Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973

This act governs how long a creditor has to take action against you to recover the debt.

The act sets out the time limits for different types of debts in Scotland; these vary between 5 and 20 years.

Type of Debt	Example	Period
Unsecured	Credit card, Store card, personal loan, catalogues finance company loans.	5 years since the debt was last acknowledged, not 5 years since the debt was taken out.
Social Security payment	Overpayment of benefits or tax credits.	20 years if they have taken matter to Court. They have 5 years to take the matter to court.
Council Tax Debt	Council tax payable to local councils, but debt may be pursued by a sheriff or debt collector.	20 years
Council tax reduction (also commonly referred to council tax benefit] overpayment reverts to council tax arrears	Benefit paid to help meet costs of council tax bill.	20 years
Housing benefit overpayment	Benefit paid to help meet rent costs	20 years
Mortgage Shortfall	Balance owed to lender after sale or repossession of home	Capital (the loan) 20 years Interest 5 years since the debt was last acknowledged, not 5 years since the debt was taken out
Student Loans	From September 1998	All loans are deducted from income and rules allow for repayment at any time dependent upon your income level. “Write off” usually applies a set number of years after the loan but the “write off” timeframe depends on when the loan was taken out and which repayment plan you are under.

Before acting you should seek independent advice as all of the criteria have additional conditions attached.