Statute barred debts and the Limitation Acts

whitebirds

fatbelly wrote: »

If there was a ccj on this, their response would be 'there is a ccj on this' not 'you made a payment 2 years ago'

It is their job to evidence a payment if they choose to go down the court route, but if you can check, you should do so.

It is well known that creditors make up fictitious payments.

Best not to talk to them on the phone as everything needs to be in writing in case it is needed as evidence in a court case.

i mentioned the CCJ because they were threatening it, but i thought that they had already done that years ago, but didnt know how to check as my record is now clear.

fatbelly

whitebirds wrote: »

i mentioned the CCJ because they were threatening it, but i thought that they had already done that years ago, but didnt know how to check as my record is now clear.

If it's not on your credit report, then it's more than 6 years ago and the only way to find out about it would be to contact the court that issued it, which you may not know.

They clearly don't think there is a ccj, so the way is clear for a statute barred defence to their claim if they have the balls to start one.

If you can't see evidence of that payment 2 years ago then they've probably made it up. They may not be brave (stupid) enough to lie to a court but you can't rule it out.

For now, you've stated that it's statute barred and they haven't proved otherwise.

whitebirds

i checked and apparently had made a payment, so it looks like they were right. thanks for the help

jp2292

Hi,

Today I received a letter regarding an old Barclaycard debt. I no longer have the details as the debt is now off of my credit report as it has been deleted.

Basically the debt is about 10 years old. It was not for a great deal but inflated with interest debt collectors fees etc to £2347.07. From my first default sometime years ago I have never acknowledged this debt. It went to court (I didn't) and it ended up being a CCJ. This CCJ was wiped off my report about a year ago as it had been on there 6 years.

I have had a few letters from different agencies since then informing me they have purchased the debt. I did a little online research and felt it safe to ignore them. I am just wondering now though if this is the case. I thought once a debt had been cleared from my credit report it would disappear - that a 6 year CCJ on my report was like me doing my time as it were!

Any help on this would be gratefully received.

rizla_king

Cant be statute barred if you have a CCJ already.

fatbelly

jp2292 wrote: »

Hi,

Today I received a letter regarding an old Barclaycard debt. I no longer have the details as the debt is now off of my credit report as it has been deleted.

Basically the debt is about 10 years old. It was not for a great deal but inflated with interest debt collectors fees etc to £2347.07. From my first default sometime years ago I have never acknowledged this debt. It went to court (I didn't) and it ended up being a CCJ. This CCJ was wiped off my report about a year ago as it had been on there 6 years.

I have had a few letters from different agencies since then informing me they have purchased the debt. I did a little online research and felt it safe to ignore them. I am just wondering now though if this is the case. I thought once a debt had been cleared from my credit report it would disappear - that a 6 year CCJ on my report was like me doing my time as it were!

Any help on this would be gratefully received.

If they try to enforce it now there are arguments that they are out of time

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/63806369#Comment_63806369

fbrown

Ok so heres my story

Back in 2007 & 2008 my debts had spiralled out of control for a number of reasons which arent relevant to this site. I owed about £15k on my cards/loan/overdraft, I was in over my head and couldnt get out. I tried to negotiate repayment terms with my various lenders but to no avail. So in November 08 I had a little melt down and just thought (studpidly I might add) "to hell with it, whats the worst they can do to me?!" and just stopped paying all my bills, opened a new bank account, stopped answering the phone and opening my mail.

Fast forward a few months to April/May '09 and I had the opportunity to move abroad and I took it. I originally wanted to file for bankruptcy before leaving but was advised (badly) by a friend not to bother as it would cost money and if i wasnt coming back to the uk what was the point. As long as i was away for six years or more it would all be wiped out anyway, and against my better judgement I packed two suitcases and left it all behind.

Sadly, I unexpectedly returned to the UK permanently this Autumn and at first i thought all was peachy, I got an Experian report straightaway and NONE of my old debts were on it, it was completely blank and it gave me a "Fair" credit rating. I have a new credit card, a new bank account, car insurnace paid monthly on credit and a mobile phone contract all given to me no questions asked, although admittedly the credit card is a high rate low limit "credit builder".

