Can anybody help please

Lightening_star

Hi guys am new here. I have a dilema. I reciever a letter from a debt agency telling me that even though court proceedings have expired as the debt is 15 years old they are still entitled to ask for it, is this true? I was led to believe after 5 years or so the debt is wiped off? also how come I am getting credit card offers and over drafts if my credit file was that bad? or is having a debt of 15 years separate from having a credit rating presently?

the letter also states 70% discount, meaning I only have to pay £200 when the debt is £1,150, why would they make this much reduction? is it worth paying off a 15 year old debt? or shall I leave it as I was advised 15 years ago not to contact them?

My only concern is how can they say the debt still exists when its been 15 years I have NOT communicated with any agency in any way? does this 15 year old debt affect my credit rating and file? if so then how was I able to a capital one card and other pre-selected offers of credit card and also an over draft? unless an existing 15 year old debt is a separate issue from having a decent credit file presently?

if anybody can give any advice I would be so grateful. They say that they have a right to ask for the debt as it still exists, but how can it exist when it has been 15 years? or are they bluffing?

thanks

Gaz83

Unless you're in Scotland, debts don't just disappear after they become statute barred. The debt still exists - you still owe the money. They can continue to ask for it as often as they want. They just can't use the courts to pursue it.

They are probably asking for the £200 as they believe there's a high chance they won't get anything, and £200 is £200 more than £0.

It won't affect your credit file any more and won't show on your credit history, which is why you'll have been able to get further credit.

Lightening_star

Thanks mate. I just did not know agencies can do this. So I am assuming paying them the amount they are asking will not change anything such as credit file and rating? so the wise thing to do is not pay/or contact them at all?

Also on the bottom of the letter it says something about Experian, does this mean the checked with experian? if so does that mean that particular credit file provider has a low score/rating against my name? if so then surely I would not have been able to get a capital one card and pre-selected offers regularly.

Unless old debts can affecthe credit file in the future?

Is it true debts that are over 10 years or so can stay on the file ? if so can I get rid of this somehow? surely this should not be appearing on my file after so many years, surely we should not be the ones to tell them to write them off.

eskbanker

You can check your credit file yourself to see how it looks....

Gaz83

Lightening_star wrote: »

Thanks mate. I just did not know agencies can do this. So I am assuming paying them the amount they are asking will not change anything such as credit file and rating? so the wise thing to do is not pay/or contact them at all?

Also on the bottom of the letter it says something about Experian, does this mean the checked with experian? if so does that mean that particular credit file provider has a low score/rating against my name? if so then surely I would not have been able to get a capital one card and pre-selected offers regularly.

Unless old debts can affecthe credit file in the future?

Is it true debts that are over 10 years or so can stay on the file ? if so can I get rid of this somehow? surely this should not be appearing on my file after so many years, surely we should not be the ones to tell them to write them off.

They can continue to ask for the debt indefinitely. They just can't do anything if you don't respond.

You can check your file yourself but don't worry about the score, they don't exist.

The only decision you have to make is a moral one of whether to pay the debt you owe or not.

Anthorn

Lightening_star wrote: »

Hi guys am new here. I have a dilema. I reciever a letter from a debt agency telling me that even though court proceedings have expired as the debt is 15 years old they are still entitled to ask for it, is this true? I was led to believe after 5 years or so the debt is wiped off? also how come I am getting credit card offers and over drafts if my credit file was that bad? or is having a debt of 15 years separate from having a credit rating presently?

the letter also states 70% discount, meaning I only have to pay £200 when the debt is £1,150, why would they make this much reduction? is it worth paying off a 15 year old debt? or shall I leave it as I was advised 15 years ago not to contact them?

My only concern is how can they say the debt still exists when its been 15 years I have NOT communicated with any agency in any way? does this 15 year old debt affect my credit rating and file? if so then how was I able to a capital one card and other pre-selected offers of credit card and also an over draft? unless an existing 15 year old debt is a separate issue from having a decent credit file presently?

if anybody can give any advice I would be so grateful. They say that they have a right to ask for the debt as it still exists, but how can it exist when it has been 15 years? or are they bluffing?

thanks

It's a ploy to get you to admit the debt in writing and so invalidate the statute barring. Just ignore it. If it's been over 6 years since the default it won't be on your credit history so you can't check it. However I would advise checking on your credit history for CCJs.

lisyloo

is how can they say the debt still exists when its been 15 years I have NOT communicated with any agency in any way?

The debt still exists and of course they can ask for it if they want.
They just can't enforce it in law so have no way to enforce it.

If you are concerned about your credit report, then get all 3 (call credit experian and equifax). Call credit can be obtained free from Noddle, Equifax free from clearscore. Experian you should pay £2 for a statutory report (don't bother paying for any scores and don't bother with the free trial is my advice).

I don't agree with the "just ignore it" although we don't know the circumstances or whether you are disputing it.
If this is real debt then morally you owe the money.
However we don't know the full story, perhaps you feel you don't.
I would suggest you consider putting yourself in the shoes of the lender. If you'd lent money to a friend would you expect them to pay you back or say "sorry mate, you can't make me".
As I said, I'm not judging because I don't know what's happened - just pointing out there is a moral decision to make. Maybe you've already made it after all this time?

sleepyjones

Is it not the case that the lender just sells the debt on, so if you owe them £1000, they'll sell the debt onto someone else for £700 (and write off the £300 as a loss), who might then sell it on again if they have no luck in recovering the money, so whoever is looking for the £200 now possibly only paid £150 for the debt in the first place?
So although there is the moral argument, you're not actually giving the money to the people you borrowed it off in the first place, as they'll taken the loss and sold on the debt already?

bris

The debt has dropped off your credit file a long time ago and even though they can continue to ask for it refusing to communicate with them in any way will once again see the letters eventually stop.


The debt can not be defaulted again so ignoring them will be the best course of action as there is nothing they can do.

AlTheElf

Yeah it won't still be on your credit report from 15 years ago - as memory serves your credit report stores info for 7 years.

glentoran99

Anthorn wrote: »

It's a ploy to get you to admit the debt in writing and so invalidate the statute barring. Just ignore it. If it's been over 6 years since the default it won't be on your credit history so you can't check it. However I would advise checking on your credit history for CCJs.

that's nonsense, a debt cannot become un statute barred