10year old debt??

daniellej168

I've recently checked my boyfriends credit score and noticed it had dropped quite a bit. There's been a debt added on of just over £300 to British gas from 2007...when he lived with his ex she liked to pocket the money instead of paying bills....and my fella doesn't keep any documents from years ago. We don't exactly have the money to pay it. My question is, does he have to? I've recently read about something called 'Statute Barred'...I'm not entirely sure what it is but I've heard some people using it when old debts crop up.

Can anybody offer me some advice?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Check your credit files.

When was the default registered? When was the debt last acknowledged?

Ben8282

10 year old debts don't usually suddenly appear out of thin air on a credit file. Can you give more info about the history and status of this account on his credit files.

daniellej168

I thought that. He hasn't got a clue. This will have been a debt that he had with his ex as it's linked to his old address with her...he naively left her to sort out all the bills etc. He hasn't had any contact from British gas, this on his credit report is the only thing that's cropped up. So either it's a mistake or his ex could have something to do with it. I've told him to ring up and ask what it's all about.

GingerBob_3

Ben8282 wrote: »

10 year old debts don't usually suddenly appear out of thin air on a credit file. Can you give more info about the history and status of this account on his credit files.

They do when British Gas is involved - see other recent threads about this. When sorted, the matter wants reporting to the ICO. BG are in breach of data protection guidelines - again!

twhitehousescat

a credit "score" does not mean a thing , WHEN was the default added , ot might be 5.5 yrs ago , so WHEN was it entered?

Ben8282

How can he not have a clue?
Just checking his score would not have revealed even the existence of the debt let alone any information about it.
The only way you could know of its existence is if he had actually checked the credit files in which case you would know when it had been placed there, the default date etc