statute barred: how to tell?

[drees5761]

Is there a way of telling if a debt is statute barred?..i know its six years but sometimes its difficult to remember when or if a payment / contact is made with a creditor. If the debt is not on your credit file does that mean its statute barred?

[jimbo45]

Send a SAR request to the OC (NOT any DCA chasing you). It will cost 10 GBP.

 

DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE DEBT EVEN IF YOU HAVE MADE PAYMENTS IN THE PAST as this starts the clock ticking again.

 

Once the debt is SB'd then thats it -- 100% defence at law FOR EVER.

 

SCREW the CRA's -- I HATE them almost as much as the DCA's -- or in fact EVEN MORE since there is TOTALLY NO TRANSPARENCY over what happens when people refer to your CRA and there appears to be no limit to the amount of data they can supply to 3rd parties.

 

I'd LOVE to get one of these bozos on breaking something in the Data Protection acts -- but I suppose as they collude with the Banks there will always be some reason why THEY get away with it but we would be stung with a prosecution and / or a heavy fine.

 

Cheers

jimbo

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

If you check you credit file and something is not there that doesn't mean that no debt exists - it may just be that it has never been recorded with that credit agency.

Are you saying you've checked your file and this debt has dropped off or are you not sure.

[sillygirl1]

It is six years since the last PAYMENT has been made on your account, not the last contact, if that was true then no debt would EVER become statute barred as all the creditor would have to do is write to you....

 

If the payment was made under duress (ie they kept phoning up and you paid to get statements which didn't arrive) or they CANNOT prove that the payment DID come from you or your representative then it is the preceeding payment which counts (had this in a case recently, DCA had used a strange payment of £3.75 and claimed it was from the alleged debtor, alleged debtor was able to prove without question of doubt their whereabouts the day the DCA claimed they contacted and got the payment!)

[mackembulldog]

Is this last payment to the original creditor???? If it is then mine is statute barred surely... bollocks!!! and Ive just sent Hillesdens an offer!!!

[maroondevo52]

It's the last payment on the account to whoever, but if the debt was stat barred then it makes no odds if who or when you pay after that, it's still stat barred.

[harrassed senior]

So long as there is a period of 6 clear years between payments, then this last payment/offer was a 'gift' not an acknowledgement.

[mackembulldog]

So long as there is a period of 6 clear years between payments, then this last payment/offer was a 'gift' not an acknowledgement.

Its ex-gratia and I mentioned in the offer that it was not an acknowledgement

[mackembulldog]

The thing about payment under duress... how would this work? Ive noted that that there was a payment to DLC made after being threatened that goods would be removed from my parents house

[Bazooka Boo]

The thing about payment under duress... how would this work? I've noted that that there was a payment to DLC made after being threatened that goods would be removed from my parents house

 

There you go, you've just answered your own question, that would be a prime example of getting payment by duress, plus, exploiting the debtors lack of knowledge, obtaining money by deception, psychological harassment & intimidation to name a few!

[mackembulldog]

Thanks... so this could equate to it being statute barred in May 2011. The default was logged in Dec 2005 so that will come off in Dec 2011. Still need to make sure that what they sent me isnt enforceable

[Bazooka Boo]

Defaults are usually entered one month after the last payment or activity on the account in question, so it will be a safe bet that 6 years (5 in Scotland) from the default date the debt will be SB, any activity on the account, either by payment or acknowledgement that the account is in fact owed blah blah blah, resets the limitation period to zero and the time starts again. However once the limitation period has run it's course, nothing niet nadda can ever restart the clock.

hello BB..

[mackembulldog]

Last payment on account was May 05. A default was entered by MBNA but was later removed after the debt was sold to Hillesdens who then entered a default on Dec 05, which doesnt make sense to me

[sillygirl1]

Report Hillsdens to the Information Commissioner, they are not supposed to change the default date when they bought the debt. Report them also to Trading Standards and the OFT for their misbehaviour.

[john23liverpool]

If a payment is made after the default date does this reset the clock on the six years? Or is it still six years from the default date?

[Bazooka Boo]

If a payment is made after the default date does this reset the clock on the six years? Or is it still six years from the default date?

Yes it will reset the limitation clock, BUT if there has been a clear period of 6 years (5 in Scotland) and a payment is made after this period, then it does NOT reset the clock.

[john23liverpool]

Thanks very much for the advice

[straftat]

in a bid to clear up my credit file ive recently emailed Hilsden to say my debt was SB and they replied that according to their records it isnt and that "Due to your recent contact I confirm the new date for ‘statute barred’ is now September 2016."

i.e they took my email to be acknowledgement of the debt !

[Bazooka Boo]

What was the content of the email you sent?

[sillygirl1]

Default dates do not count for statute barring, so I have been told by a legal bod.... it is definately the last payment that counts more than any other date, and the payment has to come from the original debtor to the original creditor or its collecting agent, it CANNOT be a payment from a collecting agent to a creditor which does not identify the originating source.... he was quite specific on this.

 

Apparently DCAs are now trying to get the Statute of Limitations changed to six years after the Default date and have the default date moved every time the debt is passed onto collections teams or sold... totally defeats the object of the Statute of Limitations!

[tindwcel]

in a bid to clear up my credit file ive recently emailed Hilsden to say my debt was SB and they replied that according to their records it isnt and that "Due to your recent contact I confirm the new date for ‘statute barred’ is now September 2016."

i.e they took my email to be acknowledgement of the debt !

 

Once it is statute-barred NOTHING can make it un-statute-barred.

 

A written acknowledgement CAN reset the clock , if not already statute-barred. I don't believe that emails can count as such although I may be wrong.

 

One thing I have learnt, both from these forums and from personal experience. There are no absolute truths as far as the law goes. The law can say one thing, but it seems that a contrary judge or lawyer can pretend it says something else. The main principle seems, for them, to be "what is legal is whatever they can get away with", and a good lawyer seems to be one who can bend the interpretation of the law to suit his own purposes, and who is able to convince others to accept that interpretation. So much of our social contract is based on smoke and mirrors.

[straftat]

contents of email was "I am writing to inform you that this so called "outstanding debt" is statute barred as it is over 6 years has passed since any payment was made to the account . Please see the attched screenshot of my credit file"

 

screenshot showed last payment was july 2004

[kadie71]

Defaults are usually entered one month after the last payment or activity on the account in question, so it will be a safe bet that 6 years (5 in Scotland) from the default date the debt will be SB, any activity on the account, either by payment or acknowledgement that the account is in fact owed blah blah blah, resets the limitation period to zero and the time starts again. However once the limitation period has run it's course, nothing niet nadda can ever restart the clock.

 

I have just sent a statute barred letter to lowells re barclycard this afternoon, whats puzzling me is having checked my credit file with experian & equifax lowells are saying that my default date is 06/08. now I had the card in 2000, on experian it shows 36 months activity but nothing showing on equifax. Now I cant say exactly when I defaulted but took out a capital one card in 2007 to repair my credit rating so it was way before then I think probably around 2003/2004. strangely no mention of this debt on either file from barclaycard only lowells. how do i find out when the last payment was made?

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

Sending a Subject Access Request to the Origional Creditor should let you know the score regarding payments made on the account.

[kadie71]

thanks as its lowells I am going to see what the response is first - just been chatting to another poster about the exact same problem - so will be interesting to see what they are playing at!