When does a debt...

mumzyof2

die??

My partner had a debt from t-mobile from 5yrs ago and he totaly forgot about it and today after 5yrs have contacted him via letter. They have made the mistake as they asked him if he wanted to upgrade and change number so he said yes...but instead of them sending him a upgrade they gave him another fone. So he had 2 fone bills. He rang them 5yrs when he realised he was payin for 2 fones..and they said tey could not cancell it becuase it had gone past 28days. This is what my partner has said but i do not believe him (how bad is that)..i do think he got this fone for his ex girlfriend and when they split up refused to pay it ..something along those lines.

so when does a company clear the debt? will they still clear even tho they know where he lives. (they have the addy of his mums as thats where he lived last).

mrsspendalot

debts usually become statute barred after 6 years. I'm not really clued up on this, but there are plenty of posters on here who know their stuff and will be along soon with better advice. In the meantime it's best not to acknowledge the debt in any way otherwise that stops it from becoming statute barred or something like that.

HBFS

Sounds a bit s***, sweetheart. I'd check if that was actually the case. And if he wants to clear it, I would suggest getting in contact with them to arrange some kind of payment plan.

If not, perhaps get his mother to state that he doesn't live there any more and she doesn't know his whereabouts?

mumzyof2

We could of done that..but we made the mistake of ringing the debt agency this morning, my oh is refusing to pay this, but i am not 100percent it was t-mobiles fault. hmmm..i doubt it was to be honest. I told him to tell them he will pay 1pound a week lol...but my oh's mum said no dont pay anything.

HBFS

mumzyof2 wrote: »

We could of done that..but we made the mistake of ringing the debt agency this morning, my oh is refusing to pay this, but i am not 100percent it was t-mobiles fault. hmmm..i doubt it was to be honest. I told him to tell them he will pay 1pound a week lol...but my oh's mum said no dont pay anything.

First thing is how much is the debt actually? Is it quite big?

mumzyof2

306.00 pound which would be how much the contract would of been for 12months

HBFS

mumzyof2 wrote: »

306.00 pound which would be how much the contract would of been for 12months

Perhaps offer them a settlement figure? Around £150?

GeorgeUK

When was the las payment he made on this?
And when was the last time he acknowledged the debt was his - in writing.

Debts usually become statute barred in Scotland after 5 years, 6 in England & Wales. The date of the last payment/acknowledgement is when the clock starts. Saying the debt is yours on the phone doesn't matter.

If the debt isn't statute barred, ask for a copy of the Consumer Credit Agreement (CCA). There are a few template letters around you can send - i'll hunt them out if you need them.

Broken_hearted

I'd offer a settlement. Yes you could wait for it to become statute barred but you'd have to put up with a year of hassle.