Loan Written Off?

bunter

hi there, i am considering bankruptcy and have got my 2 credit reports from Experian, Equifax and Call Credit.

however on none of these credit reports is a loan i know i took out about 9 years ago and i was wondering if it has been written off? if so i may be able to avoid bankruptcy altogether so is there a way to find out if a debt has been written off?

thanks. chris

debt_doctor

Well if it there has been no action taken during a clear 6 year period from when the debt became due and you have not made any payment or written to them about the debt then that debt is unrecoverable through the courts - but the debt still may exist, just nothing the creditor can do to enforce it.
Also as the information is more than 6 years old it has 'fallenl off' your credit report.


DD

bunter

debt_doctor wrote: »

Well if it there has been no action taken during a clear 6 year period from when the debt became due and you have not made any payment or written to them about the debt then that debt is unrecoverable through the courts - but the debt still may exist, just nothing the creditor can do to enforce it.
Also as the information is more than 6 years old it has 'fallenl off' your credit report.


DD

thanks for the reply. so is there any way to trace whether this debt still exists?

oscar52

debt_doctor wrote: »

Well if it there has been no action taken during a clear 6 year period from when the debt became due and you have not made any payment or written to them about the debt then that debt is unrecoverable through the courts - but the debt still may exist, just nothing the creditor can do to enforce it.
Also as the information is more than 6 years old it has 'fallenl off' your credit report.
DD

This isnt quite correct.

If you have made no acknowledgement of the debt of any kind, then it becomes statute barred. Its not just the courts that cant enforce it, but you cannot be chased by anyone for it and are not legally liable for the debt.

As DD says, if the account was closed / defaulted /paid off more than six years ago, then it would not show.

Why would you want to find out if anything is still owing or "trace the debt" given the above?

boogiemaster

Your debt will have fallen off your credit report and become statue barred which means they won't be able to take you to court over it and you don't have to pay it now anyway.

If its not on your credit file then forget about the debt its history now

bunter

oscar52 wrote: »

This isnt quite correct.

If you have made no acknowledgement of the debt of any kind, then it becomes statute barred. Its not just the courts that cant enforce it, but you cannot be chased by anyone for it and are not legally liable for the debt.

As DD says, if the account was closed / defaulted /paid off more than six years ago, then it would not show.

Why would you want to find out if anything is still owing or "trace the debt" given the above?

basically this debt alone accounts for about 40% of my debts. if this one is written off i feel that i can avoid bankruptcy and pay the rest of my debts off once i can find another job. obviously id sooner avoid bankruptcy

oscar52

bunter wrote: »

basically this debt alone accounts for about 40% of my debts. if this one is written off i feel that i can avoid bankruptcy and pay the rest of my debts off once i can find another job. obviously id sooner avoid bankruptcy

If its not there, I wouldnt worry about it.

Have you considered all the other alternatives for your situation?

mo786uk

If a debt is statute barred (i.e no acknowledgement has been made in 6 years - that is to say you havent paid any money in 6 years or admitted oweing the debt in writing) - that means the creditor cannot take you to court for it.

They can still chase you - however if you write back saying you know it is statute barred and you will not be paying then they must stop.

The debt still exists but you cannot be taken to court for it - so its kind of in limbo and you won't have to pay it.

Your credit file only goes back 6 years but just because it has fallen off is no gurantee it is statute barred.

The only way to find out is by writing to the compan yand aksing for an account summary (but being sure not to acknowledge the debt) - you can do a 'subject access request' under the sata protection act which forces them to give you the info.

Obviousl if they are saying there is a payment on the account say 4 years ago and it is accurate then it is not statute barred.

above applies for england and wales not scotland.

in scotland the SB period is 5 years.

oscar52

mo786uk wrote: »

If a debt is statute barred (i.e no acknowledgement has been made in 6 years - that is to say you havent paid any money in 6 years or admitted oweing the debt in writing) - that means the creditor cannot take you to court for it.

They can still chase you - however if you write back saying you know it is statute barred and you will not be paying then they must stop.

The debt still exists but you cannot be taken to court for it - so its kind of in limbo and you won't have to pay it.

Your credit file only goes back 6 years but just because it has fallen off is no gurantee it is statute barred.

The only way to find out is by writing to the compan yand aksing for an account summary (but being sure not to acknowledge the debt) - you can do a 'subject access request' under the sata protection act which forces them to give you the info.

Obviousl if they are saying there is a payment on the account say 4 years ago and it is accurate then it is not statute barred.

above applies for england and wales not scotland.

in scotland the SB period is 5 years.

They CANNOT (or more correcty, are not supposed) to chase you for any debt. This is confirmed HERE where it states "Even though the lender may be barred from pursuing recovery"

mo786uk

The answers can be found at the Office of Fair Trading and in particular the Debt Collecton Guidance.

Statute barred just means that you cannot be taken to ocurt for it. There is nothing to stop the lender from trying to recover SB debts in other ways.

However the Debt Collection Guidance specifically says lenders cannot keep pursuing SB debts in the debtor informs them that they relise the debt is SB and wont be paying.

There is a bit of a hole in consumer protection in that you can be chased for a SB debt and could pay it back if you are not aware of the OFTs debt collection guidance.

I thin kthe bit you refer to 'pursuing recovery' refers to court action. There are other ays of trying to get money back - i.e sending letters etc

oscar52

mo786uk wrote: »

The answers can be found at the Office of Fair Trading and in particular the Debt Collecton Guidance.

Statute barred just means that you cannot be taken to ocurt for it. There is nothing to stop the lender from trying to recover SB debts in other ways.

However the Debt Collection Guidance specifically says lenders cannot keep pursuing SB debts in the debtor informs them that they relise the debt is SB and wont be paying.

There is a bit of a hole in consumer protection in that you can be chased for a SB debt and could pay it back if you are not aware of the OFTs debt collection guidance.

I thin kthe bit you refer to 'pursuing recovery' refers to court action. There are other ays of trying to get money back - i.e sending letters etc

Fair enough. I suppose it is open to interpretation by the individual of what constitutes pursuit - I wouldnt class a letter as pursuit (thast just my personal opinion). As in my post - they are not supposed to chase, but often do.

I agree there is a hole, and it can be expolited by creditors.