6 year old debt, do i need to respond?

Rroff said:
I tend to agree - but its a misconception many make, especially if someone on the internet tells them its statute barred, that its automatic - while it might effectively be the case it isn't automatic.
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I have 1st hand experience.

I owed Amex £3k. As soon as I bought my 1st house and went on the electoral role I got a court summons. I put in my defence (online) that I dont recall the debt and that it looks like it is over 6 yrs old so would be statute barred.

I then got a letter stating no further action
 
mattyg said:
I have 1st hand experience.

I owed Amex £3k. As soon as I bought my 1st house and went on the electoral role I got a court summons. I put in my defence (online) that I dont recall the debt and that it looks like it is over 6 yrs old so would be statute barred.

I then got a letter stating no further action
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Did you opt out of the open register?
 
Firstly do not admit you owe the debt because as soon as you do this it re-starts the statute barred clock.

Head over to National debtline for a wealth of information on debts and dealing with them including template letters - they also have live chat which is very helpful.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/

That said, I suspect that the debt has been bought for a few quid by a recovery company and are chancing their arm.
 
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As others have said don't pay this debt... I've had similar after 6 years with some company chancing it. Informed them over the phone that it was statute barred and that was that, no further action.
 
Quartz said:
Do you have documentation confirming the closure of the account? If so, tell them so. Perhaps they have you mixed up with someone else of the same name? If they have not, then it's their mistake and they need to eat the loss.
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the world doesn't work that way. letters get sent in error all the time.

e.g. if a company misprices a brand new bentley for £100 instead of £100,000 then they were well within their rights to cancel any orders made at £100 rather than give people £100,000 cars for £100.

he owes the money simple as that. they have deducted the interest after that point too because it was their error. however the initial amount is still owed.
 
If it is over 6 years and does not appear on your credit records then it is statute barred and I would not bother replying to it let alone pay it.

I had a Cap One credit card in 2003 and the account was closed in 2006 ish and is no longer on my credit record. There was some debt owed but I was out of work at the time therefore it didn't get fully paid, only this week I got a letter from some company that bought the debt asking me to pay £25 to settle it. This comes after 5 years of not hearing from them.

It's just speculative invoicing at the end of the day.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
e.g. if a company misprices a brand new bentley for £100 instead of £100,000 then they were well within their rights to cancel any orders made at £100 rather than give people £100,000 cars for £100.
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That's completely different. That's an offer of tender. The OP's case is one where they told him years ago that he was clear and had paid in full and now, years later, someone is telling him that he still owes money.
 
Dabbles said:
Be careful - a girl I know had a similar issue. She thought she was doing the right thing by paying up. She ended up not able to get credit (or a mortgage) for 6 more years because they added that she had failed to pay for 7 years on to her credit record, dated the day she paid up, thus acknowledging she should have paid earlier but hadn't.
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This, then everyone is jumping down op's throat about it...

Calm down. If they messed up why should he be punished 6 years down line?
 
Psycho Sonny said:
e.g. if a company misprices a brand new bentley for £100 instead of £100,000 then they were well within their rights to cancel any orders made at £100 rather than give people £100,000 cars for £100.
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However if they do give you the car for £100, they can't then come after you 6 years later demanding the "outstanding" £99,900...
 
Could do with a bit more clarity here.

The debt is over six years old, yes? But when was the last contact in either direction?

If there has been no correspondence for more than 6 years, a simple "Statute Barred Letter Template" from any number of websites will suffice. The new owner of the debt is unlikely to bother pursuing it further.

However, sending such a letter is a mistake if there has been any correspondence in the past 6 years. "Statute Barred" wouldn't automatically apply, and sending such a letter would simply be admittance of the outstanding debt. Instead, seek to test their confidence in the data they've inherited. Start off by stating that you have no record of the outstanding debt, and that you cannot find any record with any credit referencing agencies. See how they respond. Unless they're confident that they have the paperwork to back up their claim, they won't push far. Whatever you do, do not (at this stage) admit knowledge of the outstanding debt.

For anyone considering this underhanded, just bear in mind that the OP could see his credit rating trashed following any admission of the debt. Given the OP made some effort to settle the debt, that would seem unfair.

If their confident that they have a case then you probably need to seek professional legal advice. Chances are, the case will wind up in court.
 
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