statute barred debt

yellowrose_3

I am being hounded for debts that I inherited from my ex husband, when we were married he lost his buisiness etc and was made a bankrupt. Everything was in my name, but yup, we divorced and now I have a big problem. I cannot pay these debts, and my ex is not interested,. These debts are over 8yrs old and as I became disabled in Feb 2000 I havent worked since living on DLA and IB. I havent acknowledged these debts or attempted payment, but this is causing me extreme stress now. Help.

phatbear

Hi,

Are these debts secured/unsecured also are any of the debts to goverment depts, ie revenue and customs?

all the best

the bear

RAS

Statute Barred Debts

If you have not acknowledged the debt in writing for 6 years or over then the Statute of Limitation Act 1980 comes into force.

http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/cp151apa.pdf

In which section 5 clearly states


Quote:
Time limit for actions founded on simple contract
An action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration
of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.
Many many DCA's will ignore this little fact and try and scare you into paying up, relying on the fact very few people know about it.

They will try and tell you that any telephone calls made count as acknowledgement, they DO NOT the law is clear, they will even try and claim that they have written to you and that even classes as acknowledgement – it does NOT!

I also recommend that you head each letter to them as follows:

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOU OR ANY OTHER ORGANISATION OR COMPANY YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT.

DO NOT just use ‘Without Prejudice’ as there has been a recent test case on this matter, and ‘Without Prejudice’ is no longer sufficient!

What you need to do now is send the letter (by recorded delivery) to them, which can be found here:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/forms/sample_letter_h.php

If the DCA is working on behalf of the original creditor then send both the DCA and the original creditor one!

The good thing is you then have the evidence that they are trying to pursue a barred debt so if they were stupid enough to try and go to court, then that is you immediate defence, which stands up in court.

However, as with all statute barred debts they can’t take you to court but they can continue to hassle you. The latest favourite seems to be a letter telling you that you are morally obliged to pay, rather then legally obliged. Once you tell them that you are not complying, they should not write again.

Hope this helps a bit

Tim

fermi

Thanks RAS.

That is all spot on but the link to the letter is broken as it is a 'on demand' generated pdf.

I have made a permanent copy here: Statute Barred letter