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Reply to a debt collector: prove the debt, or it has prescribed (Scotland)
Scotland · in English · for debtors
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For someone in Scotland chased by a debt collector or debt buyer for a debt they do not recognise, dispute or believe is more than five years old. National Debtline and StepChange publish free sample letters for a prescribed debt. This one acknowledges nothing: it asks for proof — the agreement, a statement of account, the default notice and the assignation — or states that the debt has prescribed under section 6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, so that it no longer exists, and will not be paid. Send it by recorded delivery, and keep a copy.
- Made for use in Scotland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- A debt collector in Scotland is chasing you for a debt you do not recognise.
- A debt buyer wants money for an old credit card you have not paid for years.
- You keep getting debt collection letters and do not want to admit anything by mistake.
- You want to say in writing that the debt has prescribed and no longer exists.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Debt collector or debt buyer
- Debt collector's postal address
- Debt collector's reference
- Date of the debt collector's letter
- Amount claimed
- Who the debt was first owed to
- Your answer: prove the debt, or it has prescribed
Common questions
- When does a debt prescribe in Scotland, and what happens to it then?
- Most debts, such as credit cards, loans, overdrafts and utility bills, prescribe five years after they became due if in those five years you made no payment, gave no clear written acknowledgement that you still owed it, and no court claim was made. The debt is then extinguished: it no longer exists, so it cannot be collected or sued for, and a later payment does not bring it back. A court decree is not caught by the five years.
- Does asking a debt collector in Scotland to prove a debt count as admitting it?
- No, as long as you do not say the debt is yours. A relevant acknowledgement under Scots law has to be an unequivocal written admission that the obligation still exists, and this letter states that it acknowledges nothing. A payment, even a small one, is different: on a debt that has not yet prescribed, it starts the five years again. Free advice is available from Citizens Advice Scotland, National Debtline and StepChange.
- What if I have received a simple procedure claim form about the debt in Scotland?
- Then this letter is not enough: answer the court on the Response Form by the date the court gives, saying whether you dispute the claim, and raise prescription there. If you do nothing, decree can be granted against you and enforced by sheriff officers. Citizens Advice Scotland, National Debtline and StepChange help free with a response.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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