how long is it before a debt is written off if they cannot find you and the person has moved house?

Answer 1

In the England and Wales it is 6 years and in Scotland it is five years to be able to collect a debt.
So if you are owing money it would take this long before the debt would be written off.

Answer 2

If you're hoping to go off and hide because you have debts, you better think of something else.
If you are in the USA it is very difficult to not leave a record or trace of where you are or have been. Do you: have a Driver's License, get paid by an Employer, have records with the IRS and other organizations, have medical insurance, go to school, haveany insurances, etc.
Try negotiating with the people you owe to regularly pay just a small amount. You don't want to go through the rest of your life hiding or worrying about who the next phone call is from or who is at the door.

Answer 3

If this is just a debt for which there is no legal suit, it is 7 years that it will be reported as a bad debt. If there was legal action, then it will remain 10 years, and at the end of the 10 years, they have the option to renew. Good Credit stays on your report forever.

good luck & bless

Answer 4

In the US, debts are "written off" after 6 months for profit and loss purposes. That does not mean they don't try to collect after that. The next step after failure of "in house" collections is turning the debt over to a collection agency. If the collection agency fails to locate the debtor in time, generally 1 - 1 1/2 years after default the debt is sold in the secondary market and taken over by a new collector, who will seek the debtor through "skip tracing". Depending on your state and the applicable law on your contract there is a period beyond where a debt is unenforceable in court (statute of limitations). This varies from 3 years in North Carolina to 10 - 15 years depending on your state. See your state's statute of limitations for this. They might still sue but the statute of limitations is an affirmative defense and must be raised as an objection is suit is filed. In some jurisdictions an out of statute suit can result in sanctions against the collection agency. Keep in mind that the statute of limitations is tolled (frozen) if you are out of the country, in jail, or in some cases "hiding (though very rarely used)" If they can't find you they can't get you but the tools of the skip tracer are public records (any traffic tickets?, marriages?) applications for forwarding of mail - change of address from post office, magazine subscriptions (use a pseudonym like Al Colholic for your magazines) utilities, property tax records if you buy property, they can't access social security data bases and they generally find an employer through a credit application when that data is placed on a credit report. Do you complete phone data and income when you complete warranty forms? Why do they need to know your income for a warranty for a toaster oven - yep they are farming data to sell to the highest bidder. Use your first initial and never give out personal data on warranty forms. Basically if they cant find ya they cant get ya and unless you owe a considerable debt they aren't going to hunt you down like you were bin Laden or something.

The adverse information must be removed from your credit report after 7 years and technically they can pursue the debt forever but under US law must cease and desist on demand and if out of statute there is nothing they can do about it (except maybe file a tax form 1099 forgiving your debt and resulting in a tax liability) Live isn't perfect.

Answer 5

In the United States, a debt is typically charged off in about six months. However, it will remain on your credit record for 7-10 years, depending on the circumstances.

Answer 6

7 years. but if they catch the person and theres an aggreement on payments it can take up to the tinme it'll take them to pay it off.

if you've moved into a property and theres been debt from previous tennants there, i recomend you go to local citizens advice centre as they can help clear all debt from that house

Answer 7

If they can't find you for six years then you can use statute limitations i think it's called,one mention of this to a creditor and they give up harassing you...but really you should try to pay your debts as best you can

Answer 8

Debt is never written off, they will find you eventually.

Answer 9

"They" always find you. Moving wont hide you...your Social security number and credit remain the same.

Answer 10

If they haven't found you in 6 yrs, legally, after that they cant enforce it