Statutory Demand - what should I do?

dragonstgeorge

Dear All,

Please can you help? I have recieved today an SD for £4kish from Royal Bank of Scotland (an account I think i had appx 6 years ago) from 1st Credit.

What should be my first action? Do I request a copy of the credit agreement? Or send a letter saying its staute barred? How can I find out how old the debt is within the time scale of the SD?

My OH is a major worrier and is panicking and thinking about getting another loan to pay this one to stop any court action........

We had an SD about 4 months ago from the same company as this recent SD and in a complete panic my husband arranged a loan to pay off this debt. How I wish I found this thread before then!!!!

Reading other threads my gut feeling is that they have tried it on with us again (as we panicked) and paid the debt (not the full amount but appx 40%of it).

But I would be very grateful if you could advise as to what I should next with regards to this new SD. Also, 1st Credit were insisting we paid a minimum of £300 per month to prevent any court action going ahead. Are they able to do this as I really can't afford to pay that much each month?

Thank you in advance for your help.

brainfreeze

Hi

Don't panic and please don't get a loan to sort this out. See what everyone here can offer first.

On post 2 of this thread - Bailiffchaser posted a usefull letter template which could be useful to you. The important bit is to make sure you state that do not acknowledge the debt as if it is over 6 years since contact it is likely to be statute barred.

BUT don't send this letter until other more experienced MSErs come along later - they may be able to point you to more appropriate letter templates that fit your situation

Please don't worry too much (easy to say and hard to do, I know) as you will get loads of support on this forum.

dragonstgeorge

Any other suggestions out there? Would be grateful for any advice.....

many thanks

fermi

I would read through this which is about debts more than 6 years old.

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_factsheets/liability_for_debts_and_the_limitation_act.htm

and then this about Statutory Demands

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/legal_issues_explained/statutory_demand.htm

They may answer your questions better than we can.

If not please come back and ask some more.

dragonstgeorge

Many thanks for your help, I shall be writing to them advising the debt is statute barred (think it is) if not I shall ask for copy of the contract.

One last question - can they still enforce the SD while i am in communication with them?

Thanks again for your help!

AGB863

if you send the letter stating that you believe the demand is staute barred, it is up to the collector to proove that it is not.

chevalier

If you dispute the debt, then no matter what they say, it puts the debt into dispute, and they can't proceed until the matter has been resolved. This won't stop them lieing their backsides off and threatening you with all sorts to get you to pay up.

I would suggest that you get a free trial with experien (I think you can still get one via https://www.quidco.com and get cash back), this will have all your outstanding debts on it.

best of luck
chev

dragonstgeorge

Many thanks for the advie, Have sent letter to them stating that I thing the debt is statute barred and sent recorded del.


Thanks again for your help and advice - will keep you posted.

dave134

Is it simply a written demand for payment, or is it a Statuatory Demand as shown on form 6.1 (http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/forms/6-1.pdf)

If its the latter, then unless you go to court within the 18 days specified, the creditor can petition for your bankruptcy without further notice (or court action)

With a true SD, the debt can be disputed in court, but you must take the positive action of challenging it, not simply waiting for the summons then defending it.

If on the other hand, it is just a letter asking for payment, the other advice is fairly good.