Statute Barred after 6 years

[kloofnek]

I have been reading the MoneyExpert forum and saw several times that a debt is "statute barred " after 6 years of defaulting,
What does anyone know about this?

[Duncer]

I'm away to phone my credit card people - I'll get back to you in six years.

[factor-fiction]

Can be but not for example if you have ignored letters or failed to tell them of address changes.It also depends on what type of debt it is

[kloofnek]

It seemed to apply to all types of debts...by the way,it was the Money SavingExpert...according to that,these debt collectors are out of order if the debt is statute barred..but I feel there is probably a lot of if`s and but`s about this.

[chelle7272]

How long can a creditor chase a debt?
This is dependent on the type of debt you have. The most common form of debt which people ask about in our forum is unsecured debts eg credit cards, personal loans, store cards, catalogues, bank loans, finance company loans etc. The Limitations Act 1980 states that when the following conditions are met then the debt cannot be pursue through the courts.
The conditions are:-

That the creditor has not taken court action against you, eg CCJ, AND
You have not made any payments on the debt over the last 6 years,AND
During the years, you haven't written to the creditor acknowledging that owe them money.

As you can see all three conditions must be met in order for the debt to be "time barred". So the answer to the above question is 6 years.
How long can a creditor chase a debt?This is dependent on the type of debt you have. The most common form of debt which people ask about in our forum is unsecured debts eg credit cards, personal loans, store cards, catalogues, bank loans, finance company loans etc. The Limitations Act 1980 states that when the following conditions are met then the debt cannot be pursue through the courts.The conditions are:-
That the creditor has not taken court action against you, eg CCJ,
AND You have not made any payments on the debt over the last 6 years,
AND During the years, you haven't written to the creditor acknowledging that owe them money.As you can see all three conditions must be met in order for the debt to be "time barred". So the answer to the above question is 6 years.

http://www.debtwatchd...ales-Article-215.html

[chelle7272]

Ooops sorry for the double cut and paste!

[ubasses]

Most Companies apply for CCJs when debts are run up for the very purpose of stopping them becoming statute barred.

Had a quick look on line and this link may help explain.http://www.lovemoney.com/blogs/debt/d
ebt/14401/why-statute-barred-doesnt-let-you-r
un-away-from-your-debts

[factor-fiction]

http://www.hmrc.gov.u...tmanual/ihtm28384.htm

Are you in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK.

Some debts are not covered by the Limitations Act- I recall examples may be debts to DWP and HMRC but you'd need to check

[factor-fiction]

http://www.lovemoney....-away-from-your-debts
I think this was the link from ubasses

[factor-fiction]

It also needs to remembered that "The money owed is not written off; it’s still a debt and in reality it still exists, but with the Act in force the creditor can no longer enforce the debt and take you to court."

[ubasses]

Thanks Factor, I didn't notice the link had not posted properly

[hc4361]

AND you must have notified the lender of any change or name and/or address.

So the debt may be 12 years but not statute barred if you have done a flit at any time; or engaged in correspondence with the lender or made a payment within the last 6 years

[kloofnek]

Just found this on Consumer Action Group.
"In principle, a debt cannot be enforced after 6 years from the date upon which it became due.
The 6 years runs from the last time that the debt was acknowledged in any way or from the last time that a payment was made towards the debt.
Once a debt has lapsed, it cannot be revived - even through a subsequent acknowledgement or payment.
The relevant law is contained within the Limitation Act 1980.

In respect of bank charges claims or PPI claims, you have 6 years to claim from the date on which you could reasonably have discovered that you should not have been paying the money.
For bank charges claims you can claim as far back as 1st Jan 1995."

[factor-fiction]

That's fine kloofneck provided all the caveats are borne in mind such as whether the debtor has failed to notify a change of address

[kloofnek]

chell7272..what a fantastic full answer and very clearly explained.
I don`t have any debt collectors after me but I do know of people who have had and it interests me how it is dealt with and if any of the tactics used are legal.
I once saw a programme on tv how these dreadful people go terrifying folk by going to their homes and threatening them.

Awful!!!

[bednobs]

by the way, the six years does not apply to mortgage debts, which i believe are 12 years. As factor says, the debt still exists even if it's statute barred, and the creditor can still ask you for it, and keep on asking you for it. They just can take court action to recover it

[bednobs]

kloof, i don't blame people who send debt collectors round when people owe them money - after all how would you feel if someone owed YOU a sum of money they were refusing to pay you back? wouldn't you want to do anything to get it back. What if the government stopped paying your benefits and you really needed money, wouldn't you want them to pay you the money you were entitled to?

[kloofnek]

bednobs...I am not saying people should not repay what they owe...but sometimes they cannot having fallen on hard times.True,they should try to sort it out with whoever concerned in a nice way.But surely no good will come with bullying.
Years ago I owed some money resulting from financial difficulties and so received a letter from a debt collector.I telephoned and they got quite nasty so I hung up.I then wrote a nice polite letter to them,explaining my circumstances and offered what I could afford month...it was sorted congenially.