Debt collectors from nowhere

[salcinnevest]

I received a notification from a debt collection agency that, despite numerous attempts to contact me, I had not replied.

This is after 7 years and is the first I have heard from them. Do I have to prove that I have not heard from them or do they have to to prove that I have? I believe 7 years is out of date.

[chelsea78]

7yrs is a long time but if you owe them money then dont matter how many years ago it was they dont forget about it, they used to wipe debt clear after 5yrs i think it was, but now law has changed, if you cant afford to pay it then best bet is citizen advice they are very good.
Good luck in getting it sorted.

[themas]

If the debt is an ordinary one (i.e. not secured on a property) and you have not made any payment on it or acknowledged that you owe it for the last 6 years, then it is statute barred. This means the creditor cannot take legal action to enforce payment, but the debt still exists and can still adversely affect your credit rating. The exceptions to this are if the debt is a joint one with someone else who has made payment, or if the creditor obtained a County Court Judgement before the 6 years was up.

You do not have to prove that you have not heard anything; they have to prove the debt can still be enforced or any Court would refuse to grant a judgement.

Many people in these circumstances arrange for a full and final settlement at a fraction of the full debt amount to be made (this should be done through a third party and not by the debtor) to clear the debt once and for all; otherwise repreated contact can be made by different debt collectors over the years. However, the first thing is to get them to agree that the debt is statute barred, so you could write to them saying this is the case and see what their response is. Alternatively, you could ignore it and see whether they do anything further.

[fran1980]

You do not have to prove that you have not herd from them, it is the other way around.
I would also like to add befor parting with any cash that county court orders and warrents to take goods if payment not made actually do expire after 3 years.
Also you have the right to make a payment plan to pay the monry back in small monthly amounts.

[themas]

I don't know what Fran is referring to as a "county court order", but county court judgements do not expire after 3 years. In principle they are enforceable indefinitely, but if the creditor leaves enforcement too long (normally 6 years) they have to get leave from the court - giving an explanation for the delay - before going ahead with enforcement.