Heading down the 'Statute Barred' Route in Scotland.....

[MY money!]

OK....so I'm certain this will have been covered in other posts but I'm confuzzled by the sheer number!

I have about £25k of debt dating back several years and I plan to finally sort things out once and for all.

I got a full credit report and have all the relevant details but I'm unsure about a few things.

 

I realise that 5 years have to have elapsed and this seems to be the case for all bar one of the debts (that one reaches the 5 year mark in December 2011). Can I start the 5 year count down from the date of my last payment to each as the default dates ar are all several months after?

 

Do the relevant companies HAVE to respond favourably to my standard letter or can they challenge my application for the debts to be statute barred even if I meet all the criteria?

 

If any of the companies in turn tell me that it is not in fact 5 years after all, and produce evidence that I in fact had contacted them and acknowledged the debt (something I'm sure isn't the case but I'm trying to cover all the bases here), will they then begin to pursue me relentlessly to ensure they get their money back before 5 years HAS elapsed?

 

I should reiterate that as indicated in my post title, I am in Scotland.

 

Many thanks in anticipation of the usual high quality advice

[IdaInFife]

Hiya,

 

Is any of them contacting you just now?

 

I would put money on it if you raked something up just now that hadn't hit the 5 years then yes they would probabrly persue it. I would take it 5 years from when the account defaulted or payment was made wahtever was the last actin.

 

ida x

[Crocdoc]

If they are not pursuing you at present, LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE. You can always go down the SB route at a later stage if they start to pressure you.

[MY money!]

I receive letters from them on a weekly basis, none of which I have ever responded to but I'd really like to get this sorted out properly and not have these debts hanging over me, even if they aren't being overly proactive in their pursuit of them. Another complicating factor is, due to a marriage break-up, I lived with my parents for a few months until I sorted myself out. A lot of this correspondence now goes to my mum and dad's address and, as they're elderly, they're very anxious to know what's going to happen and whether someone's going to turn up at THEIR door.

 

The letters range from asking me to get in contact with them immediately or they will consider legal action, to offering a reduced settlement figure if I pay up now, to saying that someone will be visiting me to discuss this matter. (I should point out that no-one has ever turned up)