Statute barred debts and the Limitation Acts

chupakabra

Hi All,

Thank you for this thread. Could somebody please help to clarify following situation. I have received a traced council tax bill for a period of 2005/2006. There were 4 of us renting a property and hence 4 names on the contract. The current bill is issued on my name only. Unfortunately,I am not able to contact any of ex-flatmates to confirm if CT was actually paid, as I do not recall any notices from council regarding unpaid bills.

I was a student at that time, so could try to get exempt. However, I am worried that I will become liable for the full amount anyway.

Has this bill became Statute Barred? As it has been over 6 years and it is the first time I am actually hearing about it.

Thank you,

fatbelly

There's a parallel rule for Council Tax - although it's not the Limitation Act, they still have six years to start court action. In practice most councils act quickly in the early stages to get a Liability Order in the Magistrates Court, so an SB defence doesn't work.

In your case you may be better looking at exemption if you met the criteria for being a full time student

https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/full-time-students

There's a good explanation from the NUS here:

http://www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/money-and-funding/info-and-advice/council-tax/

chupakabra

fatbelly wrote: »

There's a parallel rule for Council Tax - although it's not the Limitation Act, they still have six years to start court action. In practice most councils act quickly in the early stages to get a Liability Order in the Magistrates Court, so an SB defence doesn't work.

Hi,

Thank you for the answer and links. I was a full-time student at that time and have all letters from college, so that looks like a way forward.

What has confused me is that the bill looks like an ordinary Council Tax bill. The only difference it says:
Reason for issue: Traced Bill.
Date of issue: August 2013

So it is unclear if the Liability Order was even obtained. I guess will have to take it direct with the council before they send further reminders or worse.

Thank you,

Stu_Disco

Hi
I have been getting mixed reviews from debt advice lines so thought I would post on here in the hope for some clarification on what action I need to take.
My Wife has a debt from around 2003 or 2004 the debt was passed to Activ Capital in 2009.
My wife has never written to acknowledge this debt (I believe it was done over the phone) but however has been making regular payments by Direct Debit since 2009/2010,over the last 18 months my wife has been receiving the famous letters from Activ Capital stating if you pay 50% of the debt they will write the outstanding amount off.
My question is, if my wife has been making regular payments but has never formally acknowledged the debt is the debt now statute barred or does she have to keep paying the debt off because she has been making regular payments for the last 3-4 years?
I have looked at the draft letters at the front of this thread but can’t find one that covers my wife’s situation.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

fatbelly

Hi Stu

A payment counts as acknowledgement if it's made by the debtor, however it's made.

It sounds like AK got her to make a payment just before the six years were up.

But if you can get the dates nailed down precisely you may be able to show a six-year period of no acknowledgement and in that case it's statute barred and they can get lost (see standard letter in post #6 ).

It sounds like they may be unsure of the dates anyway.

If not statute barred they look like they are open to a low full & final settlement. You could offer 25%.

Stu_Disco

Thanks Fatbelly

That is what i thought,
I do have a letter which i intend on tweaking asking them to prove the dates of the debt and to prove payment was made before the 6 years were up, fingers crossed they can't prove it.

Thanks again for your help.

Stu

rizla_king

Aktiv are a big chaser of already statute barred debts, so there is a fair chance this was already barred when she started paying.

Barloue

have read through the posts and must say it is very useful information. I cant seem to find an answer to my specific circumstance though.

99% sure that debt I was being chased for was SB. (5 years scotland) anyways the company sent the letter to me and phoned and I started making payments then stopped and they applied for a ccj and got it granted.

my question is can this be overturned as the original debt WAS SB and therefore shouldnt have been allowed to go to court in the first place as it wasnt due to anyone or am i going to be forced to pay the full amount.

hopefully someone can point me in the right direction

StrangeCharm_2

Hi
I have several questions and would really appreciate some help as I'm at the end of my tether and don't know where to turn for advice. I have some debts from 2007 which I couldn't afford to settle. To the best of my knowledge, CCJs were awarded against me for the debts around July / August 2007. I moved house August 2007.

1. If a CCJ has been awarded against a debt, and if that debt is then sold on, can the new owner of the debt register a default and can they take you to court again for the same debt? If so, aren't you being dragged through court twice for the same debt?

2. Looking at my credit report now, I have several defaults from a DCA who has purchased the debts but no CCJs - is there anywhere where I can check for CCJs older than six years to see if a CCJ was awarded at the time of the debt?

3. How long do defaults stay on your credit file for (I understood it to be for 6 years from the time of the first default)? For instance, if I had a debt with company 'A' which then defaulted for 12 months and they then sold it to company 'B', could company 'B' treat the debt they have purchased as a 'new' debt and restart the clock on defaults? If this is the case, then the same debt could be showing as 'default' for years if it it was resold every two or three years to new DCA.

Can anyone answer my three questions, or offer advice. The stress of getting threatening letters from the DCA is making me ill.

Thanks

fatbelly

Answers in colour

StrangeCharm wrote: »

1. If a CCJ has been awarded against a debt, and if that debt is then sold on, can the new owner of the debt register a default and can they take you to court again for the same debt? No and no

2. Looking at my credit report now, I have several defaults from a DCA who has purchased the debts but no CCJs - is there anywhere where I can check for CCJs older than six years to see if a CCJ was awarded at the time of the debt? No

3. How long do defaults stay on your credit file for (I understood it to be for 6 years from the time of the first default)? For instance, if I had a debt with company 'A' which then defaulted for 12 months and they then sold it to company 'B', could company 'B' treat the debt they have purchased as a 'new' debt and restart the clock on defaults? If this is the case, then the same debt could be showing as 'default' for years if it it was resold every two or three years to new DCA. 6 years from the time of the first default is correct


Thanks