Statute of Limitations on debt collections

mattymann

Hi People

Just wondering if anyone knows what the limitations are of debt collections agencies chasing down people for money.

I bought a computer on Hire purchase about 7 or 8 years ago and then defaulted on the payments basically because i was in financial dire straits and had to pay my mortgage first! but the company offered me a 50% discount on the outstanding amount and said if i pay it they will clear the debt, so i had a friend who offered to pay it and so i said yes, then low and behold i get a letter 2 months after i paid asking for the remaining amount, i phoned them and they said that basically i didn't have anything on paper to say that this was the case and so they have chased me ever since, but i've managed to avoid them....i have no intention of paying liars and thieves,
so when can i finally get my mail without worrying who wants what?

many thanks!

magpiecottage

mattymann wrote: »

I bought a computer on Hire purchase about 7 or 8 years ago and then defaulted on the payments basically because i was in financial dire straits and had to pay my mortgage first!

When did you default. The way you say it sounds like you defaulted almost immediately.

If you believe they offered you an discount to clear have the debt cancelled then the onus is on you to prove what you assert. That means not only proving the discount was offered but that you fully complied with it.

i have no intention of paying liars and thieves

That seems a rather churlish way to write of somebody you claim offered to write off half your debt.

mattymann

magpiecottage wrote: »

When did you default. The way you say it sounds like you defaulted almost immediately.

If you believe they offered you an discount to clear have the debt cancelled then the onus is on you to prove what you assert. That means not only proving the discount was offered but that you fully complied with it.



That seems a rather churlish way to write of somebody you claim offered to write off half your debt.

hi

thanks for the reply, i didn't default straight away, i was making the payments by direct debit regularly.....for about 8-10 months, but hit hard times, lost job etc etc...when the debt moved to a collections company i offered to pay them £10 a month, they wanted £100 a month, which was far surpassed what i was originally paying, so i told them to take to court, as the courts would find that the circumstances i was in, even paying £10 a month was generous. anyway, to cut a long story short....eventually they said i could pay half of what was owed and they would clear the debt as paid off, so i did that through a friend......then they reneged on that and said i had no proof, as this was all done via the telephone and they wanted the rest of the amount with the usual threats of charges incurred etc.

as for being churlish, maybe it is but you sound like you think it's ok to say one thing and do another?? they offered me the discount purely to get something out of me and had no intention of honouring what they were promising! hardly seems fair does it?

cheers