Over 15 years ago I was charged with theft over 1000 in the province of PEI, I was sentenced to serve weekends (I was 18 and still in hightschool)and pay 10,000 dollars restitution for something I never did ( should have choose my friends more carefully) anyway I did the time but never paid the 10 grand. Now 15 or so years later I have started the pardon process with a company here in BC so I can attend police academy and they have sent me a letter saying it shows I still owe the 10 grand. The courts in PEI have never tried to collect and neither has the insurance company ( so called friend stole a truck). Now my question is there a sort of SOL they have to collect because I refuse to pay 10 thousand for sometime I never did. And oh yea my so called friend was 17 at the time and he basically got away with it when all I did was drive him to downtowm summerside pei and went home and was not even there when he took it, so I basically got screwed.

Generally there is no limit as to how long a debt can remain owing.

Statutes of limitations mainly apply to the time someone has to file a lawsuit against another. In this case no lawsuit is necessary since the amount owing is already pursuant to a court order.

With that being said, some types of court orders (eg. Judgments) do have limitation periods for how long they can be enforced.

We are unaware how long a restitution order in P.E.I. remains enforceable. In any event, your failure to pay will likely remain part of the very criminal record you are seeking to have dealt with. Your best advice may lie with the pardons company or with a P.E.I. lawyer.

Ok, first off, you were CONVICTED of the theft. That's different from just being charged. You were sentenced and never completed the sentence.

However, if the circumstances are as you describe, you either had a lousy lawyer or no representation.

As I see it, you have two choices. You can try to appeal the conviction and get it overturned or seek a pardon. It may be too late to appeal so a pardon may be your best bet.

If the company that is trying to get you the pardon says that they can't because you never completed the sentence, then you are out of luck.

He was a lousy lawyer. I kept telling him that all I did was drive him there and I went home, but I was a scared kid that had never been in trouble with the law before and when was at the police station had 2 cops standing over me screaming at me basically telling me I was an "accomplice". I served the time but never paid the restitution and basically refuse to. I had no idea he had stolen the truck until 2 months later when the cops spoke with me. What is the time limit to filing appeals? I also spoke with the pardon services and they said if they process it 15 years to the day that they don't have to include the court docs showing that it is unpaid. So I guess I will wait to see what happens. It really sucked that my "friend" sat there and watched me take the fall for something he did, needless to say I never spoke to that guy after that and have never been in trouble with the law since.

Good luck. I think the pardon is your best bet at this point.

Restitution is a life long debt. It is the penalty for the criminal act you were convicted of. Think of it this way. You stole a car. The penalty rather than restitution was 1 year in jail. You took off rather than do the time. Fifteen years later, you get stopped for speeding and you get arrested for not doing the jail time. See my point.

You cannot go bankrupt on restitution.

No way out of the $10000.00.

There IS a process you can go through. You must go to your city's courthouse (city hall) and request a copy of your legal file. Once you receive it, usually about 3-4 weeks, you go to the crown attorney's office and fill out an application to bring your case before a judge, then you will bring any financial details for yourself before the court and ask to the have the restitution amount lowered or forgiven. Only then can you apply for a pardon, you will NOT be granted a pardon unless this restitution is taken care of, either by having it lowered and paying it or by having it forgiven and brought to zero.