Thank you dx I do appreciate your time and experience with this.

Thank you London. Much appreciated reply BT

I have read all the threads in their entirety that mention Cabot and Ruthbridge - one thread comes close to my situation, however is still different enough that it has done nothing to alleviate the anxiety I am feeling. So yes I have "tried the self help" route before I asked for this thread to be reopened to allow me to post to try and quell my disquiet. Just because I don't post on other threads does not mean I have been lazy or wanted spoon feeding. As for your other comment about "mental health issues not being an excuse not to help yourself" you clearly have little to no idea how debilitating it can be to be trapped inside your own mind and how far a little compassion and reassurance can go to help which I exactly why I posted here. Do you know what I've learnt? I know I was stupid getting in debt in the first place and I've held my hands up, and along the way learnt from other threads that likely Cabot and Ruthbridge are two arms of the same company, and Cabot tend to pass the buck on Lemon debts to them so yes the balance of probability is such that I'm likely ok, and all I wanted from my post was a little advice and reassurance. Why? This debt came about because my partner at the time in 2009/10 died from complications arising from being pregnant and contracting swine flu leaving me with a 10 month old to look after and a job that I couldn't keep and bring up a child concurrently, so please excuse me if the current epidemic coinciding with my wife falling pregnant has already got me in a "hyper-vigilant" state with stress levels through the roof worrying that I may well be left with 2 kids and a massive mortgage that threats from a DCA, even if completely impotent and unable to be acted on, are compounding massively. I'm not after bleeding heart sympathy but you've leapt to more than a few conclusions about me and my activity on her and pegged me incorrectly as "can't be chewed on to help himself" You've not told me anything I didn't already know about DCA legal powers, you jumped to the conclusion that I was reading elsewhere about my worry that a letter to the DCA could reset the SB clock due to "acknowledging the debt" which in the strictest sense a CCA request does (I was not aware that it hasn't been challenged by a DCA in court until I read a post by you on another thread that states you hadn't seen it done - does not mean it can't be tried though does it?) and made a big leap that I've just come here and reopened my thread without bothering to even attempt some self help. Do you know many veterans? Of all the people in the country, vets are the ones who are most likely to try and help themselves first and foremost without actually bothering others for their time and knowledge if I'm honest. Oh and they're also likely the most capable in standing up for themselves too - mental health issues and illnesses included.

Have i done or said something to offend you? I'm a veteran with mental health issues, extreme anxiety being a big one. There is no need to be rude really is there. Whilst DCAs may not be Bailiffs or have any legal powers as you said yourself a few posts back they are an underhand mob that have dubious practices such as stealth CCJs and court action - so I ask you politely and calmly, why would I not be worried about it and "71 posts and 8 years on CAG" makes little to no difference to someone with my mental illness

Well I don't know hence why I'm asking what's likely to happen next - as I'm still not sure it is SB It is a bit worrying dx especially as I've worked hard to get out of bother financially

It's statute barred I think. Was that a serious answer?

Update: received a letter from Ruthbridge today saying Csbot have asked for the file to be returned to them and that they (Ruthbridge) have closed the account and I will not be hearing from them again. Any ideas what I'm likely to get from Cabot now? Thanks

I have sent the letter from the library as an email attachment and received confirmation the email has been received.

no-one however it is an anonymous account, and the letter was delivered as an attachment. They cannot then claim it was not delivered.

Thank you DX. I have sent the SB letter via email today, with the caveat that I do not acknowledge any debt to cabot or Ruthbridge

I don't intend to pay, I just want to make sure my repaired Credit Score is not affected by them somehow, as this has a massive implication for my current employment (Security Clearance/Vetting) - I'm an engineer and cautious by nature so I do not under any circumstances want to fire off a SB letter only to receive a "haha, no it's not because you asked us for a CCA in 2015" reply from them and am seeking reassurance from the forums that my actions are not going to be cavalier and I end up unemployed and with a fried credit score. I am no longer an individual but a family of 4 to consider.

I received a further letter and a phone call from Ruthbridge yesterday offering a 70% discount and through a lot of waffle go on to say verbatim (I hung up the phone without admitting who I am): "If you fail to contact us... we may return the account to our client (cabot?) who may look at alternative activity" I'm guessing they know it's SB then as there is no reference to court, however they do state that the credit reference agencies will be updated to reflect "partially settled" should I take advantage of their offer - there is no HSBC/Cabot/Ruthbridge account showing on any of my credit reports. DX apologies if you take it as I am being difficult or dim, however I remain concerned that the CCA request does not contain the words "I do not acknowledge any debt" or similar and because only a debtor can apply for the CCA (as I'm led to believe) then sending for this in 2015 has reset the date of acknowledgement of the debt - has this ever been used by a DCA as an acknowledgement of the debt? Furthermore with the 2015 letters and 2020 letter having completely different amounts allegedly owed and reference numbers that differ from the original letters from Cabot and the CCA supplied back in 2016 this is giving me a further level of concern over the best course of action.

Ok great - I guess my point is, how do I know it is SB for sure?

DX no I have not been reading anything since 2016 when I last posted here - I have had no reason to! Is it not a logical leap that if I send the SB letter that is an acknowledgement of the debt, which therefore "resets the clock"? Loan was dated 2003 on my Experian credit file (now gone) Loan CCA dated 2009, however this may have been a consolidation loan hence the disparity between my credit file and docs Cabot sent me almost 9 months after my CCA request in March 2015, I defaulted in 2010, no NOA, Default Notice etc and no payment made since 2011, no contact from Cabot until 2015 , CCA request, radio silence then from Cabot until 2016, ignored them following discussion here and then no contact until last week. What I'm worried about is that in the CCA request or sending the SB letter can be seen as an acknowledgement of the debt. Because of the different ref numbers from Cabot I am worried, along with the different amounts claimed as owing. Nothing is showing on my credit file, Noddle or Clear score and my Credit Expert score is 990+ If I can send the SB letter with absolutely no chance of triggering a court case then I'll do it - reading other threads re: Cabot and Ruthbridge, common advice is to just bin the letters hence my confusion as best course of action. I am not being obtuse or pig-headed and I believe this should have been SB in 2016/17 latest.

Si if I send the SB letter does that carry with it a risk of resetting the clock? I appreciate your time and help, however I am not au fait with the process, for that I apologise