hi

can you please confirm and clarify exactly what contitues an admission of liability?

for years, my friend has discussed matters / negotiated a settlement over the phone. in doing so, is this an admission of liability / acknowledgment of the debt? she has also instructed someone in 'litigation' to act on her behalf and they wrote to the bank. is this an admission of liability / acknowledgment of the debt? since her first home was repossessed, she has not made a payment.

thanks for any help / advice.

dippy

-- dippy (fretweb@hotmail.com), July 22, 2004

Answers

This I believe can be a difficult area of the law. You cannot acknowledge a debt by telephone. However, in writing it's a different question, it really needs a qualified lawyer (which I'm not) to see what has been written as it will depend on the wording/content of the letter/doc. Even some lawyers/advisors have inadvertently acknowledged debts on behalf of their client, it is therefore important to write a recorded delivery letter to whoever is working on your behalf stating that you do not want them to acknowledge the debt. If the debt is a joint one this can also have a bearing depending on circumstances. Sometimes a debt can be acknowledged purely by implication. It may be that a court case may be necessary to resolve the question in doubtful cases. Their may also be a possibity to resile where a debt has been acknowledged, though this has never been tested in court as far as I know. Hope this helps.

Mark.

-- M Amos (idgroms@hotmail.com), July 23, 2004.