Then last week I got offered a cashback deal on a months free Equifax membership, and perhaps a little cockily thought, "sure why not" and boy did i get a surprise. Most of my debts are on there (maybe one or two have dropped off) including two or three debts which arent even mine at all which I'll save for another post!

Worst of all theres a CCJ on there which is five years old which I had no idea about cos obviously I was out of the country, its for £2000 which surprised me as I wouldnt have thought an amount like that would be worth persuing in the courts but whatever it will have to be paid somehow.

The weird thing is that I know without any doubt in my mind that I never made a single payment on any loans or credit cards or even a bank deposit after November 08 but only one of my debts shows this on my Equifax report a lot of the others dont show a default until almost a year later! How is this possible? What bothers me it my word against theres and I have nothing to prove any of it

In my mind with the exception of the CCJ all my debts are by now Statute Barred as it is now well over six years since I made any payment towards any of them and even longer since I had any contact with any of my lenders (I got pretty good at avoiding them!)

I dont really know what my best course of action is, Im happy to try and settle the existing CCJ somehow but I really dont want any new CCJs if it can be avoided and you can judge me if you want but I dont intend to pay back any more than absolutely necessary as I am not earning a massive amount right now and am in the process of starting my life over (yet again)

So heres my thoughts

Option 1 - Ignore everything and only deal with the CCJ (this seems most logical to me... i think)
Option 2 - Ignore the CCJ for now and deal with everything else (Just thinking about that option is stressful!)
Option 3 - Do nothing and see what comes over the next twelve months (The kind of approach that got me into this mess in the first place!)
Option 4 - Ignore the debts I think are mine and try to have the ones i know definitely arent removed, then go from there with one of the above

I also have a few questions counjoured up in my paranoid mind.

Im now back in the UK after six years away, I have four new activities on my credit report thanks to the bank, credit card, phone and car insurance company. I have now obtained credit reports from two different reference agnecies in a short space of time and I am now working on a part time basis and making National Insurance Contributions. I am no longer that difficult to find in my mind so does this mean bailifs are going to come knocking any day now court papers in hand?

Also, I am staying with family for the forseeable future and dont want to inconvenience them with any of this so as a precaution I have kept my name off the electoral role - is this a wise move? Will Experian and Equifax not just rat me out to Cabot, Lowell and Hoist anyway?

Any help that can be provided is greatly appreciated as I really dont know where to even start with any of this!

fatbelly

You might now start to get letters.

If the one with the ccj writes to you, and makes it clear they know there is a ccj (debt buyers don't always get passed this information) then you will need to set up a payment plan or settle it by full or part payment.

If the ones that are statute barred contact you, respond with the SB letter

If anyone else contacts you then use the prove-it!

Cleaning your credit file is a separate matter. Probably best dealt with in a thread of your own.

fbrown

fatbelly wrote: »

You might now start to get letters.

If the one with the ccj writes to you, and makes it clear they know there is a ccj (debt buyers don't always get passed this information) then you will need to set up a payment plan or settle it by full or part payment.

If the ones that are statute barred contact you, respond with the SB letter

If anyone else contacts you then use the prove-it!

Cleaning your credit file is a separate matter. Probably best dealt with in a thread of your own.

Yeah I'm going on the basis that I will need to set up a repayment plan of some sort for the CCJ but id rather not do that straight away until im in regular permanent employment. My question now then is if I am chased by a collection agency who DOESNT know about the CCJ what then? Play dumb? I figure theres 12months before the CCJ drops of my credit report but id rather not spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder because of it, when I'm back on my feet firmly I don't think two grand will be a problem, right now though its massive one!

So am I right in sitting back for a few months and seeing what happens? I'd like to get on with up the incorrect stuff on my report as I'm a bit outraged about it BUT I'm more worried about "waking the sleeping bear" so to speak and making my life even more complicated than it already is by drawing attention to myself.

Thanks so much for your help Fatbelly

Laura2000

Hi, Does an email count as acknowledging the debt in writing?
Many thanks in advance for any advice.