Defending at court
If a creditor takes a client to court over a debt which has passed the prescriptive period, the client must show the court that the relevant prescription period has passed and ask the court to cancel the creditor’s case.
The client must complete any paperwork received from the court and return it before the deadline. Failure to do this leads to the court going forward with the court order, which starts the prescription clock again and allows the creditor to pursue diligence against the client.
The client may need to attend a hearing if the court requires more information.
Once the forms have been returned to the court, the creditor must provide evidence that the relevant prescriptive period has not passed. If it cannot, the court should dismiss the claim.
This can be complex to navigate and depends on the procedure under which the action is raised (simple procedure/ordinary cause). Advisers can get specialist help from the MATRICS team (consultancy@matrics.org.uk) if they are unsure how to proceed.