Credit Report and maybe statute barred debt

dennisgr

This is probably a 'no brainer' to the experts but am I right in thinking that a credit report would show the outstanding balance/record of payments made (or not as the case may be) on any loan I may have, even if the loan is now statute barred? I recently obtained my credit report from Experian and it only indicates the two current accounts I use.
Also, could the fact that no loan is shown on my credit report be used as evidence against a DCA which is claiming to be recovering an outstanding debt from me on behalf of a client. Obviously, I would not show them my credit report.

matttye

They stay on your credit reports for 6 years from the default date or settlement date, so it would have gone now if it's been 6 years or more since you defaulted on the agreement.

The lack of entry on your report isn't evidence, as it could simply be that the lender doesn't report to that credit reference agency.

I would think bank statements which show the last payment you made towards the debt could be used as evidence.

dennisgr

Thanks Matttye. I did not pay through my bank account as I did not have one at the time. All records regarding repayments have long since been disposed of - unfortunately.

jamesd

It is for the debt collector to prove that there is a debt owed by you.

You can ask them for details of who, with what date of birth and address and from which lender when borrowed the money, what payments were made, why they believe it is not fully paid off and that the debt, whoever incurred it, is not statute barred. You can also tell them that it's almost certainly your intention to ignore it, since it's statue barred and you've no need to help them to sort out what really happened.

That's not a reply that they will like, of course, but part of the purpose of statute barring is to prevent resurrection of ancient possible debts where there may no longer be adequate records to show what really happened.

fermi

Think very carefully about when you might have last paid or acknowledged the debt in writing. If you are not sure it was over 6 years ago, then depending on the action the collector is taking, it is possible it could be wiser to just ignore for now until you are sure.

See the info in this link: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2606811

If in doubt, contact National Debtline (freephone 0808 808 4000) to see what they think.

jamesd

Agree with fermi. If it is statute barred no harm will come from ignoring them. It it is not statute barred, ignoring them is the best course unless you receive actual communication from a real court about them taking legal action, not just threats from them.

Note also the wording I used, which was carefully constructed to avoid saying that you agreed the debt was yours.

Experian_company_representative

Defaults can't be re-registered on your credit report once they've expired. We have to drop then after six years even if there's still an outstanding balance.

James

InsideInsurance

dennisgr wrote: »

This is probably a 'no brainer' to the experts but am I right in thinking that a credit report would show the outstanding balance/record of payments made (or not as the case may be) on any loan I may have, even if the loan is now statute barred?

CRAs ultimately show the data they are provided, not all providers give data, accounts can fall through the gaps etc.

A debt being statute barred legally doesnt actually stop the money being owed, it just stops the lender having a way to recover it via the courts. If a loan became statute barred but the provider still provided data to the CRA then the CRA would be correct and accurate to display it.