Statute barred debts and the Limitation Acts

[fermi]

Statute Barred debts.

A debt will be "Statute Barred" if there has been no acknowledgement of the debt by you making a payment or in writing within the relevant limitation period.

The debt would then be legally UNENFORCEABLE.

If you are in England/Wales then the limitation period is 6 years and you should read:

Link: Factsheet | Liability for Debts and the Limitation Act (England/Wales)

If you are in Scotland then the limitation period is 5 years and you should read:

Link: Factsheet | Liability for debts & the Prescription & Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973

If you feel the debt is "Statute Barred", then there is a letter to write at the end of each factsheet and below.

[fermi]

Letter to use if you live in England or Wales.

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
Date

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No:

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5:

"an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I/we would point out that in their Debt Collection Guidance, the OFT regard the following unfair or improper business practice for a creditor to:

• pursue the debt under circumstances in which the debtor has heard nothing from a creditor during the relevant limitation period.
• continue to press a debtor for payment after he has stated that he will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred.

The last acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time.

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or signed written acknowledgement from me/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully




Mrs A N Other

[fermi]

Letter to use if you live in Scotland.

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
Date

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Ref: xxxxxxxxxxx

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that under The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 Part 1 Prescription Section 6:

"If after an appropriate date, an obligation (an appropriate debt) has subsided for a continuous period of five years:

(a) without any relevant claim having been made in relation to the obligation, and
(b) without the subsistence of the obligation having been relevantly acknowledged;

then as from the expiration of that period the obligation shall be extinguished..."

I/we would also point out that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that:

"It is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

The last written acknowledgement/payment of this debt was made over five years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time.

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written acknowlement from me/us in the relevant period under Part 1 Section 6of the above Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that:

"continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment".

I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully






Mrs A N Other

[fermi]

Possible letter if previous letters are ignored.

Report them to the OFT and Trading Standards as well.

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Acc/Ref No: *******************

FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman.

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/2008, the contents of which are noted.

On xx/xx/2008 I wrote to <Name of debt collector> regarding a debt that was alleged to be owed by myself. That letter was received and signed for on xx/xx/2008 as confirmed by Royal Mail tracking.

In this letter I pointed out the following items:

1) Under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

2) The OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

3) The last correspondence/payment/acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

4) The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment.

Therefore it is clear that your original contact regarding this debt may well have been in breach of the Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (2).

Furthermore, your second letter is in breach of Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (4) and constitutes harassment.

As you are no doubt aware, breaches of the OFT's Guidance on Debt Collection are treated seriously by the OFT when considering your fitness to hold a Consumer Credit License.

Therefore I wish to formally notify you that unless I received confirmation that this matter is now closed, then I will not hesitate to make a formal complaint to the 'Office of Fair Trading' and also to 'Trading Standards'.

Furthermore, any attempted contact (other than to confirm that this matter is now closed) by any:

• "trading style" of the <Name of debt collector> group
• constituent member of the <Name of debt collector> group
• a third party acting on your behalf
• a third party that claims to have been legally assigned this debt

will result in an immediate complaint to the aforementioned regulatory bodies.

Also please note that any legal action you may consider will be FULLY and VIGOROUSLY defended, and you will be put to a strict proof of the alleged debt and any payment or acknowledgement that you claim within the relevant limitation period.

In line with the protocols on pre-action conduct, I therefore request a independently verifiable copy of any acknowledgement or payment that you may claim was made within the limitation period. Failure to comply with this reasonable request will result in your actions being brought to the attention of the court.

Furthermore, you may consider this letter a FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman. If you wish to correspond with myself with any other purpose than to confirm that this matter is now closed, then I require you to supply me with a written copy of your complaints procedure and a "final response" that I may forward to the Financial Ombudsman with my complaint.

This COMPLAINT is not going to go away and ignoring this problem could potentially make your situation worse. I therefore strongly recommend that you send written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

[fermi]

Hybrid letter stating that you have no knowledge of the debt AND that it would be statute barred regardless.

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Reference number :

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

I would point out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to <creditor>.

We are familiar with the ‘Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance’ which states that it is unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

We would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

We would further note that based on the information you have supplied, this account would also be statute barred under the Limitation Act 1980

Under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I would also point out that in their Debt Collection Guidance, the OFT regard the following unfair or improper business practice for a creditor to:

• pursue the debt under circumstances in which the debtor has heard nothing from a creditor during the relevant limitation period.
• continue to press a debtor for payment after he has stated that he will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred.

We would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence of both:

(1) proof of my liability regarding this debt.

and

(2) payment or written acknowledgement from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act.

We await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

Otherwise we will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully




Mrs A N Other

[fermi]

Where a debt is statute barred due to 6 years of non-payment or acknowledgement, but you have made payments/acknowledgement after that 6 years has elapsed.

