Statute barred query

ArtyJ931

I want to check if the following emails that I sent in 2022 constitute anything that would count as acknowledging the debt:

Can you please double check your records as to my knowledge I have paid this outstanding amount in around June or July 2020 after the outcome of my appeal for a fee reduction.

and then:

Thank you for that - I will double check my records and dates.

This is for fees for a postgraduate course which was absolutely diabolical and ground to a halt halfway through the academic year due to strikes followed by Covid. They say there is around 1800 left to pay.

Neither they nor I have communicated since then. It isn’t showing on my credit record and there is no default notice. I’m trying to work out when it will be statute barred.

peteuk

I would suggest it does.

You’ve emailed the provider claiming to have paid in full, which they are now saying wasn’t the case and that there is an outstanding debt.

As it course fees it won’t show on a credit search. When was the last time they asked for payment. As it appears you have acknowledged the debt then the period of 6 yrs for status barred does not apply. (I believe, if wrong someone will advise you further)

Keep_pedalling

Was this a post graduate student loan? If so they are not subject to the 6 year rule because you only pay it back when your income reaches a certain level.

ArtyJ931

it’s not a student loan it is just the fees which are subject to the same statute barred rules as any other debt.

so potentially the statute barred period is from the date of that email in 2022? That’s the last time I spoke to anybody or wrote anything down about it.

ManyWays

Who exactly is the lender here - the uni or college? (we don't need to know the name) or some other lender (it would really help to know the name)

Neither they nor I have communicated since then [2022].
So you are not being chased for this? In any case where statute barring is in doubt, it is almost always better to let sleeping creditors doze quietly on.

sourcrates

The limitation act states "written contact" as a cause of action, so you may have an argument that electronic communications do not constitute "written contact", but you would need a good solicitor, and honestly its an argument you don`t really want to be having.

Its one of those cases where you should let sleeping dogs lie.

ArtyJ931

it’s a uni and nobody is chasing. Just want to figure out when it will become statute barred. There is only a few months difference with regard to this email so not a huge deal in the scheme of it