I understand that a debt becomes statute barred after 6 years but when does the 6 year period start.

Is it from the last payment made, the last letter received or the date it goes into dispute?

As I understand it from the last date that the debt was acknowledged in any way by you, whether it be a payment or letter

Unfortunately some of the DCAs do not appear to have grasped this concept.

It does depand but normally it is,

when last payment was made,

when you last acknowledged a letter buy writing back to them,

or after a CCJ or other means of enforcement that you have acknowledged.

The 6 years in England start then but in Scotland it is 5 years from the above.

Chrissi

Unfortunately some of the posters here also fail to grasp the concept and the laws involved.

If they have a CCJ then the 'six year rule' does not apply. There are also different rules for certain other types of debts as well.

It does depand but normally it is,

 

when last payment was made,

when you last acknowledged a letter buy writing back to them,

or after a CCJ or other means of enforcement that you have acknowledged.

 

The 6 years in England start then but in Scotland it is 5 years from the above.

 

Chrissi

A CCJ is never extinguished, but after 6 years (5 Scotland) they can only enforce by a further successful application to court.

It does depand but normally it is,

 

when last payment was made,

when you last acknowledged a letter buy writing back to them,

or after a CCJ or other means of enforcement that you have acknowledged.

 

The 6 years in England start then but in Scotland it is 5 years from the above.

 

Chrissi

Well ... I believe that it is 5 years for statute barred in Scotland UNLESS there is a CCJ. But not after this. Look at page 2 of this. If they have a CCJ it's 20 years.

http://www.bdl.org.uk/images/Prescrition%20and%20Limitation%20(Scotland)%20Act.pdf

At least that's how I read this - am I wrong?

Not Scottish, but the 20 years appears to imply to debt outside the CCA(see paragraph above the 20 years being mentioned).

Well - we need Rory here - as I'm not sure - and, as you know I'm English but live in Scotland and have done for many years. And my understanding is that, once there is a CCJ, it does not go away. So it's 5 years till it's stat barred (that's what the paragraph above refers to), but 20 years once there is a CCJ.

I don't read anything in this as having anything to do with the CCA.

CCJ doe not go away, but in England the Limitation ACt requires further action to be by the court. The information guide in your post seems to read 5 or 20 years ( 5 applying to CCA and 20 to mortgage).

I agree, Rory knows best as it is his area.

A decree is the Scottish equivalent of a CCJ. Our laws on enforcement are slightly different though. If you have a decree granted against someone owing you money you have up to 20 years to start enforcing the decree. Whether the debt is covered by the CCA or not is irrelevant. CCJ's (as far as a know) do not ever go away but after 6 years of not enforcing the CCJ you would need to apply to the court for re-enforcement of the CCJ and have a valid reason why you have not previously enforced it.

CheersRory. And merry xmas.

Well, that's my homework for tomorrow. As I'm pretty sure, and I think this factsheet makes it clear.

But I'll go and check it out for myself.

Anyway -hijack over.

I understand that a debt becomes statute barred after 6 years but when does the 6 year period start.

Is it from the last payment made, the last letter received or the date it goes into dispute?

From the last written acknowledgement by you, as Michael said.

And to you too Aktiv

Thanks again rory - and happy christmas to all of you (was typing my answer as rory posted- as ever, he's quicker than me)

What happens if you never make a single payment or make any kind of written acknowledgement , does that mean the statute barred clock has never began to tick and that it is an enforceable debt even decades later if you never made at least one initial payment ( or acknowledgement) ?

Or can signing the cca be construed as written acknowledgment of the debt and dated from there ?

If it is dated from the date of the cause of action , what happens if no default is ever registered , you can defend by data protection laws rather than limitations act ?

What reason have ever been found valid in court for a re-inforcement of a ccj after 6 years ? I can imagine if you went into hiding and were no longer contactable could be used as a valid reason , but are there any others ? Could a creditor say for example that it was not economical to pursue the ccj whilst the debtor had no assets, but now 10 years later he has inherited a sizeable estate and we want a charging order placed upon that ?

Well i am guessing that as a result of you never making payment then the debt is SB from 6 years after first payment due.

You dont sign CCA requests with your handwritten signature.

You just type or use a digital signature.

6 years ia 6 years they cant get any type of order/CCJ if the debt is over 6 years

6 years ia 6 years they cant get any type of order/CCJ if the debt is over 6 years

Not quite true, if a action is brought against a statute barred debt and the action is not defended then the court can award judgment by default

once this occurs you have an uphill struggle to get a CCJ set aside IMHO

What happens if you never make a single payment or make any kind of written acknowledgement , does that mean the statute barred clock has never began to tick and that it is an enforceable debt even decades later if you never made at least one initial payment ( or acknowledgement) ?

The limitation period will start on the demand for payment, or when the debt becomes due.

 

Or can signing the cca be construed as written acknowledgment of the debt and dated from there ?

Um... well, normally, the signing of the CCA will occur before the first payment becomes due, and so will not be the start of any limitation period.

 

If it is dated from the date of the cause of action , what happens if no default is ever registered , you can defend by data protection laws rather than limitations act ?

This is irrelevant, see above. the cause of action will be the first time they could default you, the fact they chose not to is effectively irrelevant.

 

 

What reason have ever been found valid in court for a re-inforcement of a ccj after 6 years ?

 

There is a difference between reinforcement of a CCJ and original judgement. A CCJ is never spent, and the court could enforce it at their discretion even after 6 years has passed, although no further judgement may be awarded based on the CCJ after that time.

 

they would need to show valid reason it took so long. all the reasons you state might be valid reasons to ask for permission, but the court would consider all factors.

 

I can imagine if you went into hiding and were no longer contactable could be used as a valid reason , but are there any others ? Could a creditor say for example that it was not economical to pursue the ccj whilst the debtor had no assets, but now 10 years later he has inherited a sizeable estate and we want a charging order placed upon that ?

Do you already have a CCJ?

I was going on the fact that u would defend the action so they would not be able to get a CCJ.

I was going on the fact that u would defend the action so they would not be able to get a CCJ.

Ah yeah, while you know that the problem is from the person looking in's point of view, if someone sees that comment

6 years ia 6 years they cant get any type of order/CCJ if the debt is over 6 years

then the problem is that it could be construed as being the case that once a debt is six years old you dont need to do anything as a court cant issue a judgment. which is wrong , you always need to defend a court action

i saw a case just a day ago on here where the person did not defend because they thought there was no chance of getting a CCJ as the debt was statute barred and luckily they have now filed a defence but we are not sure if it will be accepted as they may be out of time

this is why i corrected what you said

It should also be noted that in cases of fraud, mistake, or concealment the limitation period may not run until the fraud, mistake, or concealment could reasonably have been discovered.

Tom.

based on what u have just said if u go out of the country on work for say 10 years and then come back and find somebody has used your name to gain credit then the limitations act does not apply.

Tom.

 

based on what u have just said if u go out of the country on work for say 10 years and then come back and find somebody has used your name to gain credit then the limitations act does not apply.

im not sure i understand what you are asking,

Toms' comment was aimed at the issues surrounding the Limitation Act, now what he was saying was, if you move and try to conceal your new address then the limitation period may start from when the creditor finds out where you have moved to or reasonably could have determined your new address

if someone does as you suggest, if you were not in the country and could prove you were subject of id theft then you would not be liable anyway