Do Debt Collectors Ever Give Up?

Sweetie_2

Five years ago, a young friend of mine ran up a debt of around £3k on two credit cards (from the same bank) and then left the country to live overseas. Five years later, he has returned to the UK to live permanently, and would like to one day purchase a house which will require good credit. He returned prepared to pay off his old debt, however he is concerned about getting stung badly by the collection agency by the interest, which has accumulated.

He had heard once that debt collectors give up after 7 or so years, which I think he is hoping for. Does anyone know when and if debt collection agencies give up on recouping their losses? Can anyone recommend the best way to deal with this problem?

He is not sure if the debt collectors have given up or not, however his old flatmate forwarded some of his post which contained letters threatening a CCJ, and stating that he now owes £5k. The letters were not dated, so he does not know how current they are. How does one find out if there is a CCJ against them?

He is afraid to have a credit check done, just in case this would somehow flag the debt collection agency of his whereabouts. Do credit checks flag collection agencies? Or is this meant to be private information?

He is currently unemployed and looking for work, he wants to clear his credit rating, however he obviously needs to have job to be able to pay it all off. Does anyone know how a debt agency would deal with a currently unemployed person who wants to come clean on their debt? Also, would he be able to renegotiate the amount owed to something lower, and closer to the original debt of £3k?

Any advice? Basically he wants to find out as much information about the process before he dives in.

(also posted in credit cards)

Malestrom

He can apply for his credit records online at Experian and Equifax or he can do it by post. He will need both reports to see if any CCJ's have been issued against him and by now, I would suspect they have.

If he had a lump sum then he could offer his creditors a Full and Final Settlement figure, which could be between 50%-80% of the total debt and which they might accept. However, if he has no money and no job then this isn't an option.

The length of time that a creditor can pursue a debt is generally six years. However, there are other factors to be taken into consideration. National Debtline have some excellent information here.

Sweetie_2

Thanks, very useful information