Debt recovery guide · Tricky situations
How old can a debt be and still be recovered?
The legal answer: in England, Wales and Northern Ireland you generally have six years from when the debt fell due — or from the debtor's last written acknowledgment or part-payment — to bring a court claim. In Scotland it's usually five, and the debt can be extinguished entirely. The practical answer: far less. Recovery odds decay month by month long before any legal deadline.
What resets, and what runs out
A written acknowledgment of the debt, or any part-payment, restarts the limitation clock — which is why a debtor paying £20 'as a gesture' matters more than it looks. Once the period passes with neither, the debt becomes statute-barred: it still exists, but the courts won't enforce it, which in practice ends professional recovery.
Judgments live by different rules: a CCJ doesn't expire at six years, though enforcing one that old needs the court's permission — enforce while it's fresh.
Why 'still recoverable' isn't 'still likely'
Old debts fight back: debtors move, companies dissolve, invoices get disputed from memory rather than records, and agencies price the extra work into higher commission. A debt chased at 60 days is routine; the same debt at three years is a project.
If you're sitting on an ageing debt, the useful question isn't 'am I still in time?' — it's 'why give it another quarter to get worse?' Check the figures with the late payment calculator, then escalate.
Where this fits in the bigger picture
This is one step of a well-trodden path — demands, statutory add-ons, professional recovery, court, enforcement. The complete debt recovery guide walks the whole process, and the late payment calculator works out what you can add to a commercial debt today.
Related situations
General information, not legal advice.