Debt Collection out of the blue…

bert_o

I have been on a role with repaying my debts, so much so that I have been able to improve my credit score and have been accepted by leading banks, which I wasn’t able to do a few years back.

Long story short, in my late teens I went a little crazy with credit cards and lost control. Lesson learnt,  and I have been able to remedy my mistakes.

Anyway, just the other day I received an email from a debt collection agency threatening me with a judgement. I was a little spooked as I didn’t know who it was or what it was for.

I done a little research and found out it was for a small £200 payday loan I defaulted on over six years ago. The lender went into liquidation, around the same time all of these other payday loan lenders went under. These debt collectors purchase the debt just before the company went bust.

My question is, can they claim a judgement against me six years after I took out this loan?

I need to setup a repayment plan with them but the amount is so small that I will pay it back in one go. I am just a little confused as to why it’s taken them six years to chase me up on this.

Thank you.

EssexHebridean

Are you sure that the last time you acknowledged this debt was over 6 years ago? If so then it will be Statute Barred. The DCs will have paid pennies in the pound to buy the right to collect it - they've probably done with terrorising those who owed more, and are now at the level of trying to browbeat the likes of you, in spite of knowing full well that they are out of time. There is a letter in the "sticky" threads at the top of the board that you can send essentially telling them "tough luck - time's run out". They may well continue to send you letters, they may even invent a mystery payment that they claim you made - as long as you're solid on that 6 years though there's not much else they can do. I'd personally also be telling them that they can only make contact via letter - that will likely put them off as it's a degree harder work than just sending automated emails. 

fatbelly

Use your money on something worthwhile and don't contribute to their profits.

I wouldn't respond to an email anyway. If they write, send back a statute barred letter

sourcrates

As fatbelly has said above, if a collector wants you to pay a debt, they must write to you, emails, texts, calls, do not count as contact legally.

You can get a CCJ on any age of debt, if you do not contest it.

The debt will be statute barred now (Google "limitation act 1980") so if they do bother to write to you, I would also recommend you respond with the SB letter.