Student Loan Company Default Letter

Colz

Hi All.
Since leaving University in 1996 I have been in debt and have finally managed to clean up my credit file and am waiting for some old defaults to be removed because of the Six year clause.

However, I have just recieved a letter from The Student Loans Company and this is one debt that I had not serviced and in total amounts to £5000. Do not get me wrong, I have not ran away from them but I have until now not had any contact with them since around 2001 and I have had various sadness since that period when my Mother died very young and had children - therefore as they had never contacted me I never contacted them.

The Letter states that they want £5000 within the next 28 days from the date of the letter or they intend to mar my Credit File with a default, this is the last thing I need as I am just in the process of buying my first house with my wife (whom does not earn and looks after our two children) as her Father is helping us with the deposit.

Question is, I took this loan in 1993 and not heard from them since 2001/2002 - Is this now statute barred and if so do they still have the right to mark my credit file with a default and should I either

1 - Arrange to pay what I can afford on a monthly basis in order to get the mortgage
2 - Write a Statute barred letter and ensure that they do not mark my credit file
3 - Ignore the situation

Any help would be gratefully recieved

Colz

Sorry, just to add that I meant that my mother dying was a sad period and not when I had my children! Lol

Also I meant to include that I was at the brink of going bankrupt around four years ago and managed to get through by paying the debt off and being frugal - I had also considered the IVA route but have since managed to get myself sorted so I am not dodging any payments due
Is this the right board for this question?

Sol00

If you haven't had contact for 6 years or more then it will be SB.

You should write a letter to them, as they probably will default you otherwise.

Colz

Yes I am sure that it is statute barred and will send the letter to them, however, can they place a default onto my credit file when the debt is statute barred and hence messing my credit file up for another six years - I feel that they may do this even if I do write the SB letter?