Statute of Limitation? Eh?

petetidball

Right,as I understand it this is the idea that if you've got a debt that you've managed to avoid paying or even communicating with the company about for 6 years it's written off. Is this right? Or if they can provide paperwork proving you ran up the debt does this mean you still have to pay it?

I have a friend (don't we all?) who ran up a large overdraft with a high street bank in their second year at uni, which was six years ago. The overdraft was around £500 over the overdraft limit, so the actual amount was not huge but they couldn't afford to pay the charges on top of the amount. If this has been added to for six years, we're talking a lot of money. So basically I'm asking if this is covered by a statute of limitations? If the bank caught up with them, would they be forced to pay it? I know it seems like they're trying to get out of paying it back, but who wouldn't try to get out of paying debts if they could, and even if the bank caught up with them they'd try claiming back any charges to reduce the amount.

Thanks for any help.

oscar52

There has to be absolutely no contact for six years - ie no payment to the debt, no letters, no phone calls - basically no admittance whatsoever.

petetidball

There has been no contact between the bank and my friend. They haven't put any money in the account, or taken any out, or sent or recieved any letters. So if this has been the case for six years, are they able to refuse to pay anything towards the debt? I'd have personally thought banks would have come up with a way to prevent it. If the debt has been sold on, does the six years start again from when the debt was sold or is it still six years from the last contact?

oscar52

still six years from any contact. As for banks getting around it, they cant, its a government act

CFC

petetidball wrote: »

If the bank caught up with them, would they be forced to pay it? I know it seems like they're trying to get out of paying it back, but who wouldn't try to get out of paying debts if they could, and even if the bank caught up with them they'd try claiming back any charges to reduce the amount.

Thanks for any help.

Actually I think you'll find that most of the people on here wouldn't try to get out of paying debts....

petetidball

Sorry, but i don't agree. Even stuff like trying to get interest frozen when on a DMP or reclaiming charges is a way of getting out of paying debts or the full amount at least whether it's the original amount or added charges, unfair though they may be. I'm not having a go at anyone here as I myself am reclaiming charges at the moment. But no one wants to pay back any more than they have to or can be forced to. Unless you've money to throw away, and I'm guessing not many people who post on here do, your priority has to be to minimise the amount you repay so you can provide a decent standard of living for you and your family. If I could get out of paying any of my debts, I would, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I accept responsibility for the debts I have, and I will repay them, but it's not something I enjoy doing!

CFC

Frozen interest, or reclaiming bank charges (both perfectly legitimate) is not the same as deliberately using tactics to try to avoid paying debts.

I think that you'll find you are in a minority on this board in your thinking on this. Most people on here are asking for advice as to how to save expenditure etc rather than seeking to avoid paying their debts.

You say if you could get out of paying your debts you would - well you can always choose to disappear with no forwarding address, or go bankrupt. I suspect you would actually do neither, despite saying that you'd get out of it if you could....

azjh77

We had a similiar problem about 8 years ago. We called in a plumber to sort out a burst pipe - so we thought- he did 10 minutes work and charged about £600 !! We had to give him 6 post dated cheques. However after the event a friend mentioned we were being ripped off and that we should go to the CAB, who suggested cancelling the cheques and demanding a full itemised invoice of the work. We were eventually sent a CCJ form to explain why we weren't paying, I explained that I wasn't unwilling to pay, just wanted to know what I was paying for...sent it all off, never heard from them again. It has to be about 8/9 years ago as we had no kids then, and we've since moved house. I always assumed we had a CCJ against us but our credit rating thing doesn't mention one...

tomterm8

azjh77 wrote: »

It has to be about 8/9 years ago as we had no kids then, and we've since moved house. I always assumed we had a CCJ against us but our credit rating thing doesn't mention one...

You do not have a CCJ against you; the next stage would have been a summons to your local court. After that you would appear in court on the proscribed date, and only when the judge had made a decision against you would a CCJ have been issued. If you paid this within a specified time limit, you could apply to have the CCJ removed by the court. Basically, a scare tactic, as IMHO a judge would have refered this issue to the OFT - a wage of £3,800 an hour seems excessive.

In any case, the CCJ would have fallen off your records by now - not (necessarily) barred by statute, but also not visible on your record.:money: