It does indeed and that is why I thought is was 5 years for both in Scotland

Many thanks for the prompt clarification maroondevo52

I have a disputed account that was passed among various lenders over the years as one bought from another. On each occasion as and when I was contacted I responded repudiating their claim. None of the companies involved attempted to prove their claim in court and now the matter is statute barred. Upon receipt of the latest letter I responded to the current holder of the alleged debt in writing advising them that as this had been in dispute for over 5 years that under the terms of the Prescriptions and Limitations Act (Scotland) 1973 that the matter was now time barred and any further attempt at collection could be construed as harassment. They have responded acknowledging my obligation to pay is now extinguished but highlight that they will continue to report the matter to Credit Referencing Agencies. Now I know that a debt becomes Statute Barred in England at 6 years and this corresponds with the maximum time a bad debt is listed with Credit Bureaus, but I thought in Scotland that it was 5 years for both. Can someone please clarify?

I got a call from 03333 440 564 and the caller had a strong accent; probably African, but she could barely speak English. The number relates to MKRR although she used yet another company either that or she was trying to pronounce the acronym in her local dialect, who knows, anyway they have called again using someone who does speak English reverting to the MKRR name. Also had several phones ring at once from 01252 576422 who I understand to be Capquest. They are of course wasting their time because I’ll never enter meaningful discussions with them but it would seem that my theory is wrong and that they have not put me to one side for a while.

Perhaps I was mistaken. I've just had a text from CapQuest asking me to phone them on an 08 number quoting a reference. It was far easier to delete the message. It has been a very long time since CapQuest have tried to contact me so perhaps they sent this text to the wrong number but it really does call into question how bizarre the world of debt collection is. Just imaging the board room meeting…. “Oh I have a great new plan that will save us a fortune” “please tell” “well rather than sending out door step collectors why don’t we just send a text and ask the debtor to contact us and arrange payment over the phone” “what a spiffing idea chaps”

Just giving credence to my theory that if you ignore them they move along I’ve not had a call since Thursday 28th March. Must be other peoples turn now we are into March. If my estimate is correct that I guess I’ll hear from them again in May.

I not only stopped the PPI but also stopped paying the acount claiming that one offset the other and to this day that stalemate remains. If the related accounts it ever comes to court that I can demonstrate my logic in offsetting and counter claim.

Thanks zydeco, I'm in Scotland that will become 5 years http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/52 and as I first raised the dispute in 2005 I guess I'm well past the limit

Ah wilco999 I also have PPI on some of my accounts but thought the I'd be Statute Barred in making claim as I've failed to take action within 5 years. One of my disputes relates to this very topic and if they refunded the PPI it would exceed the debt! Can someone please clarify the time limit for reclaiming PPI?

And a very wise "commercial decision" that was too LostAtSea

Oh I'm certain that's definately wrong and if you were to take a loan out to service another debt would you not be showing preference to one creditor over another? In the event of insolvency I'm sure any sums paid this way swould be reclaimed.

Oh yes, I've had those recorded messages on my mobile also. Bearing in mind that they could not reasonably confirm that the number dialled was my mobile number I have to express that I was surprised at the content of the recording.

You gave a fiar point SillyGirl1 about the Without Prejudice but that's what I've done. The letters I refer to are from a solicitor acting for the debt collector and most were probably sent by the DCA using the solicitors letterhead. They are not worth bothering about and most are simply ignored especially when the make reference to English law.

Thanks spamhead. Good to know that these recorded discussions are inadmissible. I'm sure I've not put anything is writing that did not contain "Without Prejudice" and in the body of text I’ve always expressed that I repudiate the claim and asked them to prove their case. Some have actually replied to this request but all contain flaws of one form or another that i've replied and highlighted.

Hi SillyGirl1, I'd advise you not to enter into any telephone discussions and to insist that all communications are conducted in writing. At the very beginning of any call they will go through the process of verifying who you are. Just refuse and say "if there is anything you wish to say to SillyGirl1 please sent it in writing" if you feel the urge to reply then ensure that you admit nothing. I have heaps of letters that follow the same pattern. They begin with a polite please pay. Move on to if you don't pay something bad will happen. Next comes This will be escallated if you do not do something Then comes the Solicitors letter However, untill it looks as if they are actually going to go to courty I sit back and at the last minute I reply with my demands. This usually sends them away again. It may not work for you though!

