CCJs - Statute Barred - Troubling wording on some sites...

mrscorpio · 17 February 2017 at 5:31PM

Hi all,
This is concerning CCJs, court claims and the 6 year rule......

If you read the criteria on Moneyaware.co.uk to satisfy being stature barred, besides the other two criteria (Not admitting liability and no payments in 6 years), they have the following regarding CCJs:
The creditor has not registered a County Court judgment (CCJ) against you

Similarly Nationaldebtline.org states:
A simple contract debt will normally be statute-barred if:
the creditor has not already obtained a county court judgment (CCJ) against you;

All very similar..

However, stepchange.org states:
If a creditor has already started court action before the end of the limitation period, this doesn’t apply – the debt will never become statute-barred or extinguished.

Clearly logic states that in order for a CCJ to be awarded (which is an end of case 'ruling'), court action WILL have to be started! CCJs can't just magically appear without court involvement... Can they? LOL ;-)

This last one is possibly extremely misleading!? Yet if correct would set a HUGE and dangerous president surely, where potentially 1000s of people and counting, would be trapped by a 'loophole' which would effectively deny them protection of the Statute of Limitations Act 'forever'.. merely because an alleged creditor 'starts' a claim then 'abandons' it..
For example, after an alleged debtor lodges a defence to a case (Something creditors hate), the alleged creditor then DOESN'T BOTHER entering a 'reply to defence'. They then let the deadline to do so expire, thus leaving the case 'started' but 'stayed' in 'limbo'. - potentially for years!

Then in the meantime, the 6 years elapse, NO actual CCJ has been awarded, NO payment made and NO admitting liability in writing given. - The 3 criteria to be statute barred having been fulfilled!!!!

Now i have had a lawyer confirm to me that NO, just because a claim may be 'started' it does NOT stop the clock from running,.. Only If a 'ruling' is given and a CCJ is awarded does the clock stop..
That being the case, WHY is the likes of stepchange.org spouting such dangerous 'mis-information'?

Or perhaps my legal adviser, NationalDebtline, Moneyaware, and many others are all wrong, and we're screwed!??
Thoughts?

sourcrates · 17 February 2017 at 6:08PM

Hi,

As the law stands, the stepchange version of events is correct, the creditor must start a claim within the six year time limit, i think the assumption being any claim would be followed through with.

In the scenario you suggest, it does appear to be a "gray" area, but then not all creditors are themselves aware of the "cause of action" dates on most accounts they buy, as no paperwork is exchanged between them.

Occasionally they use the default date as the COA date, which is normally incorrect, as the debtor is likely to of stopped paying a good few months before an account was defaulted.

mrscorpio · 17 February 2017 at 6:25PM

Hi sourcrates.
If stepchange is correct, then that DOES set a huge president!! Where simply due to a technicality, any person who has a claim started against them but is then NOT followed through with by the creditor, is denied protection by the SoLA forever!! -
You say...: " i think the assumption being any claim would be followed through with."
What if it is not followed through with!?
Speaking from knowledge of a situation, where during year 4 of the 6 years, a claim was started against an alleged debt, a robust defence was filed, the creditor then failed to file a 'reply to defence', the case fell into being stayed.. Now well over a year later, after contacting the Kangeroo court in Northampton, they don't even have the case showing in their search results against the name and address of the alleged debtor.. - They couldn't find it!
Yet, now with the 6 years fast approaching, you saying sod the 6 year rule!? - Ignore that no payments were made, no liability admitted, and NO CCJs awarded!?
This is potentially extremely Serious, ridiculous in fact!?

fatbelly · 18 February 2017 at 12:07AM

Credit where it's due - Stepchange's wording is the more precise paraphrasing of Limitation Act 1980 s5:

An action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.

CCJs - Statute Barred - Troubling wording on some sites...

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