Court or statute barred??

thetimes

Hi,

I posted on here in general terms a few weeks ago, regarding an old 'private' debt from a friend (ex friend) and whether debts of this nature become statute barred as do bank, credit card debts etc.

I am inclined to offer to start repaying the debt on a monthly basis but want to be absolutely sure where I stand before I contact him in case this person refuses my offer.

The exact details are as follows. I borrowed £5,800 in 1994 to fund a business start up which subsequently failed. We lost touch shortly afterwards until i received a letter from him in 1997. I paid £500.00 against the debt in Dec 1997, plus another £200.00 shortly after this.
We lost touch again until I received a letter from his new address in July 2000 demanding the debt be repaid in full. I was unable at that point to offer anything, so shame on me, ignored it.

I heard nothing more, until another letter dated 17th April 2001 appeared, threatening court action for the incorrect sum of £8,000 plus interest. I remember writing to him explaining his error in the amount and subsequently heard nothing else from him.

It appears he also wrote to me in 2010 bringing up the matter again, but i never received this letter.
Between 2001 and the present, i had understood the creditor had moved abroad.
In June this year, totally out of the blue I received a letter from a DCA demanding £7,500 within 4 days otherwise they would start legal action. (As they sent it second class I didn't receive it until after the deadline anyway). I rang the DCA explaining the creditor was an old friend and I was more than willing to discuss it with him face to face. This offer was refused, so i demanded the DCA provide me with exact detail of the debt.
Yesterday I got a really aggressive, very personal letter from the creditor demanding payment within 14 days or it would be passed for court action. His contact details are on this letter so i intend contacting him directly and potentially put an offer of monthly payments to him.

Before i do anything i need to know my exact legal position. Can he still take me to court or is the debt now classed as statute barred.

sistafromanothermista

I would *imagine* it wouldn't be statute barred but i am no way an expert on the ins or outs i'm afraid.
I would offer installments to him, after all you did borrow it and it was lent in good faith......

RAS

What has changed since your previous thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4003551?

Have you read the responses there?

thetimes

Have just put more 'flesh on the bones' so to speak with dates and specifics, and wanted to see if anything in there altered anything!

sistafromanothermista

thetimes wrote: »

Have just put more 'flesh on the bones' so to speak with dates and specifics, and wanted to see if anything in there altered anything!

Fair enough. Next time just *bump* the old thread you can always edit it to add a little more info.
I hope you get it sorted though

fermi

Did you give National Debtline a call as suggested in the previous thread?

Freephone: 0808 808 4000

We can give an opinion based on our experiences, but if you want something a bit more solid then at a minimum you should be talking to a professional debt advisor.

thetimes

Ok. Thanks people. not wanting to waste anyone's time. Not used this before and things had moved on a bit re letters etc. Apologies if i used the wrong protocols etc.

DVardysShadow

thetimes wrote: »

The exact details are as follows. I borrowed £5,800 in 1994 to fund a business start up which subsequently failed. We lost touch shortly afterwards until i received a letter from him in 1997. I paid £500.00 against the debt in Dec 1997, plus another £200.00 shortly after this.
We lost touch again until I received a letter from his new address in July 2000 demanding the debt be repaid in full. I was unable at that point to offer anything, so shame on me, ignored it.

I heard nothing more, until another letter dated 17th April 2001 appeared, threatening court action for the incorrect sum of £8,000 plus interest. I remember writing to him explaining his error in the amount and subsequently heard nothing else from him.

It appears he also wrote to me in 2010 bringing up the matter again, but i never received this letter.
Between 2001 and the present, i had understood the creditor had moved abroad.
In June this year, totally out of the blue I received a letter from a DCA demanding £7,500 within 4 days otherwise they would start legal action. (As they sent it second class I didn't receive it until after the deadline anyway). I rang the DCA explaining the creditor was an old friend and I was more than willing to discuss it with him face to face. This offer was refused, so i demanded the DCA provide me with exact detail of the debt.
Yesterday I got a really aggressive, very personal letter from the creditor demanding payment within 14 days or it would be passed for court action. His contact details are on this letter so i intend contacting him directly and potentially put an offer of monthly payments to him.

Before i do anything i need to know my exact legal position. Can he still take me to court or is the debt now classed as statute barred.

OK, when you wrote to respond to his letter in 2001, we can assume that you acknowledged the debt, but until the present time you have not paid anything towards it. So, England and Wales, more than 6 years have elapsed. It is Statute Barred.

edit - you made a payment in 2003 according to your other thread. Please make sure that you have your facts correct, or you will come unstuck

Write to the DCA and tell them the debt is Statute Barred and that it has not been acknowledged in writing nor anything paid towards it for over 6 years and that the matter is closed. Any further contact from the DCA will be treated as harassment.

Keep a copy of your letter and send one to your ex friend.

If you are minded to make monthly payments, don't make an offer to be negotiated. Just tell him that the debt is statute barred but you will be paying without prejudice to your position that the debt is Statute Barred. Tell him to that if he continues to engage a debt collector, you have counted the current instance as harassment on his behalf and if any further debt collection activities occur, you will proceed against him for harassment. Enclose 1 month's payment with the letter and take it from there.

thetimes

Many thanks for your reply. That is extremely helpful and i sincerely thank you for your time.

Just 1 more aspect to this ongoing saga. In the letter the creditor sent me last week, he refers to me as a 'liar, a cheat and a thief' and that if the owed amount was not paid in full within 14 days he will commence court proceedings (which you have amply covered in your reply) but also quote, "will ensure that due publicity is given locally and that your credit status is adversely affected".

I now know from his letter to me that the creditor has returned to living locally to me and he also used a local DCA to act for him.

Any thoughts and advice please?

DVardysShadow

Not a lot more.

Reading back over the threads, I am trying to see where your former friend is coming from. Obviously he is retired and has been for some considerable time and who knows what effect that the lack of this money has had on his life. Obviously he is very bitter about it and even now, it is still a significant sum of money.

The threat about affecting your credit status is largely empty. Provided you are certain that the last payment you made was in 2003, you would just defend any court action with 'Statute Barred, last payment £500 in 2003 and no admission of the debt for the subsequent 6 years'. And ask for costs. Well, no you would not - it would not get to a hearing - it would be decided as a matter of law unless your former friend starts telling porkies.

As for the letter, well good ammunition for you. If you are minded to play dirty, you could drop a copy to the debt collector when you tell them the debt is Statute Barred and tell them that you will include this correspondence as part of the harassment complaint, if they contact you further. They will probably drop their client very quickly.

thetimes

Thanks once again, very much appreciated.