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Reply to a debt collector: prove the debt, or it is statute-barred (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland · in English · for debtors
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For someone in Northern Ireland chased by a debt collector or debt buyer for a debt they do not recognise, dispute or believe is more than six years old. The letter does not acknowledge the debt: it asks for proof — the agreement, a statement of account, the default notice and the assignment — or states that the debt is statute-barred under the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and will not be paid, which FCA rules require a firm collecting a regulated credit debt to respect. Send it by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For), and keep a copy.
- Made for use in Northern Ireland
- 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 Northern Ireland is chasing you for a debt you do not recognise.
- You are getting letters about an old credit card you have not paid anything on for years.
- A company that bought your old debt keeps phoning and writing.
- You want the collector to prove the debt or accept it is too old to chase.
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 is statute-barred (Northern Ireland)
Common questions
- After how long is a debt statute-barred in Northern Ireland?
- Most debts — credit cards, loans, overdrafts, utility bills — become statute-barred six years after the creditor could first have sued, usually after a default (Article 4 of the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989), provided that in those six years you made no payment, signed no written acknowledgment and no court judgment was obtained. Some other debts follow other periods.
- Could asking the collector to prove the debt be treated as admitting it?
- Not if you avoid saying the debt is yours: an acknowledgment must admit the claim in writing and be signed (Article 59 of the 1989 Order), and this letter states that it acknowledges nothing. A payment made while you wait, even a small one, starts the six years again on a debt that is not yet statute-barred.
- What should you do if court papers arrive about the debt in Northern Ireland?
- This letter is then not enough: answer the court by the date and in the way its papers say, and raise the time limit there. Free help is available from Advice NI, Citizens Advice Northern Ireland, StepChange and MoneyHelper, which can explain your options without charge before the deadline passes.
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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