You may have been on the
receiving end of a threat from a debt collector or law firm, demanding that you
pay a debt, which goes back years.
The Prescription Act
provides that the basic period of prescription is 30 years in respect of any ‘judgement
of debt’ and 3 years for any ‘other debt’.
The effect is that in the
case of any other debt, where no payment has been made for a period of 3 years,
the debt has ‘prescribed’. This means that the debt has been completely
extinguished and does not have to be paid.
Prescription is ‘interrupted’ by the issue of summons (before the three years are up) or by any
express or tacit acknowledgement of liability by the debtor (such as a payment
of any amount towards the debt, within the three years).
So some advice: if a debt collector calls or writes to you to claim
payment of a debt that is older than 3 years (and you have not paid anything in
the past three years, or admitted liability in that time, or the creditor hasn’t
sued you) claim prescription and refuse to pay.
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