Diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsakoff and loan debt from 1998

Doobiesis

Good Afternoon

I am after some advice on my partners brother. He has been diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsakoff and is still in hospital with the plan of him going into a care home of some kind in the next few weeks.

He has a debt collection agency chasing his elderly dad for a loan from 1998. It was a loan for £1500 iniatially but has gone to £7k and his dad is panicking as they call and send letters constantly. We have recently got his brother to sign a permission slip under the Data Protection Act to act on his behalf but were unsure of where we stand legally as the debt is so old, and he's not of sound mind anymore.

I have sent them a Statute Barred letter which they have completely ignored. But I think he has paid a few £10 here and there. We have advised them of his diagnosis but the relentless calls and letters continue.

Any help would be greatly received.

jonesMUFCforever

The debt will not be statute barred unless 6 years has elapsed without any payment or acknowledgement of the debt.
I'm not sure from your post whether this is the case.

I would suggest you get in touch with one of the debt charities such as Stepchange. Bankruptcy or an IVA may be an option.

macman

A diagnosis of serious illness, even if it affects his mental capacity, does not invalidate the debt, so that is not really relevant as far as the creditor is concerned.
You firstly need to find out if any payments have been made within the last six years, however small, as if so this will have restarted the clock again on the 6 year period before the debt is statute barred. So start by asking the creditor to supply a proper statement.
But If he is not of sound mind then signing a permission slip or even a POA will not have any legal basis, so you may have some dificulty persuading the creditor to deal with a third party.