14 year old loan statute of limitations

[gtekrugby]

hi can anybody tell me if there is a time limitation that a lender can issue legal procceedings against a borrower,i have just received a solicitors letter demanding payment for a credit union loan i took out in 1990,i beleived this loan was discharged years ago and because of the length of time that has passed and the fact i lived overseas for a few years and have since moved house i have no records of the loan or payments i made,any advice would be great

 

[ClubMan]

Is [broken link removed] of any use?

 

[daltonr]

i beleived this loan was discharged years ago

Do you mean that you think it was paid off?

If so the statute of limitations is irrelevant, you shouldn't have to pay it again. I'd contact the Credit Union, tell them you were under the impression that it was paid off, and you're confused about why they would have involved a solicitor.

Has there been no communication in the intervening period from the Credit Union? It would be unusual to suddenly get a solocitor's letter 14 years later.

If you know the debt wasn't paid off that's a different story.
I think the length of time they could keep the debt open would depend on the specific agreement you entered into with them, I don't think there's a Number of years after which they aren't allowed to pursue you.

Before you do anything with Solocitor's, get onto the Credit Union and get the facts straight.

-Rd

 

[Unregistered]

statute of limitations runs for 3 or 6 years depending on the type of debt.

be careful though - if you acknowledge the debt, or partly pay some of it off, the clock will begin to run again.

best thing is just to ignore the letter or write back saying that the limitation period has expired.

the only way they could succeed is if they initiated court proceedings within the prescribed limitation period, i.e. within 3/6 years of debt becoming due which was over 14 years ago. unlikely.

hope that makes sense!