The 6 year limit to reclaim unsecured debt is laid down in The Limitation Act 1980 (for England & Wales) and The Northern Ireland Limitations Order 1989. The relevant legislation for reclaiming unsecured debt in Scotland, The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, sets the limit at 5 years.
Oh brilliant, the bulk of my charges were all before 5 years ago and the bank took my card off me for rattling it when I was a skint student even though most of the moeny owed was made up of the charges!!
Is there any way to sue them for damages resulting from charges which occured before the 5 year mark? The reason I ask is that I ended up homeless as a direct result of it, about a year further down the line and spent a further year stuck in emergancy accomodation. As a result I was unable to earn money for a whole year. Do you think I have a case to take hold them to account for this and if so how would I go about it?
- Daylight Robbery and a license to print moneY!
For those in Scotland and Northern Ireland the small claims court process works differently. In Scotland the maximum claim is �750 and you may only reclaim 5 years' worth of bank charges.