This petition was submitted during the 2015–2017 Conservative government
Petition Make consumer debt statute barred after 4 not 6 years.
Currently, creditors can sue for repayment of debts for up to 6 yrs after default or payment. The Courts are overwhelmed. In 2014, there were 1.5 million claims issued and 410,000 judgments with 54 weeks from claim to hearing. By reducing the statute bar to 4 years, this would reduce the claims.
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Of £470 bn of consumer debt, £50 billion is now owned by debt purchase companies, who buy bank and credit card balances for 2-10% of their value and then use the Courts to get 100% repayment, making super profits in the process. One company owns £17bn of consumer debt and reported a profit of £196 million last year.By reducing the statute bar to four years, the number of claims would be reduced, the Courts could cope better, and original lenders would be OK. Consumers would be the winners
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months