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Most states have a statute of limitations on old uncollected debt..
http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html

The key is don't accept the debt if it's gone past the limits for your state..
There is a table of the limits by state in the link above..

DO NOT ADMIT THAT YOU OWE THE DEBT,
DO NOT AGREE TO PAY THE DEBT,
DO NOT AGREE TO SEND ANY MONEY TO THEM.
If you do, then the statute of limitations might start running all over again, giving
them the legal right to sue you.

My wife got a notice from a collector on a 10 year old phone bill. I know it was paid back then but do you have records to prove you paid a bill 10 years ago?.. We had to send them a certified letter stating we do NOT owe this debt to get them to go away..
The collector knew that and admitted they couldn't sue us but they were free to call and send letters until they were asked to stop in writing by certified letter.

Minnesota garnishment rules would allow the RIAA to cease up to 25% of Thomas-Rasset's income for ten years. At any time they could also file bankruptcy for her and cease any significant assets she has such as a car worth more than $2,000 and personal belongings worth more than a modest sum. So they could garnish her wages for nine years, then force her into bankruptcy.

It's also worth noting she has to pay interest on the judgment. It is doubtful she would even be able to pay that.

Dunno about Canada, but a bit of sniffing around turned up this: US Federal law says that they can only take up to 25% of your paycheck, or exempts up to 30x the federal minimum wage per week, whichever is bigger (though according to that site, child support, alimony and such can be taken in bigger amounts). They could come after a goodly chunk of what you own, though again, with a healthy dose of exemptions.

Basically, I figure that they'd leave you with enough stuff to live simply, and not much else.

OTOH, not so sure ab't wanting to get locked up in PMTIA prison just to avoid paying it or to make some sort of point... it would be hella easier on one's anus to just move to Mexico or Central/South America, no?

So you think it is ethical to make a man a slave to the RIAA for this crime?

Wow! I thought all they were asking for were damages. I didn't realize that they were going to take away his freedom and institute forced labor.

If all they were asking for were damages, then they might be able to go after non-exempt assets and garnish up to 25% of his wages. It would be like having an additional layer of taxation and his standard of living would drop (unless he worked extra hard to boost his income 33%).

But, apparently the 13th and 14th amendments were quietly repealed. Otherwise, it would be "completely false hyperbole" to say that upholding this judgment would make Tenenbaum a slave to the RIAA for his acts of copyright infringement.

Almost every person I've spoken to who is either bankrupt or near-bankrupt is due to an unwillingness to sacrifice

Your sample might not be representative. This article states that over half of bankruptcies in the United States, home of the article's University of Virginia, are due to the part of the cost of medical care that health insurance does not pay.

cancel the cellphone

And use what instead? A pay phone? Those are disappearing in many cities due to lack of profitability as mobile phone penetration increases.

reduce internet costs from $60 to $15 a month

Which plan are you talking about? Comcast's 1 Mbps "economy" Internet plan is $24.95 per month plus tax and regulatory recovery fees. The only Internet access plan I know of that one can get for $15 per month requires a POTS line, ties it up, and transfers 16 MB per hour. At that rate, downloading all the updates for Windows or Ubuntu would take more than 24 hours.

There are statute of limitations for debt that it is worth checking. It looks like student loans are exempt but you say that this is a grant, not a loan.

This is definitely worth knowing about as there are some bad debt collectors out there. Last year we were contacted about a ten year old debt that had been racked up from $30 to over $1000 including interest and fines. Invoking the statute of limitations got rid of it. Note that apparently, you should not offer to pay any of the debt otherwise you might be confirming the debt and they could come after you for the full amount (IANAL but this is my understanding).

Some good links:
http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitati ons.html
http://www.cardreport.com/credit-problems/time.htm l
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/statue-limitat ions-explained.html
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.h tml
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/statuteLim itations.shtml
http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html

I assure you, 27 years is well beyond your state's statute of limitations.

Your "wrong" is wrong. Sorry. Try reading your own (highly sensational links) next time. Check 21 is all about electronic processing of the check. The moment the check is transferred to the bank (either by hand or by electronics), the bank will make the check electronic and communicate with the bank of origin. This reduces the "float" period between when your check arrives at the destination bank and your bank removes the funds from your account. This used to take several days due to the amount of paper generated.

Or to put it another way, just how do you think that your bank knows that you've written a check and put it in the mailbox before the recipient receives it? Electronic paper, maybe? Your own checkbook is transmitting to your bank?

Here are a few less sensational links:

http://www.bcsalliance.com/credit_checkact.html
http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&start=0&oi=define&q =http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_floating
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3 414351

BTW here is your link to back up what I have said if you care to look:

http://www.bcsalliance.com/x_creditcardtricks4.htm l