I should alos add that I'm somewhat reluctant to write telling them they are barred just in case I'm mistaken. I'm sure that I've not acknowledged the debts but there is a slim chance that at some time perhaps during a phone call and before I was fully aware of the consequences that I might have verbally said something that could be used against me. The calls no longer bother me and I simply refuse to tell them anything that even acknowledges that they are speaking to the correct person. So, if I need to live with this a while longer then so be it. I am confident that by the middle of next year that all will have reached the point of being Statute Barred regardless of who bought what for who when, if you get my drift.

Not ethical companies KaptRodger; surely not!

From what you say BRIGADIER2JCS it seems that it is my responsibility to advise them of this being statute barred. Surely they have a duty to understand the law and to pursue that which is denied and statute barred would be harassment?

Forgot to say that today's phone call was from Capquest who purchased a debt which they show on my credit file as having defaulted in January 2007. Phone calls yesterday where from MKRR (Milton Keynes Rapid Recovery who have also name themselves Raven, MK and MKDP on previous calls) and the debt they purchased shows a default notice issued in January 2008. As such under the laws of Scotland these lenders have allowed time to pass without receiving any payment or raising action for recovery. Therefore, under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, these debts are completely extinguished and cannot be enforced. Makes you wonder why they keep trying!

It has been a long time since I've posted on this forum and to be honest I thought it had served its purpose well and that I had no further use of the advice from others. Indeed my most recent post albeit a while back have been in response to others rather than to seek assistance. I'm writing today to compare notes. You see I've not been troubled by debt collectors in a while but recently activity has recommenced and when I think back it is clear that they come in waves. I wonder if others are seeing similar patterns. Following advice elsewhere in this forum I stopped paying my creditors and commenced a tactic along the lines of "I repudiate this debt, prove it!" and I suspect that as a result most would be time barred if action was taken. So, I'm somewhat surprised that there is a fresh flurry of activity. My current tactic is to do one of many things that are all designed to hold them on the phone for as long as possible without acknowledging or confirming who I am. I feel that they are intruding on my time. Are probably on commission for funds collected and that if they realise they are wasting time with me they might bypass next time around and if not well I can be just as annoying to them as they are to me. I live in Scotland where a creditor has 5 years to raise legal action after which the obligation of the debtor to settle with the creditor lapses. My most recent default was issued in July 2009 but this relates to a debt purchased by third parties who issued a fresh default after I disputed the matter. This in its own right was wrong as a default cannot be issued whilst the matter is in dispute. Most other default notices were issued a few years earlier. I have not acknowledged any of these alleged debts since 2007/8 and so most are time lapsed and others will lapse later this year. One of my creditors did raise legal action a few years back but withdrew when they saw my defence. I seriously doubt that the others will ever raise action and if they do I'm suitably prepared to lodge my opposition. I guess that even though the obligation to settle may have passed that this does not stop a creditor persisting in their efforts to collect and passing the account from one collection agent to another and this explains my waves of calls every six months or so. What about you? Do you see a pattern with my experience described above?

I'm wondering how todays court decision will affect my outstanding PPI claim. It was sold longer than 6 years ago but a claim was raised within that time as detailed earlier in this thread. If I were retrospectively credited with all PPI payments and the accrued interest thereon this would mitigate the alleged debt I have with First Direct

Seems bizarre, I gather from what you say that you gave them your card details at some time? They probably do not have a signature and I’m guessing you never punched in your PIN and so surely telling your bank that this is unauthorised should be suffice to gain a refund.

Does this help? http://www.debtsupportscotland.co.uk/full-and-final-settlement.html

How did you get on?

Have other CAG members noticed how phone calls and demands come in waves? I’ve noticed that it takes about 6 months for a DCA to give up and pass the case back to a lender only to have the lender pass it over to another DCA. In the beginning I actually used to write to these DCA repudiating their clients claim but soon found that any dialogue seemed to be taken by them as an invitation to enter negotiations. This in turn went into a rapid downward spiral with me declining to play ball and them coming back with offer after offer. These days I tend to express in no uncertain terms that I will not be divulging any “security” details over the phone, nor will I be phoning them back but if they care to write to me with any new information that I consider warrants a response then I will communicate by letter. This invariably results in a flurry of attempted phone calls followed by standard demands and then a period of lull before the next storm. There are two banks that persistently pass my account over to new DCA’s HBOS and First Direct. In the case of HBOS they actually took me to court once, but withdrew upon seeing my defence. In the end they paid me just over £800 in court costs, so, I doubt they will ever take me to court again but in the absence of absolvitor they can persist their claim and pass it over to a new collector as soon as the current one gives up. First Direct must be running out of DCA’s by now having passed my case to over 15 to date! Anyway, I just thought I’d share this view with other forum readers and look forward to hearing similar stories from others.