is this debt Statute Barred??

ishy222

i recieved a dodgy looking card from Feredickson International Ltd stating they were going to take me to court for an account that was seriously in arrears... it alarmed me as i thought i was managing my debt so i called the number on the card and they informed me the solicitors Bryan Carter + Co were going to take proceedings further by taking me to court for an unpaid debt, i asked what this debt was as i had no knowledge of any debt and they then told i owed a shopping company £140....

After a moment i recalled i had owed about £100 to a catalog company back in 2000 and that at the time a debt collectors had called round to my property to which i gave him £5 and arrangements would be made to pay the debt back.... however... since this time i never heard anything, had any contact until now for this demand that i pay the debt back ( i did not tell this to the man on the phone ) i simply told him that watever this debt is, i have no recolection of it and IF there was a debt it is more likely to be more than 8 years old and that it was Statute Barred and they had no right to harress me for this old debt and that i would be contacting the CAB office and if they wanted to resolve this matter they will have to wait to hear from my representative...

So.. the guy started telling me that "NO NO NO dont call the CAB office.. there really isnt any need for you to do that madam because you will waste time and resources when you could resolve this matter quickly by writing to us and telling us why you think this debt is Statute Barred.. etc "
I went on to tell him that i woudl rather not waste my time by doing this and have the CAB office help me deal with it because they were wrong to persue me for an old debt... he went on to say that this was not an old debt and it was listed in 2007! At this point i just agreed and said i would send a letter asap as he directed and cut the call. i had not admitted to any debt over the phone.

Now.. i have lived at the same address since 1999 and since around 2000 ( or 2001 at the very latest ) i have NEVER heard anything about this debt so i dont know where he got 2007 from.

After the call i went on to call the CAB office who said the company were wrong to tell me to write to them and that would in effect me admitting to the debt and the debt becoming active again and i was right to get them involved, and that they would deal with this on my behalf. So i have my appointment next wednesday and they will resolve this.

While i agree i should have paid this and resolved back in 2000, surely the period of time that has elapsed now makes this debt Statute Barred ? or am i wrong?
I know even if they do make me pay it back the CAB can help me so its only £1 a week but i just cant understand how they can say it was active in 2007 when there was no contact about the debt since 2000...

Am i right to worry?
I really do not want any CCJ's against me but right now money is really tight for me so otherwise i would have offered to pay it.

(( im sorry if i posted this in the wrong section... if i have please move to the right area ))

RAS

ishy222 wrote: »

After a moment i recalled i had owed about £100 to a catalog company back in 2000 and that at the time a debt collectors had called round to my property to which i gave him £5 and arrangements would be made to pay the debt back.... however...

So unless this £5 payment was after March 2003, or they have a CCJ, then the debt is statute barred.

ishy222 wrote: »

.............At this point i just agreed and said i would send a letter asap as he directed and cut the call. i had not admitted to any debt over the phone.

Does not matter if you did, acknowledgment has to be in writing.

ishy222 wrote: »

Now.. i have lived at the same address since 1999 and since around 2000 ( or 2001 at the very latest ) i have NEVER heard anything about this debt so i dont know where he got 2007 from.

So it is even less likely there is a CCJ.

ishy222 wrote: »

After the call i went on to call the CAB office who said the company were wrong to tell me to write to them and that would in effect me admitting to the debt and the debt becoming active again and i was right to get them involved, and that they would deal with this on my behalf.

CAB are wrong. Once a debt is statute barred, it remains statute barred for ever, even if you make a payment against the account before you know.

Mind you for telephone advice, they are probably better preventing people writing until they have seen them.

I expect CAb will send a statute barred letter for you.

You should send a formal complaint to the OFT about what you were told.

If Fi ring again refuse to answer the security questions and tell him you have been advised to record all calls.

ishy222

oh thank you so much,
i guess now i can relax a little and let the CAB office send a letter on my behalf.

And i will also send a complaint to the OFT.

RAS

Please do as the OFT is getting stricter on DCAs and this is the sort of thing they need to know about.

ishy222

okay.. just opened my mail and i got a scary letter regarding the same issue.

This time is from Bryan Carter & Co solicitors and it says its a FINAL NOTICE.

it states that court proceedings will be issued on the 30th March without further notice if the payment is not recieved and says that a judgement order will be against my name for 6 years and that if they go to court the debt will increase....

my CAB appointment is on the 1st april ( i couldnt go any earlier due to having disabilities )

I understood from my previous post that the debt i had is clearly statute barred.... if they go ahead and make a court date will this result in my having a ccj or a negative credit status?

While i wait for the CAB appointment should i now contact the OFT and tell them this company is harrasing me for an old debt and threatening court action?

Im really unsure of what to do....
Should i just stop worrying and go to the CAB office as planned on the 1st April and let them deal with it or am i right to be worried?

Im really worried now, my mother told me it takes them months befor it goes to court and not to worry about it and just to take the letter to the CAB office....

GeorgeUK

As RAS has said, if you have made no payments towards this debt or acknowledged it in writing for the past 6 years it is statute barred and no amount of threats is going to change that. Just ignore this letter and go to the CAB as arranged. Make sure to take a copy of the correspondence you have received as well as noting down any calls and what both they and you said in those calls.

Once you have notified them that this account was statute barred, they should have just left you alone, although they may require that to be in writing. If it is statute barred, there is no court that will allow the debt to be enforced if they are made aware of it's status.

ishy222

ok.. thank you George
I just needed to put my mind at ease befor my CAB appointment and i will certainly be putting in a complaint with the OFT

AMBERSHADOW

i HAVE THE SAME THING with a debt that's 13 year's old But they still are writting to me I am now sending my last letter to them as I know it's statue barred and so do they or they would have taken legal action by now

Bloody cheek these people have

lemma1968

Bearing in mind they said this debt was from 2007, I would send £1 and ask them for the CCA so you can see what it is they are waffling on about.

You can also check you credit file to see of anything is showing up on there.

pepe2008

As long as you are sure on the dates, dont waste any more of your time and money. Let them try Court, they will end up paying.
Oh, and DONT FORGET TO COMPLAIN TO THE OFT!

ishy222

Well what can I say......

I would appreciate if anyone can help or give advice.

This same debt is still haunting me.
It has been declared as Statute barred.

At an appointment with my local CAB we figured out that this debt was actually around 15 years old and that in fact i had no responsibility as the contract was not valid as shop direct gave me an account at only 15 years of age.

Anyhow... so after a year of not hearing anything i get a knock at the door from ANOTHER debt agency ( this time provident ) demanding i pay them money. I showed them the previous letters from the CAB etc showing that this exact same debt was settled and they had no right to continue harassing me, they said the debt was only passed on last week and still valid and they would continue to pursue it.

So again im on the phone to the CAB to sort this out.

Is there anything else i can do?
I have severe anxiety and this has really made me quite ill as a result.