How long can a debt be pursued?

Georgina_J

I am aware that adverse credit records ie via Experian etc., are usually kept for 5 years but I recently read an article (now sadly mislaid), which stated that a debt cannot be pursued if it is more than 5 years old and if liability during that period has not been aknowledged via payments, correspondence etc., is this correct? Does anybody know about this?

Pee

It's over 6 years, I think.

GeorgeUK

6 years in England
Limitations Act 1980
5 years in Scotland
Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973

If not payment has been made for that period and there has been no written acknowledgement of the debt, the debt will be statute barred.

The debt will still exist, but it cannot be enforced. This means that if a DCA were to request payment from you, you could simply state that the debt was statute barred and they would no longer be entitled to pursue you for payment, but they could pass it on to someone else. It should never go to court - if it did your defence would be that it was statute barred.