Bazamoose

[Guest]

Quick question,
I have had a debt of £4800 owed to citi financial since 2005, they sold the debt on a company called 1st credit ltd. This comany have written to me around once a year tfroom 2008 to 2015, ( no court threats etc)heard nothing since IF they were to get in contact with me now would i be able to argue the debt is now statue barred??
Cheers in advance
Baza

[Jinxer]

Is their a need to argue that it was statute barred unless they are threatening Court action.

[Bazamoose]

I dont know tbh thats why im asking, they have never once threatened court action just had anual letters saying that i owe. Nothing nasty or thretening. Not heard nothing of them for slmost 3 years now

[R0b]

Assuming you've not paid them anything in the last 6 years then it is reasonable to raise the statute barred defence. Be aware that if you continue to ignore them and you move home without giving any notification, then it is possible that they could issue a claim against you at a former address and you might end up with a CCJ.

Creditors have to comply with Rules set out in the FCA handbook. Under the Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC) it says the following:

[R] 7.15.8: A firm must not continue to demand payment from a customer after the customer has stated that he will not be paying the debt because it is statute barred.

If you were to write to 1st Credit and explain to them that you consider the debt to be statute barred and reference the above then they should stop demanding payment from you. That does not however, prevent 1st Credit or any subsequent debt purchaser to pursue you by commencing legal proceedings although you can still rely on the statute barred defence if that were the case.

Alternatively you can continue to ignore them but its a dangerous game doing so as you might end up with a CCJ. Sometimes, strategically, it might be best to ignore particularly where the debt is likely to be statute barred in a few months or weeks but in your case, I can't see any benefit or advantage.

[Jinxer]

Their is nothing to stop a creditor from asking for payment of a statute barred debt, whether you pay it or not is up to you. If the creditor issues a Court Claim that then would be the time to argue the debt is statute barred. Whether the debt is statute barred or not could depend on what type of debt it is.