Old debt following me round

al-209

Have just had a letter through chasing a loan i defaulted on many years ago. The loan was initially taken out roughly 14 years ago, defaulted on probably within a year of that, 2 at the most.

The company is called 1st Credit. As i understand it, debt over 6 years old cannot be legally reclaimed unless i admit responsibility. Around 2-3 years ago i made some payments toward this to a company called McKenzie Hall i think it was, which technically is admission of the debt. This company (1st credit) however dont seem to have any knowledge of the address where i was when i made those payments, (which is different to my current address) they only state that i may be the person who was previously of the address the loan was initially taken out from.

They say in the letter that if i am the person named in the letter to call a number.
If i am not the person in the letter, or have information as to the whereabouts of said person, to call a different number. Obviously if i am not the person named then what am i doing opening his mail? Unless i am someone with the same name.

It says if no response is recieved they will assume i am the person named and all correspondnce will be sent to my address.

I figure i have the following options

1. Admit to and pay the debt - not going to happen

2. Ring up stating i am not the person in the letter, i have the same name and i dont know what your talking about, leave me alone - seems daft

3 ignore the ensuing letters, or post them back "not at this address / return to sender". They are easy enough to spot - most likely

What action can these people really take? this debt is not on my credit record now so as far as im aware its not active debt and cannot be reclaimed through court / bailiffs etc unless i admit to it, which i wont.

What course of action would you good people recommend??

Thanks

kate252

you need o write back to them and say that this is statute barred and therefre as older than six years its barred.
but you must say the rght thing- any offer t pay thm back made in writing makes you liable all over again- tats whybthey try it on knowing its barred- once people have made even one payment they become liable to pay again. so make sure you check with money saving forum or wh the CAB debt advisor that you say the RIGHT THING. its so important, and then yu should not hear fromthem again, get proper debt advice before you communicate with them

woody01

you need o write back to them and say that this is statute barred and therefre as older than six years its barred.

Did you even read the OPs post? :wall:
It seems not as the OP has already stated he paid some funds to this debt 2-3 years ago. This means the debt is not statutue barred.

It wouldnt make any difference about the address, as it was the person that admitted liability by making payments.

pinksleepybear

al-209 wrote: »

Have just had a letter through chasing a loan i defaulted on many years ago.

What course of action would you good people recommend??

Thanks

That you pay your debt.

iolanthe07

1. Admit to and pay the debt - not going to happen

Why not? That would be the honourable and decent thing to do. It is what you would expect if someone owed you money.

the_hand_of_beadle

im being chased for debts i ran up over or about 10 years ago and apart from the deposit i put down at the time of purchase ive never made payment and never contacted said agencys is this statute barred ? pls help !

al-209

iolanthe07 wrote: »

1. Admit to and pay the debt - not going to happen

Why not? That would be the honourable and decent thing to do. It is what you would expect if someone owed you money.

A i cant afford to and B its not honourable or decent to give an unemployed 18 year old a high interest finance deal he has no hope of affording. I have payed back over the principal amount here so my conscience is clear.

I should point out that the only recognition of this debt in last 6 years has been to a debt collection agency, not the initial lender. does this makes a difference in terms of it being statute barred?

ALIBOBSY

kate252 wrote: »

you need o write back to them and say that this is statute barred and therefre as older than six years its barred.
but you must say the rght thing- any offer t pay thm back made in writing makes you liable all over again- tats whybthey try it on knowing its barred- once people have made even one payment they become liable to pay again. so make sure you check with money saving forum or wh the CAB debt advisor that you say the RIGHT THING. its so important, and then yu should not hear fromthem again, get proper debt advice before you communicate with them

Not true once a debt is statue barred once, irrelevant of what happens after it does not "undo" the staute barred status.
A payment in the six year period resets the 6 year start date, but once one period of 6 years is past it is statute barred forever.

However this does not mean they can't ask for the money, the debt still exists, it just can't be enforced in court and as soon as the debtor mentions the statute barred status they should stop any further requests.

So either pay the debt off as you see fit or send the statute barred letter and move on. Up to the OP.

ali x

woody01

al-209 wrote: »

A i cant afford to and B its not honourable or decent to give an unemployed 18 year old a high interest finance deal he has no hope of affording. I have payed back over the principal amount here so my conscience is clear.

I should point out that the only recognition of this debt in last 6 years has been to a debt collection agency, not the initial lender. does this makes a difference in terms of it being statute barred?

Yes it makes a difference.
This is not statute barred if you have admitted the debt or made a payment.

Your point regarding being an unemployed 18 year old carries no argument either.
Even if you were a particularly stupid 18 year old, you were big enough to accept the credit. It has nothing to do with your conscience either as you are legally obliged to pay this, and your 'debt dodging' tactics have backfired on you.
Look at your own actions before blaming the lender!

Not true once a debt is statue barred once, irrelevant of what happens after it does not "undo" the staute barred status

But you have no idea if it was or not...

al-209

woody01 wrote: »

Yes it makes a difference.
This is not statute barred if you have admitted the debt or made a payment.

Your point regarding being an unemployed 18 year old carries no argument either.
Even if you were a particularly stupid 18 year old, you were big enough to accept the credit. It has nothing to do with your conscience either as you are legally obliged to pay this, and your 'debt dodging' tactics have backfired on you.
Look at your own actions before blaming the lender!


But you have no idea if it was or not...

Fairly certain it has been, and i havent come here for moral advice from any of you. Im not blaming the lender, they do what they do, nor am i looking to excuse not paying by virtue of being being young at the time. Morals aside im not gonna pay if i dont have to, im just trying to ascertain whether i do or dont.

How would one go about finding out whether sufficient time between the default and the first repayment has elapsed to make this debt statute barred. Surely the debt company has to provide me with details of the debt including all payments, date of default etc if requested?

50quidonRED

pay your debt, stop avoiding it