Anglian Water + Statute Bar

[HappyMonday]

Hi there...

 

I'm hoping somebody can help me out on how to proceed with the following case.

 

Two agencies have recently contacted me with outstanding balances with Anglian Water at an old address (call it Address 1).

 

Accepting liability for this amount at Address 1, I made several payments to the first company and

was then contacted by the second for a different amount at the same address.

 

This prompted me to hold all further action and payments with both companies,

and query the debt with the provider,

as I've held only one account at the address.

Both companies then dropped their action and referred me back to provider.

 

Whilst awaiting information on the balance owing and date ranges etc I'd requested from Anglian,

they unscrupulously referred me to a third debt collector for the first amount.

 

Again, I requested this company hold their enforcement action on the basis that I am disputing the debt.

 

Having today received the information I requested,

it seems that Anglian have posted the payments I made to the first company to an even older (2003 - 2004) address (Address 2) with an outstanding balance,

despite the initial contact being explicitly about Address 1.

 

It's clear that the provider is trying to legitimise the much older debt with current payments collected under false pretenses,

but can anybody help me on the specifics of statute barred debts?

 

Am I correct in thinking that a debt for which the provider has seen no correspondence from the debtor for six years cannot then be collected?

 

Does the full amount (even if much of the period is well outside the 6 year period) then become enforcable?

 

Is there precedent by which a company can amalgamate together an account from outside the 6 year period with one which is inside it (even if, as is the case here, one account was in several names and another not) in order to be able to collect?

 

And finally, is there a pro-forma response for refusing to pay a debt as it is outside the 6 year limitation?

 

Thanks all.

[dx100uk]

so all the water debts are outside 6yrs?

 

if so

even paying cannot unbar it

 

you've been spoofed.

 

dx

[HappyMonday]

Hi there...

 

No, the newer debt at Address 1 is not outside the 6 year cutoff, hence my acceptance of liability for it and payments etc.

 

To clarify, the company are attempting to consolidate into one account a much older debt which I do not intend to pay with a legitimate newer debt which I am prepared to pay.

Edited August 17, 2012 by HappyMonday

[dx100uk]

simple answer is they cant.

 

statute barring is 6yrs from last payment.

 

once barred, it can never be unbarred, not even by a judge.

 

deal with aw only

forget the fleecing dca's.

 

so sadly you made payents o the sb'ed debt?

 

where did thse go, did they get to aw?

or to the fleecing dc's pocket

 

just remember also

water is NOT a priority util debt

 

it can be treated as you would a credit card bill.

despite what they might say,

 

dx

 

dx

[HappyMonday]

Thanks for that. I push for dealing direct, but Anglian Water refer to DCA's without awaiting response from the creditor.

 

So, am I right in saying bar is from last payment (12/2005 in this case), not from date of last correspondence with Anglian or DCA RE debt?

 

Not sure when last correspondence mentioning balance at Address 2 was without searching paper files, but is unlikely to be more recent than 6 years.

 

As for the recent payments, these were made to a DCA which contacted me RE the newer debt at Address 1. Anglian Water have then sent information confirming that these payments have been allocated to the much older outstanding balance at Address 2.

 

Effectively, they're trying to collect an old barred debt by disguising it as part of a newer, non-barred debt.

Edited August 17, 2012 by HappyMonday

[dx100uk]

unless you sent a letter specifically acking a debt and signed it

no letter or phone call can reset the SB clock from either direction.

 

you need to clearly put AW in their place

and remind them of the law.

 

they cannot amalgamate a statute barred debt into a non SB'ed debt.

 

dx

 

dx