At this rate LUFC, the default will have dropped off my credit file by the time the OFT get their finger out.

Fill it out like this... BMW's living expenses = £allmydosh Cabot Financial = £nofeckinchance

Doesn't sound as if any proof was offered at all. ANYONE could turn up and say they are repossesing a car, but without a warrant, I'd say they are stuffed if it was parked on private property. Unless, of course, they can weasel their way on as this lot appear to have done. Let's say it was a telly, for example. They couldn't just enter a house without a court order.

Can they remove the vehicle from private property without a court order? Sounds like they conned you into believing they had more rights than they had at that stage. If all they had was the say so of the finance company, surely that in itself isn't sufficient to just take the car from your driveway. Surely they would have needed a court order even to set foot on your driveway?

Give TomTerm a shout. He's way clued up on the court nitty gritty.

The clock starts.... NOW!!!

But it IS very interesting that they both come from the same area. In my VERY humble opinion, it all seems like way too much of a coincidence. Whilst Cabot MAY have consent to share data as per any agreement that MAY have been signed, they certainly have NO consent to share that data for any other reason than to be able to administer the account. There must be a way surely, to find out what, if any, companies sell data on. We all know that once Cabot becomes involved, there appears to be a rather strange increase in the amount of junk mail and cold calls received. Usually debt or finance related. Coincidence?

Well, it might satisfy their obligations in that they only have to supply a copy of the agreement IF it exists. And as it quite clearly doesn't, and the scrap of paper they HAVE supplied is exactly that, then there is no evidence that you ever consented to any sharing of your data. As they seem to have missed their own complaint timescale, I'd say you have done as much as can be resonably expected, and so you can complain to the relevant bodies. Quite clearly, they are in breach of OFT guidlines with respect to debt collection, so have a word with Consumer Direct, who will in turn pass your complaint on to Trading Standards. See their website for a phone number... Consumer Direct The FOS will also be an option. They'll hit Cabot with a £400 if they investigate. Have you sent Cabot a notice under section 10 of the DPA? If you want the default removed, then that should be your next step. If they fail to respond satisfactorily to that, you can escalate your complaint to the ICO. You MUST beVERY clear in your mind as to why you think this is something that Cabot should be doing. As I mentioned earlier though, the ICO is awash with complaints so don't expect a rapid response. But it IS a route a court will have expected you to take before you contemplate taking Cabot to court.

However, they may have a point about satisfying the requirements of the CCA. They only have to supply a copy IF one exists. Quite clearly, there IS no agreement. And they WOULD need one to enforce any alleged debt. Angel 1 - Monument 0. New balls please.

Just keep a running account of each stage on here and you'll be fine. I assume you have noticed my link to Cabot's complaints procedure? If they know that YOU know the timescales, hopefully that will gee them up a bit. Have a read so you know how long they SAY they'll take at each point in the proceedings. As soon as that fails, I'd get a letter off to the relevant stautory bodies. Cabot may say that they have no idea that their agent is misbehaving. However, this is NOT the first time they have used them, and they have had several complaints about their behaviour in the past. The whole point of using them is to try to distance themselves from any dodgy nonsense. But of course, we all know that they are as liable in law for their agent's behavior as if they were being naughty themselves.

Yup, just send them a letter thanking them for their attempts to fullfill their obligations under the CCA, but as it now appears unlikely that any agreement will be forthcoming whatsoever and cannot therefore prove any entitlement to payment, you would be obliged if they would confirm that they now acknowledge that they will not be pursuing you for this alleged debt. Failing which, you reserve the right to take the issue up with the OFT and the FOS.

Dontcha just know we're all waiting with baited breath to see how they extract themselves from this one. :D:D:D:D:D

Yup, that's th thing to do. Doesn't sound like they are prepared to be reasonable, and there's no point waiting out any longer. At least it's not affecting your credit rating. A complaint to the FOS wouldn't go amiss either. I know it's a business account, but you are not a business, so no reason why you shouldn't take the ordinary consumer standpoint, I don't think.

I wish it was my video too Barty. It's almost a pity that Cabot don't phone me any more, otherwise I think I'd need to have a camera set up ready for the phone to ring.

Trying to sort anything out with the likes of Cabot will take a lot longer than 4 months to sort out, so August will be here and gone before you know it. Cabot will be using BC&W because they know full well the debt is nearly statute bared, so will have brought in these eejits in an attempt to get an immediate payment by scaring the sh!t out of you. I'd send a formal complaint to both BC&W AND Cabot, and demand a copy of their complaints procedure. If you don't get a satisfactory response within 8 weeks, or their own procedure breaks down, get a complaint off to the OFT and FOS. ESPECIALLY the FOS. They'll hit Cabot with a £400 fee just for investigating, never mind anything else. Don't forget to send BC&W a letter demanding no phone contact, only in writing.

