt disappear at all?

The prescription does not mean that the obligation is magically “erased”. The bank can continue to claim the money extrajudicially (calls, mails, negotiations), but no longer has legal tools to seize assets or initiate a judicial process if it lets the five years pass without demanding.

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