Can anyone tell me if there is a statute of limitations on this? Does the bank owe us further documentation seeing that they have been so untrustworthy and can not supply us with any payment history etc.
Look at this from the banks point of view. You defaulted on a $31,000 loan and don't appear trustworthy to them either.
Charged off does not mean the balance goes away and you owe nothing. Charged off simply means the bank took the loss and sold the debt to someone else.
Unless you filed bankruptcy, you are still responsible for the debt, which in the case of home equity loans, is secured by a lien on your house. Home loans are different than personal debt like a credit card or even a car loan. It's a secured debt using your home as collateral. Filing bankruptcy would release you from the debt, but the bank still has a lien on the property. Liens can be assigned/transferred so eventually, the lien holder will need to be paid to release the lien.
Of course there are statue of limitations on debt.
Check with your state to find out what it is. SOL on real property can be a few years, or in some cases, NEVER. I filed bankruptcy in Michigan and had a HELOC discharged, but the lien was assigned to a debt buyer. In Michigan, there is no SOL for real property. In other words, the lien holder can hold out for years until you are ready to sell or refinance and still get paid.
First thing I would do is go to your county clerk/register of deeds office and see who the lien holder is. You will probably find all the documentation from original loan to discharged to assignment or transfer of the lien.
When did you look at your last credit report? Your title search company found it, so it's on there. If all you did in the past 6 years was contact Citizens Bank, they were telling you the truth:
You didn't have an account with them. They have no legal obligation to give you any more information.
Go to your county clerk and then try to negotiate with the lien holder. That's probably your best option now. You may be able to get a settlement from them so you can refinance but don't count on it. Rising home prices mean lien holders have no reason to negotiate for less than what is owed. And now that they know you want to refinance, they have even less of a reason to release the lien.
One bit of good news is that the HELOC is basically a second mortgage. And second mortgages rarely if ever foreclose on a home. They need to pay off the first mortgage too. Very unlikely if your first mortgage balance is $200,000 and your second mortgage balance is $30,000. If you still have a first mortgage, keep current on it and unfortunetely, you prob wont be able to refinance until the HELOC lien is settled.