Note: Once a debt becomes statute barred it stays that way permanently.

Once barred, any payment or acknowledgement does NOT 'unbar' it.

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
Date

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Account No:

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

It is clear that there was a period of 6 years where no acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made.

<Give dates if you have them>

Consequently this debt is and remains statute barred under the Limitation Act 1980.

This clearly states:

"a right of action, once barred by this Act, shall not be revived by any subsequent acknowledgment or payment"

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written acknowledgement from me/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

I/we await your written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

[fermi]

A debt collector FALSELY claims that a phone call counts as acknowledgement.

or

A debt collector FALSELY claims that the creditor writing to you counts as acknowledgement.


There is nothing at all in the Limitation Act 1980 that allows the period to be restarted by the creditor contacting the debtor, or by a phone call.

Limitation Act 1980

The debtor must either acknowledge the debt in writing or make a payment.

As specified in Section 29 here:

Extension or Exclusion of Ordinary Time Limits

(5) Subject to subsection (6) below, where any right of action has accrued to recover—

(a) any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim; or

(b) any claim to the personal estate of a deceased person or to any share or interest in any such estate;

and the person liable or accountable for the claim acknowledges the claim or makes any payment in respect of it the right shall be treated as having accrued on and not before the date of the acknowledgment or payment.

Notice that it is the person liable that must make the acknowledgement, NOT anyone else.

So a creditor writing to you or contacting you DOES NOT COUNT.

As for the claim that a phone call may count as acknowledgement, that is disproved completely as the act specifically requires in section 30 that:

To be effective for the purposes of section 29 of this Act, an acknowledgment must be in writing and signed by the person making it.

So no, a phone call cannot possibly count.

[RAS]

Can I suggest that somewhere prominent we put that the SoL does not apply if you have a CCJ against you for the debt, although if the creditor has not enforced it in the last 6 years, they cannot just start now?

[fermi]

Originally Posted by RAS

Can I suggest that somewhere prominent we put that the SoL does not apply if you have a CCJ against you for the debt, although if the creditor has not enforced it in the last 6 years, they cannot just start now?

Will do. Now I've separated the letters out into different posts, I need to revise the initial post as well.

[lindann]

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

The last acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time.

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me/us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I/we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me/us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

if the debt has been paid through the company debt collection does this make it null and void, please see my other thread on jdwilliams, in debts etc..

[Tixy]

If you have paid the original creditor or any 3rd party/debt collection agency acting on their behalf or a DCA who they have sold the debt to within 6years from when you ceased payment then that counts as acknowledgement by you for the debt. And you would then need to have another 6years from the date of last payment to anyone including the DCA.

[jules441965]

Hi there,

I'm a newbie here so apologies if I'm posting in the wrong place.
I'll try to keep what is a very complicated situation brief.
My OH is being taken to court by the CSA for a liabilty order for a claim going back to 1996.
For personal reasons, my OH never responded to the claim at any point as the PWC lodged the claim with the CSA, 7 years after registering the child as "father unknown" on his birth certificate and when OH asked for DNA testing, she disappeared for nearly 12 yrs!
The CSA have produced as evidence, only 2 demands, one dated september 1996 and one dated april 2006.
In 2006 they lodged their first attempt for a liability order, which they abandoned in court at the last minute.
However thay are now going ahead again...given that they are trying to claim a debt going back to 1996, are we in a position to use the statute of limitations at all?

[RAS]

jules head over to the Child Support forum and ask kelloggs for help.

[jules441965]

Oh Ta Ras, much appreciated.

[Waynoo]

whats an SOL?

[fermi]

Statute Of Limitation

[Waynoo]

hi thanx,just wandering if i should wait before i get a letter threatening court action before i send the letter about statute barred to the debt company?
At the moment im just getting letters asking me to discuss a repayment plan with them.

[fermi]

Up to your.

Are you sure the debt is statute barred?

If you are, then just send the letter.

If you are not, then wait. If they go to court then it is up to them to prove it's not SB.

[Waynoo]

ok thanx again il send the letter tomorrow and yes my debt was defaulted 8 years ago and i havent contacted the company since.

[Elwood.Balboa]

Hi, I know this is an oldish thread, but it came up when I googled my question. I have a very old debt 10 or 11 years old, but I made 2 payments a few years ago, CAB said at the time that it didn't count as acknowledgment of the debt for some reason, and I should send the letter that they gave me. I lost that letter but the harrassment stopped anyway so I just forgot about it, but I'm getting letters again now, please can someone shed some light on this, why was my payment not acknowledgement? they also said I would be refunded those payments, what letter should I send? Thanks in advance.