[June 29, 2011] The Fayetteville Observer, N.C., Live Wire column Tweet Jun 29, 2011 (The Fayetteville Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- QUESTION: What is the statute of limitations for a credit card debt of less than $3,000? I've heard both three years and seven years. -- H.E., Fayetteville ANSWER: In most states, the statute of limitations period on debts is between three and 10 years, according to CreditCards.com. In North Carolina, a creditor or debt collector has three years to sue you for nonpayment of a credit card bill, whatever the amount. If your unpaid debt slipped past the three-year mark, it wouldn't mean you no longer owed it. No, indeed, you still would, and the creditor or collector could continue to seek payment. But as long as you hadn't made any payment on the debt within that three years, thus possibly resetting the clock on the statute of limitations, the creditor couldn't sue you for that money after that time. The statute has nothing to do with your credit report. Your unpaid debt could show up there for seven years. Q: Can you give the address or phone number of the catfish pond operators in Bladenboro that were featured in the paper recently? I'd like to take my grandson down there over the holidays. -- C.A., Fayetteville A: You're talking about Oak Grove Catfish Farm, which is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day but Sunday. It'll even be open on the Fourth of July. To get there, take N.C. 87 to Dublin, then turn right on N.C. 410 and go about four miles. Turn left at the sign on the left that says "Oak Grove Catfish Farm" and then left again at the next such sign, about 2 {miles down. That'll take you straight to the farm, says owner Steve Davis. The farm's phone number is (910) 648-4341. You'll pay $3 per pound for each catfish you catch and keep. It's another 50 cents per pound to get it dressed there. Davis said the best time to fish in the heat is early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Q: The information about the UNC football problem was released by court order. Who got the court order? -- R.R., Fayetteville A: The university had to release information about a group of football players who accumulated hundreds of traffic tickets on campus after losing a lawsuit that was filed by several news outlets, including the Associated Press, the News and Observer and the Daily Tar Heel. A Wake County Superior Court judge ruled in April that the school had to release the records. The records started being released last week after the state Court of Appeals denied the university's request to delay the release pending an appeal. Live Wire seeks to answer questions of general interest and consumer topics within two weeks. Initials are used to identify questioners when names are given. Contact Live Wire at [email protected], http://blogs.fayobserver.com/livewire or 486-3516. To see more of The Fayetteville Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fayettevillenc.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]