If you owe someone money (for example, because you have taken out credit), you must repay those funds in accordance with the agreements you have made about them with your creditor. Circumstances may prevent you from doing so, or you may simply forget to do so.
If your creditor finds that you have stopped paying, that does not mean she can sit still. If your creditor does, the claim (or debt) may be time-barred.
If a claim is time-barred, it means that your creditor can no longer force you to pay the claim. It can still send you a demand, but you can then choose not to pay. However, it is wise to inform your creditor why you are not paying.
Even the court can no longer force you to pay the claim/debt. If your creditor takes you to court for a time-barred claim, the court will dismiss the claim. However, it is important then that you explicitly invoke the statute of limitations.
A claim is time-barred if the creditor fails to give you notice for a certain continuous period of time (the "statute of limitations"), and you yourself also fail to take any actions that demonstrate your knowledge of the claim (such as, for example, making a payment or making a payment arrangement).
How long the statute of limitations is depends on the type of claim and what has occurred.
It may be that you pay a claim, but later find that it was already time-barred. In that case, it is unfortunately not possible to reclaim the payment. Therefore, if you are faced with an old claim, it is advisable to carefully examine whether it is time-barred before making payment.
Would you like to know whether you have a BKR registration? Read how you can request your BKR registration or perform a BKR check.
If a consumer invokes the statute of limitations, the creditor will almost always take the position that there is no such thing and that you are therefore obliged to pay the claim. The substantiation of this position (if there is any substantiation at all), however, often rattles on all sides. For example, the creditor may (consciously or unconsciously) use an incorrect limitation period, or she may not adequately demonstrate that she performed certain actions.
Because it is difficult for a consumer without a legal background to determine whether what the creditor states is correct, they often proceed to pay anyway. And that, of course, is a waste of money.
If a time-barred claim has been reported to BKR, the lender is required to cancel the BKR registration.
In practice, lenders often have a hard time deregistering registrations associated with time-barred receivables. If they deregister at all, they often record the wrong end date.
It is important that you have your BKR registration amended. After all, with a negative BKR registration, you will not be able toborrow moneyortake out a mortgage, for example.
Normally, a registration remains valid for five years after repayment, but different rules apply in the event of expiry.
Have you recently been sued for an old claim, and want to have it investigated to see if it is time-barred? Or are you sure that a claim is time-barred, but the other party refuses to admit it? Or does the lender refuse to cancel your BKR registration, or is an incorrect expiration date recorded?
The lawyers at Dynamiet Nederland are happy to help you. We know exactly when a claim is time-barred or not, and make sure you don't pay more than you are obligated to. In addition, we can ensure that any BKR registration is removed or (correctly) deregistered.
We would be happy to discuss with you, without obligation, what we can do for you. Please feel free to contact us without obligation.
Would you like to know exactly what the BKR is and how registrations work? Then read about what the BKR is.
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