'Prescription and Limitation Act 1973 16 January 2008 at 12:24PM in Bankruptcy & living with it 14 replies 10.4K views

missylemoo

I live in Scotland and stopped paying personal debts over 5 years ago. None of my creditors have legally pursued me in that time. Does anyone know if this law, 'Prescription and Limitation Act 1973 applies to me, how I apply and what the outcome is.

fermi

First of all, have a good read through the factsheet linked to below. If you think it applies to you, then there is even a letter to send to any creditors that contact you.

Liability for debts & the Prescription & Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973

You may want to ask this on the Debt-Free Wannabe board as well.

missylemoo

Hi, Thanks for that, I read the section about Unsecured credit debts which is what I have. None of my creditors have taken court action and I have not written to them or made a payment in almost 5 1/2 yrs. What do I do now?

I can't apply for bankruptcy as I am not "Apparently Insolvent" because I don't have a Statutry Demand. It feels like a vicious circle and a debt trap.

I am a full time mum with a baby and a 5 year old so have no job to make any contribution to any debts. Still none of my creditors will take me to court as it's not in there interest as I have no money so I can't apply for bankruptcy!!!

It's so frustrating!!! :eek:

fermi

Well, if most of the debts are 'Barred' then there may not be a lot that you need to do.

The creditors can no longer take legal action against you if you choose to defend it as 'Barred', and any adverse information on your credit reference files would drop off as time goes on.

Are you still receiving correspondence/calls from creditors and/or Debt Collection Agencies chasing the debts?

missylemoo

No I receive no letters or calls at all any more. I haven't had letters from the majority of my creditors in almost 3 years when I moved, but none of the letters were ever sent recorded or hand delivered so who's to say I ever got them?
I never responded or answered calls so my only correspondence was over 5 years ago when I made my last payment.
Only 2 creditors tracked me to my new address but only by letter as my telephone number changed. It's as though they haven't made an effort to find me as I haven't try to hide or disappear off the face of the earth. All letters stopped over a year ago.

I just want a clean slate but don't know how to get it. I don't want this all coming back to bite me later but bakruptcy seems unachievable.

tigerfeet2006

It might be worth getting hold of all your credit files from the reference agencies and see what it says on them as to what state your finances are in.

See Martins article here
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-rating-credit-score

fermi

As far as I'm aware if all the debts are barred under the 'Prescription and Limitation Act' then eventually you will have a sort of 'clean slate' when the debts drop off your credit records (6 years after the last recorded default).

As Tigerfeet suggests, checking the CRF's might be a good idea to see where you stand.

Bankruptcy may be a bit heavy handed as a solution to these debts when a bit more time may well achieve the same effect for all practical purposes.

I think it could be well worth giving National Debtine a call. They are quite experienced in matters regarding 'barred' debts, bankruptcy in Scotland and related matters.

missylemoo

I checked out all my letters sent over the years and found letters from all but one creditor saying they were serving a default notice.

All were dated between Nov 2002 - Feb 2003. ( that's not to say the other creditor hasn't issued a default, I may no longer have that letter. unfortunately some letters were discarded during a bad period of depression over this)However I know none were recorded delivery.

What happens when I apply for my credit references? Does that right away tell my creditors where I am and instigate them writing again? Although 2 of them found me at my present address anyway. Even they stopped a year ago.

I spoke to National Debtline this morning and although the guy at times sounded a bit hesitant he did appear to think my debts could come under the 'Prescription and Limitation Act 1973 Scotland.

However I am now unsure as to whether a decree could have been taken out against me without my knowledge. Apparently CCJ's don't exist in Scotland as he corrected me when I asked about that. Can a Statutory Demand be served without my knowledge? A letter came in Jan 2004 saying they tried to serve a Statutory Demand on me but they never came back.

It's all so damn confusing and sometimes even these helplines still leave you confused.

Is the application to Experian, Call credit and Equifax confidential? Do they all hold the same info?

Am I better asking a Solicitor?

I'm sorry to blurt out so many questions but ferni and tigerfeet seem really switched on.

missylemoo

sorrry I mean fermi

wee typo:rotfl:

fermi

I'm afraid you've nearly exhausted all the definite info that I can give you regarding the legal position in Scotland, since I'm not as familiar with it as I am with England/Wales.

But I can make a few comments:

missylemoo wrote: »

I checked out all my letters sent over the years and found letters from all but one creditor saying they were serving a default notice.

All were dated between Nov 2002 - Feb 2003. ( that's not to say the other creditor hasn't issued a default, I may no longer have that letter. unfortunately some letters were discarded during a bad period of depression over this)However I know none were recorded delivery.

That means that those debts should (at least in theory) be removed from your Credit Reference Files 6 years after the date of the original default notice.

What happens when I apply for my credit references? Does that right away tell my creditors where I am and instigate them writing again? Although 2 of them found me at my present address anyway. Even they stopped a year ago.

When you apply for the CRF's you have to give your current address and any past addresses for the last 6 years. The records will then be updated to shown your current address as well. So yes, in theory that could allow past creditors to find out your new address. That would be especially the case if there is a GAIN (Gone Away Information Network) entry on your files which if a creditor subscribes to the service would automatically notify them of your new address.

I spoke to National Debtline this morning and although the guy at times sounded a bit hesitant he did appear to think my debts could come under the 'Prescription and Limitation Act 1973 Scotland.

Shame he couldn't be more definite, but even some advisor's don't know everything. I never quite understand why they don't offer to refer it to a colleague who knows more though.

However I am now unsure as to whether a decree could have been taken out against me without my knowledge. Apparently CCJ's don't exist in Scotland as he corrected me when I asked about that.

People in England can get a CCJ without them knowing at a previous address, so I presume the same probably applies for a 'decree' in Scotland.

Can a Statutory Demand be served without my knowledge? A letter came in Jan 2004 saying they tried to serve a Statutory Demand on me but they never came back.

In certain conditions are met it can be served by post, so in theory without your knowledge yes. But there is a time limit to act on the demand.

See: http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/legal_issues_explained/statutory_demand.htm

But again different Scottish law may effect this.

It's all so damn confusing and sometimes even these helplines still leave you confused.

I know. :rolleyes:

Is the application to Experian, Call credit and Equifax confidential? Do they all hold the same info?

Experian hold the most detailed info because more creditors tend to report info to them. The info is not strictly confidential, since it has to allow creditors to access it to check. But access and the correctness of the info is governed by various data protection laws.

fermi

Just to add a couple of other sources of advice:

CCCS also have a version of their site aimed at people in Scotland.

http://www.scottishdebtline.co.uk/

It might be worth giving them a call as well. It would be free, and maybe their advisor could be more helpful/definite than NDL's

And there is a forum with a special sub-section on debt in Scotland here:

http://www.debtquestions.co.uk/debt_forum/