Filed a defence but now think debt could be statue barred

[Sue49740]

I am helping my brother sort his financial mess out he received a court claim from Lowells back in December 2018 I acknowledge the claim and filed a defence claiming no knowledge of the debt asking for the agreement etc its for a credit card debt after checking his credit file it does not show up but I cannot be sure he has not paid any money in the last 6 years. Lowells have now supplied a copy of the agreement but thats all for the moment. My question is now I have filed a defence can I now go down the route of statue barred many thanks

[Amethyst]

Did you include any reference to the debt being statute barred in your initial defence?

[Sue49740]

Hi no because his financial state of affairs is all over the place and his memory is shot to pieces I did not mention statue barred but on looking at his credit file there is nothing on there so I followed the guidelines on here as I did not no at that point whether he has paid anything or not thanks for your reply

[Sue49740]

Can someone please help me with a answer many thanks

[ostell]

So what is the state of the claim? Has a court date been given?

[Sue49740]

Thank you for replying they have asked it to go to mediation which he has agreed and it is currently being transferred to a local County Court

[ostell]

That's normal procedure for small claims. He can say that he believes it is statute barred during the mediation and see what happens.

[charitynjw]

If it was me I'd email (or write with proof of postage) to Lowell, or their sols.
That way they are 'on notice', & there is a paper trail to bring to court (if necessary.)

[jaguarsuk]

You can apply to amend the defence, but there's a cost of doing that and you'd need to weigh up whether paying that cost is worth it compared to the size of the claim.

Also, you need to establish whether it actually is stat barred because slipping off the credit file is good, but if your brother has paid toward the debt in the last six years it's not. It's a pain, but you're going to have to go back through bank statements to check.