It depends, I would think that the continuing payment plan made on the debt (the £1 a month) kept the date of accrual to the date of the most recent payment made.
The Limitation Act 1980 provides:
Code: Select all
29 Fresh accrual of action on acknowledgment or part payment.
(1)Subsections (2) and (3) below apply where any right of action (including a foreclosure action) to recover land or an advowson or any right of a mortgagee of personal property to bring a foreclosure action in respect of the property has accrued.
(2)If the person in possession of the land, benefice or personal property in question acknowledges the title of the person to whom the right of action has accrued—
(a)the right shall be treated as having accrued on and not before the date of the acknowledgment; and
(b)in the case of a right of action to recover land which has accrued to a person entitled to an estate or interest taking effect on the determination of an entailed interest against whom time is running under section 27 of this Act, section 27 shall thereupon cease to apply to the land.
(3)In the case of a foreclosure or other action by a mortgagee, if the person in possession of the land, benefice or personal property in question or the person liable for the mortgage debt makes any payment in respect of the debt (whether of principal or interest) the right shall be treated as having accrued on and not before the date of the payment.
(4)Where a mortgagee is by virtue of the mortgage in possession of any mortgaged land and either—
(a)receives any sum in respect of the principal or interest of the mortgage debt; or
(b)acknowledges the title of the mortgagor, or his equity ofredemption;
an action to redeem the land in his possession may be brought at any time before the expiration of twelve years from the date of the payment or acknowledgment.
(5)Subject to subsection (6) below, where any right of action has accrued to recover—
(a)any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim; or
(b)any claim to the personal estate of a deceased person or to any share or interest in any such estate;
and the person liable or accountable for the claim acknowledges the claim or makes any payment in respect of it the right shall be treated as having accrued on and not before the date of the acknowledgment or payment.
(6)A payment of a part of the rent or interest due at any time shall not extend the period for claiming the remainder then due, but any payment of interest shall be treated as a payment in respect of the principal debt.
(7)Subject to subsection (6) above, a current period of limitation may be repeatedly extended under this section by further acknowledgments or payments, but a right of action, once barred by this Act, shall not be revived by any subsequent acknowledgment or payment.
30 Formal provisions as to acknowledgments and part payments.
(1)To be effective for the purposes of section 29 of this Act, an acknowledgment must be in writing and signed by the person making it.
(2)For the purposes of section 29, any acknowledgment or payment—
(a)may be made by the agent of the person by whom it is required to be made under that section; and
(b)shall be made to the person, or to an agent of the person, whose title or claim is being acknowledged or, as the case may be, in respect of whose claim the payment is being made.
31 Effect of acknowledgment or part payment on persons other than the maker or recipient.
(1)An acknowledgment of the title to any land, benefice, or mortgaged personalty by any person in possession of it shall bind all other persons in possession during the ensuing period of limitation.
(2)A payment in respect of a mortgage debt by the mortgagor or any other person liable for the debt, or by any person in possession of the mortgaged property, shall, so far as any right of the mortgagee to foreclose or otherwise to recover the property is concerned, bind all other persons in possession of the mortgaged property during the ensuing period of limitation.
(3)Where two or more mortgagees are by virtue of the mortgage in possession of the mortgaged land, an acknowledgment of the mortgagor’s title or of his equity of redemption by one of the mortgagees shall only bind him and his successors and shall not bind any other mortgagee or his successors.
(4)Where in a case within subsection (3) above the mortgagee by whom the acknowledgment is given is entitled to a part of the mortgaged land and not to any ascertained part of the mortgage debt the mortgagor shall be entitled to redeem that part of the land on payment, with interest, of the part of the mortgage debt which bears the same proportion to the whole of the debt as the value of the part of the land bears to the whole of the mortgaged land.
(5)Where there are two or more mortgagors, and the title or equity of redemption of one of the mortgagors is acknowledged as mentioned above in this section, the acknowledgment shall be treated as having been made to all the mortgagors.
(6)An acknowledgment of any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim shall bind the acknowledgor and his successors but not any other person.
(7)A payment made in respect of any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim shall bind all persons liable in respect of the debt or claim.
(8)An acknowledgment by one of several personal representatives of any claim to the personal estate of a deceased person or to any share or interest in any such estate, or a payment by one of several personal representatives in respect of any such claim, shall bind the estate of the deceased person.
(9)In this section “successor”, in relation to any mortgagee or person liable in respect of any debt or claim, means his personal representatives and any other person on whom the rights under the mortgage or, as the case may be, the liability in respect of the debt or claim devolve (whether on death or bankruptcy or the disposition of property or the determination of a limited estate or interest in settled property or otherwise).
If this wasn't law then the banks wouldn't be willing to accept a £1 a month payment plan (as this would limit them to a maximum possible return of £72 on any debt. Instead the £1 a mnth scheme keeps the clock of accrual ticking, preserving their right to repayment, and allows for the debt to be dealt with later such that if after a certain period no attempt has been made, or seems likely to be made to repay it the debt can be sold on to a third party and the bank can recover some of it's expenditure.
The debt would be statute barred if six years had elapsed from his last payment of a pound, but they haven't. As such I don't think an argument that the debt is out of time would succeed.
