Debt from 6 years ago - statute barred or still liable?

Anon82

Hello All
I have a bit of a long query. I think I know the answer and what I should do, but want some advice please!
6 years ago I moved in to a rented property. The utilities were provided by Utility Warehouse. 6 years ago I didn't care about credit score or about being responsible, and buried my head in the sand and didn't pay my bills other than my rent. I know, I was a t**t.
I moved out of the property after about 10 months having never paid the gas or electricity bills. I think a bailiff came around once but I never answered the door and moved out a few months later.
Fast forward 6 years. My credit is vastly improved. I have a mortgage. I care about paying my bills and being responsible. In the last 2/3 weeks I've been receiving calls and texts from Oriel, asking me to call them urgently for help regarding my Utility Warehouse account. They know my number and my name but that's all they've told me. I have no idea how much is owed.
I want to put my big girl pants on, call and pay it off. I don't want the hassle of the calls and texts and I don't want a bailiff coming to my house. My partner says to hold off. They've not written to me or anything so nothing has been confirmed in writing. He said they'll have to write to me before they can take me to court. I've checked my credit file (Experian, Equifax and CallCredit) and there's nothing relating to UW or a CCJ or anything in there. Could this affect my credit score 6 years on? My partner says I'll have enough time and opportunity to pay before it gets to the point where they've gone to court and done the CCJ stuff, and if it was really worth their time they'd have done it by now. Thoughts?!
I think I know what people are going to say but any advice or help would be appreciated. If it helps, I moved in the property in February 2011 and moved out January 2012.
Thank you :-)

Arleen

The big question is when did the account went into default. As you've moved in in 02.2011, it is highly unlikely that it would also go into default that month. Which means they are free to go to courts and get a CCJ against you.

And while they do have to send you letters before going to courts, please answer that - did you ever provide them with a new address when moving? Because they are obliged to sue you at the last address you've provided them with. And if you didn't keep it up to date that means you won't know about the lawsuit until it will be too late, and you have zero grounds for a set-aside so it will stick with you for 6 years.

You've mentioned something about putting big girl pants on, and yet you are looking for a way to not pay it. Which one is it? The point of putting the big girl pants on is to live with and accept consequences of our actions, even if they will now affect your vastly improved credit score.

Anon82

Hi Arleen,

Thank you for replying.

You're right, of course. I know I should pay it but my partner says not to so I'm conflicted. I know I owe the money. I never told UW I had moved. I never called them at all during the time I lived at the property or responded to any letters. I left a forwarding address with the letting agent so assumed if there was any issues, they'd be able to contact me via them.
Obviously, with it being 6 years down the line, if i don't have to pay it then great! If this is something that could negatively impact me and my credit score then I will.

I wanted advice as to whether they could still apply a CCJ now. They'd have access to my credit file and that contains all of my address changes.

I'm going to call them on my lunch break to sort it.

Thanks again.

Arleen

I did have answer your question about the CCJ. You may not like it but that is the reality - that they will sue it on the last address you've provided them, not something they've found somewhere or were given by a 3rd party. It's your duty to keep the details up to date.

And you really may to rethink the big girl pants thing and get the idea of repaying the debt in your head (if someone owed you money, you would expect them to pay you back, right?). Are there other companies/utilities you didn't pay in that period that may come out and haunt you too? If so, I would recommend getting in touch and settling those accounts before you will find yourself in more credit trouble.

Anon82

Hi.

I already stated I'm calling them at lunchtime to sort it out :-)

No, there are no other companies from that time that I owe or may owe money to. My credit score at that time as shocking so wasn't able to get credit even if I'd wanted it. It was just literally that one bill that I buried my head in the sand over.

Once this is sorted, that's it. Nothing else outstanding.

sourcrates

I would hang fire doing anything.

You call them, then your admitting the debt, when in all possibility, it may be statute barred.

Wait until they write to you, they cant take this any further until they do, its likely they know its statute barred, and are trying to force your hand.

Six years is plenty long enough for them to have collected this debt.

CakeCrusader

It's 6 years from the last payment you made, or 6 years from the last time you acknowledged the debt. If you didn't make any payments at all and you moved in during Feb 2011, it would be just about statute barred or very close to being statute barred. They have had plenty of time to find you, and it's likely that they've sold your debt on to this company at the last minute for very little so they can get something, as something is better than nothing. It's up to you what you do, but I wouldn't call them or write to them.

A lot of people run into problems and stick their head in the sand, so you're not alone.

Anon82

Hi Sourcrates and CakeCrusader,

Thank you both for your replies.

I saw them earlier but never got chance to reply. I didn't call them based on your replies. Do you think it would be best to hold off until I get something official in the post? If this ever happens.

I paid earlier to check all 4 addresses I've lived at since and there are no CCJ's or anything at any of my addresses. Is getting one still a possibility? If I have to pay to avoid that, I'll do it.

I've done a lot of googling on this but still can't find an answer to one question. Can they go to court or get a CCJ against me if I don't answer their recent calls and texts? I'm assuming they'd have to write to me to make it "official". Obviously if I get something in the post I'll respond and pay but at this point I don't even know what I owe.

Thanks again for your replies and help :-)

[Deleted User]

Anon82 wrote: »

Can they go to court or get a CCJ against me if I don't answer their recent calls and texts?

Yes. And remember, they will only write to the last address you gave them.

Ben8282

I would like to ask some questions.
1. What was the state of the utility accounts at the time you left this accommodation?. You say you never paid your bills but surely you must have paid something over the 10 months or the utilities would have been disconnected? Can you clarify this a bit more please.
2. Concerning the phone calls and texts. When you received the phone calls, what has been said exactly? Have you actually discussed anything during these calls or answered their security questions etc. Please clarify further. This is very important. Also. is this the mobile number given to Utility Warehouse or have they obtained this number from somewhere?
You say nothing appears on your credit reports regarding these accounts. That would mean that either they have been defaulted and have dropped off after 6 years (good if true but improbable as any default would have occurred less than 6 years ago) OR that they were never reported in the first place, which puts us back to square 1 regarding their actual status.
The lack of the mention of any ccj on any credit report pretty much proves that you don't have one I would think
You still have 11 months to go before the date when you moved out is reached and probably a bit longer than that until 6 years from date of the actual default is reached, unless the accounts were already defaulted before you even moved out (you said you never paid them).
The biggest problem here is that as these accounts have never been reported to any CRA and there are no defaults or history of the accounts, it is impossible to determine the actual status of the accounts or the date of default.
I personally doubt that they would be inclined to go for a ccj and they are just bothering you on the phone to try to make some easy money out of you. They clearly have not traced you to an address or they would be sending you letters. Do your credit reports show any GAIN information or address links created by unfamiliar entities or DCA's?

PixelPound

If they are stat barred, then admitting the debt does not un-stat-barr them, and stat barred debts are unenforceable, and you can remind them of such.

calling and admitting vs waiting. Remember they can apply for a CCJ right up to the day before it becomes stat barred. You will then be faced with the added costs, and unless you know the CCJ has been entered (because it will be sent to the old address) you may end up with it on your file for 6 years. So easy for people to say gamble and wait, but its not their credit file that will be tarnished for the next 6 years.

It depends on what stage Oriel are on. Many debt companies will buck shot letters to people with the same name and see if they manage to get someone to call up and admit the debt. That's why people are saying hold off. You need to be sure of dates, as people think its from when a contract started they are wrong. If you moved into a property around 6 years ago and moved out 10 months later, then it most likely isn't stat barred yet and may well not be this year (it could be default date was 6 months after you moved out).