Letter out of the blue

[all whites]

About two weeks ago i received a letter out of the blue from a debt recovery company they say it was from a debt from a credit card from nearly ten years ago this is the first correspondents i have had regarding this debt. They are asking for �1143.42. They haven't no proof, how do i stand in this matter, do i still owe the debt or not ?

[amonty1144]

No you don't collection of debt is limited to 6 years, if you have not been paying and not engaging in correspondence then you are not liable.

[themas]

I assume you are in England or Wales. The statute of limitations is 6 years. What this means is that Court action cannot be taken to enforce the debt if no payment has been made and the debt has not been acknowledged for 6 years. The exception is if a County Court Judgement has been obtained before the 6 years is up.

But the debt still exists, & they can go on chasing you for it. In a lot of cases they don't bother to when you tell them it is statute barred, but it is possible for them (or another debt recovery co.) to bring it up again at any time in the future. Also, they can muck up your credit reference records by putting info about the debt on there.