Bear in mind that, should you ever miss a payment (if you are in fact paying them a monthly quid), and they default you, that will be reflected on your credit file, and you'll have the 6 years of hell to start all over again. Also, if you ARE paying them a quid a month, the debt WON'T be statute barred in 6 years. It will be statute barred 6 years AFTER you last make a payment. And at some stage, they are going to want this off their books anyway. So will sell your debt (and your soul quite probably) to the likes of Cabot Financial. Who WON'T be too happy with a quid a month for life.

If Cabot are as willing to help as they seem to have convinced you, then they will be quite happy to let you keep to the same arrangement to pay as you had with the OC, and won't add on any interest or charges. And if the OC was as nice as they have convinced you they are, they wouldn't have sold your account to the likes of Cabot. I suspect though, that your debt has now been sold to a company who will NOT be happy to maintain the existing arrangement, and who will become your Best Mate for the rest of your life if you cannot afford to pay more than you were originally paying. I'd hazard a guess too, that the interest rate they apply will have little bearing on the interest rate that was contained in any possible agreement that you might originally have signed. Not that I want to burst your bubble or anything.

Make sure in your letter that you let Cabot know that you are making a formal complaint. The timescale for being nice to them is therefore ticking down as per their own complaints procedure, after which time you will be able to make an official complaint to all and sundry INCLUDING the FOS. Rather than wait for them to send you a copy, I have reproduced it here... Complain : Cabot Financial Blog

Agreed, JC. But this will never have been because they have managed to win the Right but ot the Duties arguement. If anyone is ever faced with court action, the agreement will be part of the documentation required under disclosure rules. Without it, the defendant merely needs to defend on the basis of section 127 (3). The judge is precluded from enforcing the debt if the agreement is missing, or does not contain all the prescribed terms. Cabot couldn't at that stage say, yeah but, he never disagreed with us when we said we didn't have to, m'lud! Cabot will effectively scupper themselves trying it on with no agreement. This dosn't mean that I disagree with you about letting Cabot know that they are talking bollix. It just means that I don't think we should get all fixated on this one point. And despite Cabot's assertion that those sections of the CCA don't apply to them, they WILL do their best to find an agreement, if for no other reason than it's to their benefit if one exists. If something turns up, they usually insist that is IS an agreement as laid out in the Act. And that they have complied fully with the obligations of the Act by producing what usually turns out to be nonsense. But by stating that they HAVE fullfilled the obligations (it never says THEIR obligations), it is my belief that they have admitted that they are bound by the act. Let's see if they are reading this, and change their template accordingly.

It's all a technicality really JC. If it got to the stage of Cabot initiating court proceedings, without an agreement, they cannot win. It's all a bit of a red herring, this Rights but not the Duties nonsense. All JG needs to remember is, a lack of a properly executed agreement is a complete defence to any litigation. So even if they say they don't need to produce one now, they WOULD have to do so in order for a judge to enforce the debt. So if one actually does exist, they'll be VERY quick to produce it, don't you worry. I would favour the "wait it out then complain", tactic. Once the 12 working days have passed, send default letter as mentioned earlier, then followed a further 30 days later by a reminder that they are now in criminal default. Once their own complaints procedures have expired, then complain to the FOS without further warning. That will cost Cabot £400. They can then argue with the FOS about the CCA not applying to them and see where it gets them.

That's the spirit. Kicks off their own complaints procedure, the failure of which means you are entitled to complain to the FOS. Oh, look. Here's their complaints procedure... Complain : Cabot Financial Blog

Not me... but I'd like to be a debtless fecker

Doesn't matter what GP thinks. Even if he WAS persuaded by Cabot's chicanery, the fact remains... the law is the law. The thing to remember is, for Cabot to be correct, they must join with the original creditor in any action. But they never will. What will likely happen is, they will write, and their template is such that they virtually admit that they are obliged to adhere to the Act. Unless, of course, their template writer is reading, and gets busy with the template-o-matic sharpish.

I would get a complaint off to them about the actions of Clarity and their disregard for the OFT's guidlines on debt collection, yes. And if you don't get a satisfactory reply, I'd report them to the financial ombudsman service, as Cabot are responsible for the actions of their agent. At the very least, I'd expect a written apology. Don't bother asking for their complaints procedure. You can read that here and complain now... Complain : Cabot Financial Blog It is typical of Cabot t try their luck collecting on statute barred accounts by using a third party DCA. I suppose in their weird reasoning, they imagine that they can claim ignorance of the DCA's behaviour if it borders on the illegal. Unfortunately for them, the Cabot Fan Club is compiling quite a hefty dossier where it is evident that they are well aware of how their 3rd parties operate. They are as liable in lawas those DCA's who act on their behalf.

Awww, bless. They do try, don't they. The "agreement" is unenforcable, they appear to confirm that they ARE obliged to comply with the CCA, and they send you copies of templates of the kind of letter that MIGHT have been sent. The info they supply confirms that there is an element of PENALTY interest. I'd say your next step would be to invite them to take you to court, if they think they're hard enough.