Statute Barred - Default or last payment

RustyHAT_2

Hi All,

I am hoping you can all help me.

I received letters for debts in which the last payment was made in May 2007 so is now over 6 years so I believe is Statute Barred.

The default dates for these debts vary from September to December 2007 according to my credit file (checked via Noddle.co.uk).

I sent the letter as detailed in the post here

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2606811&page=5

I received response from a couple of companies who have returned the debts to the original holder as they have no evidence to pursue.

One company, 1st Credit, confirmed that the last payment (acknowledgement) was made in May 2007 however are citing the following as evidence that they can still pursue and are demanding payment.

forwarn.com/news/db.asp?PageName=Court_of_Appeal_provide_welcome_relief_for_Finance_Companies

They are also stating that I cannot pursue this with Financial Obudsman Service as "the matter of the account being statute barred is a matter that only a court can decide"

Please can someone advise my position here?

Thanks all for your help

Tixy

I cannot see the information in your second link.

However I assume from the rest of your thread its something about the date of the default being relevant to the date a debt becomes statute barred? If this debt or the link is about overdrafts then can you confirm.

The default date recorded on your credit file is irrelevant to the date a debt becomes statute barred.

Might be worth seeking confirmation from national debtline helpline as to how best to respond to the debt collector in your case.

RustyHAT_2

Thanks for your response - the debt is for a credit card.

Apologies for the links, I cannot post links as a "new user"!!

here is the original link again (Google it and click on the Ford and Warn page)

Court_of_Appeal_provide_welcome_relief_for_Finance_Companies

rizla_king

RustyHAT wrote: »

One company, 1st Credit, confirmed that the last payment (acknowledgement) was made in May 2007 however are citing the following as evidence that they can still pursue and are demanding payment.

Was this a hire purchase debt? Unless it was, that ruling does not apply.

spacey2012

The position is they can demand payment as often as they like.
If it is barred, any defended court action would fail.
They will continue asking as long as you continue communicating with them.

RustyHAT_2

Hi Rizla,

It was a credit card debt.

If I write "I do not acknowledge any debt to you or your company" at the top, can I write back stating to them that this ruling does not apply to a credit card debt and that the debt is Statute Barred?

This would be the 3rd letter I have sent them just going round in circles with them!!

Tixy

Link here now for anyone else reading http://www.forwarn.com/news/db.asp?PageName=Court_of_Appeal_provide_welcome_relief_for_Finance_Companies

I would suggest contacting national debtline for clarification on this case and if/how it impacts on your particular debt.
I would think its possible that the court of appeal case will have a different impact on a fixed term agreement such as the one in the case to a revolving credit repayable on demand agreement.

Personally I might be tempted to wait for a few weeks before replying anything at the moment.
The chance of 1st credit taking legal action right now is probably slim, and your previous letter won't have counted as acknowledgement.

rizla_king

No debt collectors have used that case in court yet. If it applied, they would have by now.

rizla_king

RustyHAT wrote: »

If I write "I do not acknowledge any debt to you or your company" at the top, can I write back stating to them that this ruling does not apply to a credit card debt and that the debt is Statute Barred?

Nothing stopping you. Burden of proof is on them, not you.

sourcrates

Ah 1st credit, my oldest friends, I once had soo much contact with them I almost believed we were related, there lovely people were sooo desperate to "get in touch" with me, we exchanged letters for years, it was a love/hate relationship though, and in the end, I had to break it off with them, anyway enough of my old musings, there chancers are the debt collection industry's "last chance saloon" they will say and do ANYTHING in order to make you believe they have a legitimate right to collect the debt they say you owe, FACT, if the debt is a credit card debt and its been more than 6 yrs since you made a payment on the account the debt becomes statute barred which means they or anyone else, cannot get a court judgement against you, don't interact with these people anymore, the more you correspond with them, the more they will pursue you, ignore them completely, there is nothing they can do, and they know it, don't write, don't phone, don't even think 1st credit, get on with your life and rejoice in the fact that, like me, you have had one over on the worst DCA in the business. :rotfl:

rizla_king

Worst Credit would swear the sky is green, grass is pink, and Elvis was a time travelling alien if they thought it would make people pay up.