Credit Card issue from 2003

[JOHNO2680]

This is a letter i got on Friday last week, i spoke to Ruthbridge Limited who informed me that this was a debt from 2003, I thought i paid this off before i moved abroad with the Army, i have never received any letters from either company until last week. This has been over 17 Years, i have checked my credit score and the is no debt markers on it.

We are currently applying for a Mortgage and we need some advice on what to do please.

[ploddertom]

If from 2003 then it will be statute barred - yes you owe the debt and yes they can ask you to pay but they cannot get a CCJ or enforce it but you can also just ignore them. It will not show on your credit history as it dropped off long ago so getting a mortgage etc should be straightforward.

[JOHNO2680]

Thank you for your advice, the Mortgage is with HSBC and the Debt is with them, will that go against us? also if we were to pay the debt what letter do i sent to them to make sure that they will leave us alone and that they won't come back to me

[MIKE770]

Statute Barred Letter send to Ruthbridge only

[ploddertom]

They are just purely a Debt Collector. If you wanted to pay then I suppose it would be cabot but seeing as they will just have paid pennies to purchase this debt it will be a tidy profit for them. As for HSBC then I doubt 2+2=4 and they will not care as long as whatever you take out now gets paid. Wait for some other comments before deciding what to do though.

[MoneyNerd]

Everything on this thread is correct. It's statute-barred. I had something similar. I would just ignore it and mark and emails from them as spam so you don't need to even read it.

Edit: Ostell is right: "Don't ignore,Tell them it's statute barred so that they don't attempt to take it to court"

[ostell]

Don't ignore,Tell them it's statute barred so that they don't attempt to take it to court

[JOHNO2680]

Thank you all for your replies, I will try to explain in a bit more detail as I might have missed some info.

I have received a letter on 25/09 from Cabot claiming they have been unable to reach an agreement with me and therefore passed to Ruthbridge to manage an account on their behalf. Enclosed was a letter from Ruthbridge offering full and final settlement and asking to pay almost 105£ of a debt they claim to be just over 524£. They say the offer is only valid if I pay by 06/10.
When I contacted Ruthbridge (by telephone) they said it is a credit card from 2003 (which I thought I payed off) and the last payment was 140£ of same year. I asked for any paperwork and they said they didn't have any. I guess I could try Statute Barred letter but that would take months if not years and possibly CCJ which we don't need as we are applying for mortgage.

Also, the original credit card lender was the same bank we applied for mortgage for, who then, I presume sold a debt to Cabot. I am not sure whether to just write to Ruthbridge and offer to pay the full amount and have it settled for good (even if it might be statute barred). Can I also add that I lived abroad 2004-2018 so my worry is that I might have not received correspondence because of that, although the original lender had details of our addresses abroad but I honestly can't remember if I received anything from them or not.

There is nothing on credit report about debt or CCJ but I guess that doesn't mean they don't exist. I don't have any other debts. Sorry about the long post

[JOHNO2680]

I thought that they can still take me to court even if I send statute barred

[ploddertom]

Statute Barred is an absolute defence and given the time span it cannot be argued with. The only way round it would be a CCJ even if done in your absence, seeing as there is no mention of this it is doubtful there is one. Ruthbridge will no doubt try to have you believe that as you have now spoken to them the time clock will have been reset - they are wrong. You say you think this may take months to resolve - it will not.

The choice is yours as to what to do but in your shoes I would do nothing & certainly not make any contribution to their Xmas party fund

[MIKE770]

they can take you to court still BUT they would not as Statute states once statute barred no action can be taken in court they would throw the claim out:-

[MIKE770]

If a debt is barred under statute, it means that by law (the Limitation Act), the lender has run out of time to use certain types of action to try and make you pay the debt. Statute-barred does not mean the debt no longer exists. but/when if you have later you tell them you will not be paying, they would have to desist as per rule end of:- so no paying them or tal;king to them on phones etc

[pt2537]

Just one word of advice. Stat barred arguments arent always successful, to avoid making any errors, write to the creditor and ask them to provide a copy of the default notice they are relying upon. The time starts to run on the expiry of the notice. If this was a loan, then the default notice wouldnt be necessary as the time for limitation would run from the date the loan expired.

[JOHNO2680]

Just one word of advice. Stat barred arguments arent always successful, to avoid making any errors, write to the creditor and ask them to provide a copy of the default notice they are relying upon. The time starts to run on the expiry of the notice. If this was a loan, then the default notice wouldnt be necessary as the time for limitation would run from the date the loan expired.

I think I might offer them to pay in full to have the debt settled. I know I shouldn’t as it probably is status barred but I don’t think I could deal with all the stress especially as I am applying for mortgage and don’t need possible CCJ on my record. I’m sure they would play every trick if it went to court and I don’t think I would know how to defend my case. I tried solicitors but they said it’s not worth it as the fees would be more than the debt itself. I am just hoping they won’t try to come back for more if I pay the full amount they claim I owe.

[ostell]

You would only get a CCJ recorded against you IF they take you to court and IF you lose and IF you don't pay within 30 days.

Do what PT suggests and get some definitive information before you decide.