Expired CCJ

minks123

Hi, in the past, I was left in a lot of debt from a former partner and although I paid off a lot of these debts, there were a couple of credit cards that ended up as CCJ’s, these weren’t for a massive amount of money but at the time, studying, working to make ends meet and raising a child meant that I couldn’t afford to pay them off - hence, they went through the legal system and resulted in CCJ’s. The debt we are talking about went into default in 2002 and I think the CCJ was out of time round about 2014! I have had the odd letter since then from various debt collection agencies, right in the beginning after the CCJ expired claiming for the debt in question, At the time I sent them a letter stating that this was statute barred. As this is what I believed. (Wrongly)! Since then, I have received letters periodically stating that I still owe the money and because I believed that they were Statute Barred I have not responded as I was once advised this was the best course of action. Today, I picked up a call from a guy from Capquest regarding this matter! I was under the impression that because I had been penalised for the debt via CCJ and that it now didn’t show on my credit file that this had gone away and wasn’t relevant anymore I.e. I didn’t have to pay it off. I was advised by him that they would not legally be able to raise another CCJ and that it would not show on my credit file that this would still hang there. I have been trying to negotiate the figure and reduce the amount down to pay but they haven’t agreed to my figure yet! My questions are; am I legally, duty bound to pay off this debt as it is so old? Where do I stand legally for refusing and what impact would it have on me if I did? 

Thanks in advance 

sourcrates

Hi.

Firstly, its not concidered good practice to speak to debt collectors on the phone, they only have one thing in mind, and thats getting money out of you, they have no interest in anything else, if you must communicate with them, do so by email or letter only.

County court judgements do not expire, they do not go statute barred, they are live forever, no matter the age, or wether it still shows on your credit file or not.

However, any judgement over 6 years old, in law, would require the creditor to obtain the courts permission, should they need to further enforce the judgement, so Capquest would need to go back and ask the court to agree to this first, and, after the passage of so much time, its unlikely the court may do so

The ball is in their court so to speak, wait and see what they do next..

StepChange_Aidan

minks123 said:

Hi, in the past, I was left in a lot of debt from a former partner and although I paid off a lot of these debts, there were a couple of credit cards that ended up as CCJ’s, these weren’t for a massive amount of money but at the time, studying, working to make ends meet and raising a child meant that I couldn’t afford to pay them off - hence, they went through the legal system and resulted in CCJ’s. The debt we are talking about went into default in 2002 and I think the CCJ was out of time round about 2014! I have had the odd letter since then from various debt collection agencies, right in the beginning after the CCJ expired claiming for the debt in question, At the time I sent them a letter stating that this was statute barred. As this is what I believed. (Wrongly)! Since then, I have received letters periodically stating that I still owe the money and because I believed that they were Statute Barred I have not responded as I was once advised this was the best course of action. Today, I picked up a call from a guy from Capquest regarding this matter! I was under the impression that because I had been penalised for the debt via CCJ and that it now didn’t show on my credit file that this had gone away and wasn’t relevant anymore I.e. I didn’t have to pay it off. I was advised by him that they would not legally be able to raise another CCJ and that it would not show on my credit file that this would still hang there. I have been trying to negotiate the figure and reduce the amount down to pay but they haven’t agreed to my figure yet! My questions are; am I legally, duty bound to pay off this debt as it is so old? Where do I stand legally for refusing and what impact would it have on me if I did? 

Thanks in advance 

Hi,

When a debt is statute barred, this means that the creditor has run out of time to take court action to recover it. 

For credit cards, creditors will have six years from the default date (or the last time you made a payment or wrote to them acknowledging that you owe the debt) to get a CCJ. If they did this within the time limit the debt can never become statute barred.

Once the creditor has a CCJ, there is no expiry date for the creditor to recover the debt, even if it no longer shows on your credit file. Legally, the debt still exists and the creditor could use enforcement (such as bailiffs or a deduction from your income) if you refuse to pay. If it’s been more than six years since the judgement, the creditor would need permission from the court to take enforcement action.

There’s some more information about statute barred debt here.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

minks123

Sourcrates,
Thanks for that, unfortunately I have already spoken to them over the phone, and I stated that I would not be happy to pay more than 50% of the debt, given how old the debt is etc!  How would I know whether they have obtained permission or not from the court? They explained about the debt not being statute barred and the debt still sitting there so to speak. But it did feel like legally can’t really do much if I don’t pay, my concern was that it could impact on my credit score which I have taken pains to rebuild over the years. 

They are supposed to be calling me back on Monday to confirm whether they would my offer, and I said that I wouldn’t be paying anything until I had it in writing that this would be the end of it. 

Thanks again

sourcrates

They won`t go back to court, its more time and money to them, but if they did, you would know as you would be informed in writing if such action as an attachment to wages or possible bailiff action were to be concidered.

Your credit score is just a made up number, your credit history is what counts, now the CCJ has dropped off your file, it cannot come back, likewise the debt cannot be reported again either, so there is no downside credit file wise.

If you want to settle the debt, and an agreement can be reached, just make sure its all confirmed in writing, and that any remaining balance will not be chased by them or their agents, before you part with any money.

minks123

Aiden,
Thank you for that! As my question to Sourcrates, how would I know if they have gained permission regarding this debt? Would they have to prove that to me? 

Thanks again

minks123

Sourcrates, 
Thanks for that, obviously I do not want this hanging over me forever but also I do feel that even though, yes, I do owe the debt, but due to the length of time and also the fact that it had also impacted my life so negatively for so long that it feels a bit unjust! I would rather not have to pay it but hopefully if they will accept my 50% offer then I could live with it. I suppose I just have to wait and see whether they come back to me or not now! Really annoyed with myself for answering the phone! I have had a couple of letters in the past but they were more along the lines of “you need to contact us regarding blah blah” rather than we are sending bailiffs etc.
Thanks again for you help on this! 

fatbelly

If they attempted to enforce this (bailiffs, attachment to earnings, third party debt order, charging order) then the courts would write to you to say that the application had been made.

It is most unlikely to happen now. I think the plan to negotiate a settlement is a good one but do it in writing.