Am I statute Barred??

Becs85

Hi,

I am new to this so any help would be great.

My money problems began when I became ill whist pregnant which was shortly followed by my husband being made redundant. We had our home repossessed in January 2006 and in total we have around £30,000 of debt. We tried to enter in to an IVA 5 years ago but it failed as the payments were far too high. Since the IVA we have had no contact what so ever from MOST of the debt companies.

When and how can I become statute barred? Does the debt get cleared from our credit history or does it stay on their until it is paid?

Any help would be great thanks

P.S Our biggest debt is with Welcome Finance who I believe is no longer in business, does this make any difference?

matttye

If you're in England/Wales, it'll be another year before debts are statute barred. Pretty sure attempting to enter an IVA will count as 'acknowledging' a debt, so you last acknowledged them 5 years ago.

If in Scotland, they'll be barred now, as it's 5 years in Scotland.

When a debt becomes statute barred it just means it's unenforceable in court. The creditor can continue to ask you for the money, and can even make a claim through the courts, but you would defend it on the basis of it being statute barred and the claim would be kicked out.

The debt will disappear from your credit history 6 years from the default date or settlement date; whether it's statute barred or not doesn't make a difference to when it drops off your report. If you haven't received a default and the lenders have been reporting late payments or AP markers for years, you'll need to make a complaint and ask for that to be changed to a default, but to do that you'll need to acknowledge the debt, so best to wait until it's statute barred first.

Becs85

Thank you so much for your reply. Is there a way of finding out for sure when the last time I acknowledged the debts without contacting the companies directly?
Thanks

HappyMJ

Becs85 wrote: »

Thank you so much for your reply. Is there a way of finding out for sure when the last time I acknowledged the debts without contacting the companies directly?
Thanks

Looking at your credit report. Once they come off your credit report you can borrow money again at preferential rates.

spacey2012

A clue often is some bottom feeding debt collector starts contacting you when they become barred.

matttye

Becs85 wrote: »

Thank you so much for your reply. Is there a way of finding out for sure when the last time I acknowledged the debts without contacting the companies directly?
Thanks

Bank statements, if they go back that far and you still have access to the bank you used to pay from.

happy_bunny_2

Keep an eye on your credit file, as the bottom feeder DCAs like to change the default date just before the SB date so you will contact them.

Not allowed, can be fixed, but does happen frequently.

Tixy

As you have been in an IVA to work out when your debts may become statute barred then you need to know the date the IVA failed as a starting point.

Then you need to consider if you have paid anything towards any debt since then, or if you have written to any of your creditors since the IVA failed you need to look back at what those letters said (and if any would count as acknowledging the debt).

If any debts have CCJs against them (either from before you entered in to the IVA, or since it failed) then those debts will never become statute barred.

From the sound of it its likely still a year at least until you would reach the 6 year anniversary for any debts, in which case obviously its quite possible that some of your creditors may take court action before then.

With regards to Welcome finance - it makes no difference at all. If you have any debts with a lender that ceases trading or even goes in to administration the debts of the company are sold to a third party, and the date such a debt would become statute barred does not change as a result of that sale.