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The following applies in Scotland my question to you guys is am I wrong ?
Time limits
In Scotland there is a time limit of five years or 20 years (depending upon the type of debt) on taking legal action to claim money owed.
Unsecured credit debts
This includes credit cards, store cards, bank and building society personal loans, catalogues, old energy bills, finance company loans and similar agreements. They are known as 'simple contract debts'. You may have had a debt with an ordinary unsecured creditor that you have not heard about for a very long time. You may have moved address or thought that the debt had been written off.
You need to think carefully about any action that either you or the creditor has taken over the lastfive years.
You can argue that the debt is ‘extinguished’ if:
This means that it no longer exists and there is no debt for the creditor to pursue.
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Still in Scotland on your credit file ....
Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. They all apply the same two rules that determine when they delete a debt from a credit file:
Time limits
In Scotland there is a time limit of five years or 20 years (depending upon the type of debt) on taking legal action to claim money owed.
Unsecured credit debts
This includes credit cards, store cards, bank and building society personal loans, catalogues, old energy bills, finance company loans and similar agreements. They are known as 'simple contract debts'. You may have had a debt with an ordinary unsecured creditor that you have not heard about for a very long time. You may have moved address or thought that the debt had been written off.
You need to think carefully about any action that either you or the creditor has taken over the lastfive years.
You can argue that the debt is ‘extinguished’ if:
- the creditor has not already obtained a decree (a court order for payment) against you; and
- you or anyone else owing the money (on a debt in joint names) have not made a payment on the debt during the lastfive years; and
- you have not written to the creditor admitting you owe the debt during the last five years.
This means that it no longer exists and there is no debt for the creditor to pursue.
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Still in Scotland on your credit file ....
Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. They all apply the same two rules that determine when they delete a debt from a credit file:
- a debt that doesn’t have a default will stay on your record for six years from the date when it is settled. This applies whether it was settled in full or partially;
- a debt with a default will remain for six years from the default date. This applies whatever happens to the debt after the default – you may have paid it in full, made a full and final settlement, not paid anything to it, or still be making payments, none of these matter because the debt is still going to vanish after six years.
