Please help, unsure whether to go ahead with repayment of debt if they are “statute barred”

[krussox]

Hello,

I have been doing a lot of research into statute barred debts which I believe I have and wondered if anyone could help me understand my situation a little better. I currently have 6 outstanding debts that range between £100-£600 each around £2000 in total. These debts were accrued around 5/6 years ago and to this day I have never written to acknowledge or made any payments towards them. The other day I got another letter from Lowell but this time showing me that they now had all of my accounts and that they were offering me a 50% discount for all to which I jumped at the chance to get rid of them and ended set up small direct debits for each account. I am looking ahead to my future with my partner and we are struggling to rely on him to get a mortgage for us so the ideal for me would be to clear this debt or restore my credit file from poor to at least satisfactory. So my question is if these debts are statute barred should I be paying them?
If I do go ahead and pay the first payments does that mean they will remain on my credit file another 6 years as I have started to pay and acknowledged them?
Does me setting up a direct debit mean I have acknowledged that I owe this debt (even though no payment has been taken yet and I have never spoken to or written to anyone at Lowell) aor do I still have time to cancel this repayment plan - 30th January.
If I didn’t pay and called them to cancel the direct debits I agreed to would this be me accepting or acknowledging the debt?
What would you suggest be the best thing for me to do?
And if I did cancel the direct debits and cancelled the plan will they still drop off my account after the 5 years as normal?
As I have ready that after 5 years in Scotland that these “statute barred” accounts should have been dropped from my credit file but some have not. Really stressed over this please help. I do not want to pay them and then have them remain on my account for another further 6 years, it’s awfully confusing.

Thanks for any info if you have any

Carla

[cymruambyth]

Hi and welcome to AAD. If you are in Scotland then they do become statute barred after 5 years. If they were shown as defaulted they will only stay on your credit report for 6 years from the date of default even if they are being repaid.

I think that by agreeing to repay them that if they aren’t SB then they won’t be for another 5 or 6 years. I would not pay anything until you have clarified the situation.

We need to know if you are in Scotland and when the last payments were made - do you have a record or can you check your bank account. Even if they are not SB we can help you deal with this situation. Unfortunately companies make good offers just before debts become SB or even after to try and catch people out.

[Still Waving]

Hi

"If I didn’t pay and called them to cancel the direct debits I agreed to would this be me accepting or acknowledging the debt?
What would you suggest be the best thing for me to do?"

It sounds to me as if the OP may have already acknowledged the debts to Lowell, in which case the SB clock is only just starting unfortunately.

[Still Waving]

"The other day I got another letter from Lowell but this time showing me that they now had all of my accounts and that they were offering me a 50% discount for all to which I jumped at the chance to get rid of them and ended set up small direct debits for each account."

Isn't this an extremely unusual move??

[Roger]

The first starting place is to look at your credit file (see if these debts are there!)
It would help if you could give some background detail along the lines of a Diary Entry

Type of account (credit card/loan)

• Date commenced (ideally before Apr 2007)
• Approx balance
• Date last paid (approximate date you last made a FULL payment)
• Are you on arrangement or not paying
• Status (default/in arrears/up-to-date)
• Account owner (who is writing to you, a DCA or the lender)

Now your words "..The other day I got another letter from Lowell but this time showing me that they now had all of my accounts.."
Have Lowell's every sent you a Notice Of Assignment for any of these Debts?
Have you every sent a S.78 CCA request for each debt (will depend upon the type of debts) the Template here doesn't acknowledge the debt https://www.all-about-debt.co.uk/for...mplate-letters

Don't make any payments until you have provided this information , this will help you and the site give good / better advice !!

[krussox]

Ok so to clarify, I am in Scotland and these were various debts including mobile phone contracts and catalogues. They range for £100-600 each and total around £2000. I have made NO PAYMENT as of yet. What I did do however is set up a direct debit for each account in for very small amounts that are due to come out on the 30th of January as they sent me a very reasonable discount in my eyes. So I’ve never actually spoken to anyone at Lowell or paid anything towards these accounts as of yet. Really what I need to know for sure is that once I start paying these debts if they will then remain on my credit file for a further X amount of years it takes to pay off. Essentially have I cause my credit to be poor for longer now by actually “agreeing” to pay these debts? The majority of them have a date of default in 2012 so this would mean that they are there or there abouts going to be statute barred already or very soon. By me setting up a payment does this mean I have acknowledged the debt? Please let me know if you need any more information as I have time before the very first payment is to be made to figure out what exactly to do. And thanks so much for your reply’s

[krussox]

And also what would then happen to my credit file if I didn’t make the repayments I have set up? Will it make things worse credit score wise?

[cymruambyth]

They can only register a default once on the credit file, so after 6 years it will fall off your file even if you are paying.

If you have set up a DD you must have somehow acknowledged the debts.

As you are in Scotland as long as you didn’t acknowledge the debt within the 5 year period then the debt will be SB and this cannot be undone. If the defaults were registered after your last contact and or payment in 2017 they will be SB.

You must check the dates carefully and if and if they are SB then there is a letter in our template section that can be sent.

[krussox]

Problem is they send a letter saying that you dont even have to call up to set up a dd, you just create an account online and that is it. Is acknowledgement not only making a payment or written communication. Bear in mind i have never spoken directly with anybody the whole time of having this debt. On another forum i was advised this and told to cancel the direct debits and hold out the couple of months for all of these debts to become "statute barred".

[krussox]

Sorry forgot to ask also that is the default in question what is causing my poor credit limit? After 6 years as you say and these defaults drop off my file will i better be able to work towards a better credit score as apposed to now with so many defaults on my file

[krussox]

So just to update, i did ring Lowell and cancel the payment plans, so at this point in time I have had no written or verbal communication other than this for the length of time the debts have existed. I was vague on the phone and did not offer any information other than I am not in a position to pay at the moment. I will take the advice of having never made a payment to any of these debts and never entering into written communication acknowledging any of these debts as that they will in a couple of months all become statute barred. Hopefully i have done the right thing.

[Roger]

Problem is they send a letter saying that you dont even have to call up to set up a dd, you just create an account online and that is it. Is acknowledgement not only making a payment or written communication. Bear in mind i have never spoken directly with anybody the whole time of having this debt. On another forum i was advised this and told to cancel the direct debits and hold out the couple of months for all of these debts to become "statute barred".

As for your Credit its already be pointed out that the entries will drop off after 6 years.

I would think that setting up a DD was an admission of Debt as you would have to have supplied your bank details etc.. Good idea to cancel the Direct Debits with your Bank anyway.
Not a good idea to talk to Lowell !!! They will have recorded your call and how else could you have known of these Debts!

Now you have to look at EACH INDIVIDUAL DEBT. This is why I suggest that you used the Diary format as a guide for EACH INDIVIDUAL DEBT

- Date commenced (ideally before Apr 2007)
- Approx balance
- Date last paid (approximate date you last made a payment)
- Are you on arrangement or not paying(NOT PAYING obviously)
- Status (default/in arrears/up-to-date)
- Account owner (who is writing to you, a DCA or the lender) Lowell

You need to find out the last payment and Date and when defaulted. It is this Date which determines whether statute Barred (that's 5 years in your case).

Some DEBTS may be Statute Barred others may not be.

For those that are not Statute Barred admission of the Debt means restarting the Statute Barred clock. Not the Credit Rating however!

By following this approach you will be taking control off your Debts and you will get help here.