I've only just seen this thread but wanted to add my voice to the many wishing you well, seanamarts. Although these disgraceful events should never have ocurred in the first place, I'm so pleased that at least they picked on somebody with the courage and determination to stand up to the "bailiff" in question.

Well that's jolly nice to know

I can only see one page - tell me that's not all they sent!

Presumably your CCA letter informed them that the £1 was for the Statutory Fee? If they've used it for any other purpose then, in my opinion, that could be viewed as theft. I'm still waiting for my quid back from these jokers.

Bless 'em, they're so used to just sending out statements for people reclaiming charges that they forget some of us want to know the full story. The poor chap from DHL had to make two trips to me!

I'd also write to the licencing people at the OFT, complaining that by continuing to pursue a Statute Barred debt Thames are in clear breach of OFT guidelines and, in your view, unfit to hold a consumer credit licence.

Groan....

So they're trying to shift the burden of proof to you, when it's they who have started legal action? That's not how the legal system works in this country... I've received guidance from the OFT that although the response to a CCA request need not be an exact copy, a creditor would in fact need to provide a true copy of an executed agreement if they wanted a court to rule it enforcable.

I see a good case for getting the £100 back, but you'd probably have to go to Court for it. There's no harm in trying, first with an initial request, then a LBA, then an N1. As they had no right to the payment in the first place, as it was Statute Barred, I can't see them entering much of a defence. It's really down to how much you need the money, and how much you want to punish them. You may prefer to regard the £100 as a small price to pay for getting them off your back.

Have a read of the OFT guidance on unfair practice in debt collection and count up how many guidelines they've breached! http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collectors-debt-collection/84273-oft-debt-collection-guidance.html Sadly it's only guidance, not law, but any court would take an exceptionally dim view of a company who went against this. It could also have an adverse effect when Cabot come to renew their Consumer Credit Licence. Don't worry about court or baliffs, we'll cross that bridge if it ever gets that far. Have a read of some other Cabot threads and you'll see that even in the extremely rare event of them starting court proceedings, they're not particularly hard to defeat. I used to be a DJ, many moons ago.

Were you stupid? Or were you victim of their intimidating threats and underhand tactics? I think we both know which. Don't worry, nobody here thinks your stupid. Don't worry about the phone conversation, you haven't acknowleged anything in writing. And how could you, as you don't yet know if Cabot are legally entitled to this alleged debt?

I speak from experience, there's good money to be made in exhibitions. 10 years ago it cost my old company over £32K to have a stand at the NEC for a week, plus another grand for carpets but that's another story...

I'd strongly suggest for anybody in similar circumstances that they download this ICO guidance booklet (just over 1Mb PDF): http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/detailed_specialist_guides/data_protection_act_legal_guidance.pdf You can also order a hard copy, for free, here - look for the publication called "Legal Guidance": https://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resources/request_publications.aspx

According to the OFT, when they replied to me, the response to a CCA request doesn't necessarily have to be a true copy but when it comes to enforcing it in court Cabot would indeed need to produce a genuine copy complete with prescribed terms and signatures. I'd suggest that if they started court action without such a document then it could be considered vexatious litigation. In my opinion.

Ooooh I'd love to see Ken in a courtroom. Shame that county courts don't have docks, I'd pay good money to watch that.

"Probably" nearly 5 years old? Can you check the last time you made a payment or acknowledged this alleged debt? If it's over 6 years (5 in Scotland) and not subject to a CCJ it's almost certainly Statute Barred. Before entering into any negotiation with Cabot you should ensure that they have a legal right to this alleged debt. Never, ever, have anything to do with them on the phone. As you've probably realised from reading this forum, they're slippery little rascals who will say anything to get their hands on your hard-earned money. Write to them with a variant of Letter N from the templates library, ensuring you include the phrase "I do not acknowledge any debt". You're basically asking them for a copy of the executed agreement under which they believe they are acting. You should also ask for a statement of account and any other documents referred to in the agreement. You'll need to enclose £1, and make sure you send it recorded and keep the receipt. Cabot have recently started to deny that the Consumer Credit Act applies to them, but that they're happy to assist you in getting the agreement from the original creditor. This usually takes them a couple of months, after which they tend to supply a badly photocopied application form rather than an enforcable agreement. Keep all your letters safe, and keep a log if they attempt to phone you. Hope that helps (coughscalescough )

I'd go with: Dear DCA, Sue me. Yours,

I'm late to this thread but as others have said you're doing exactly the right thing. Keep your cool, keep everything in writing, and keep detailed logs of all their calls whether attempted or successful. You can beat the bullies

If you search the register of data controllers ( Register of Data Controllers & their roles - Information Commissioner's Office - ICO ) for "ME19 4LT" you'll find FINANCIAL INVESTIGATIONS AND RECOVERIES (EUROPE) LIMITED listed as a seperate data controller, so as Seahorse has indicated, I'd be asking questions as to whether Cabot Financial (Wherever) Ltd had your consent to pass your data to them.

They ignored my Data Subject Notice, and when I chased it up they reckoned I'd quoted a wrong subsection of the Act in the follow-up letter (I've checked: I'm right, they're wrong). I'm giving them a few more days then I'm reporting them to my new friend at the Information Commissioner's Office

That sounds almost word-for-word the same as the letter they sent me (details here). I've asked them to clarify whether they are relying on this document to prove that a debt exists. I've also raised complaints with the OFT and the FOS about their behaviour. Does your application form look anything like the one I posted? I'm treating mine as unenforcable, and inviting Cabot to test this in Court if they're so confident that it's a valid agreement.

That's the $64,000 question, sadly.

Any more news from the CAG team? I'd like to see the Wiki utilised more, so I hope people aren't having problems accessing it.

You should calculate how much benefit this employee's presence brings to the company then ask your bosses to make a donation to CAG

Don't panic. They're incredibly unlikely to send anybody round, and even if they did a debt collector is not a baliff and has absolutely no legal powers, including right of entry. If and when they send another letter, let us know what it says and we'll take it from there.