How long before a debt is written off?
Most people asking this mean the six-year rule. Here is what it actually does — and the three things it does not do.
What “statute-barred” actually means
The time limits come from the Limitation Act 1980 in England and Wales (with equivalent rules in Northern Ireland). For most “simple contract” debts — credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts, catalogues, store cards — the limitation period is six years. Once it expires, the creditor can no longer take court action to recover the money. They can still ask; you can still choose to pay; but the court route is closed to them, and continuing to demand payment of a debt they know is statute-barred while implying court action is possible can breach FCA conduct rules.
When the clock starts — and what restarts it
The six years normally runs from the cause of action — in practice, usually the point the debt fell due for repayment after default — and is reset to zero by either of two things: a payment towards the debt (by you, or anyone paying on your behalf) or a written acknowledgment that the debt is yours. Six years of complete silence is what the rule requires. A telephone conversation admitting the debt is not a written acknowledgment, but an email or letter can be — which is why the standard advice is to seek advice before responding to a collector about an old debt.
Three things the six-year rule does not do
It does not erase a CCJ. Once a creditor has a county court judgment, the debt cannot become statute-barred; enforcement of an old judgment may need the court’s permission after six years, but the judgment stands.
It does not clean your credit file. The credit-file six years is a separate clock entirely: a default drops off six years after the default date whether or not you paid, and whether or not the debt is statute-barred. A debt can be statute-barred but gone from your file, on your file but not statute-barred, or both, or neither.
It does not cover every debt the same way. Mortgage shortfalls run to twelve years for the principal. HMRC debts such as income tax are not subject to the ordinary six-year limit at all. Council tax works differently: the council must apply for a liability order within six years of the bill, but once an order exists there is no time limit on enforcing it. Benefit overpayments can be recovered by deduction from ongoing benefits regardless of limitation.
Scotland: five years, and actually extinguished
Scots law uses prescription rather than limitation: after five years without payment, written acknowledgment or court action, most consumer debts are extinguished under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 — the debt ceases to exist, rather than merely becoming unenforceable. A twenty-year rule covers some other obligations. The reset triggers are similar: payment or a relevant acknowledgment.
Is waiting it out a strategy?
For most people with active creditors, no — and this is where the searches and the reality part company. Six years of silence means six years of collection letters, possible court claims (any one of which stops the clock permanently if it ends in judgment), defaults on your credit file, and interest where the agreement allows it. A creditor who is paying attention issues a claim well inside the period. Statute-barred status mostly matters for old debts that have already been dormant for years — often resurfacing when a debt purchaser writes about an account you last heard of long ago. In that situation, the age of the debt is the first thing worth establishing, in writing, without acknowledging it — the prove-the-debt letter exists for exactly this.
If the debt is not statute-barred
Then it is an ordinary debt, and the ordinary routes apply: a DMP, a DRO, an IVA, bankruptcy, or a negotiated settlement — each with different rules an authorised adviser can assess against your circumstances. The write-off routes compares what each can and cannot discharge.