Cabot & Capital One

[sargantbash25]

Hi there.

 

Cabot have started chasing me for a Capital One debt which is probably nearly 5 years old now. Frankly, i'd moved through work and forgotten about it.

 

I am going to send them a "stop calling me" letter and see if that stops the 10 calls a day I tend to get.

 

I have read through the threads on this forum and am frankly concerned that I have to deal with the gimps at all, they don't seem to be the most professional company I have come accross.

 

I don't even know how much I am supposed to owe.

 

I haven't had any letters off them, only phone calls which I have now started ignoring because they ring so many times every day. They even ring on a sunday (i didn't know they could do that).

 

So, how do I deal with these morons and what should I do next?

 

Any help will be very appreciated.

[djdave]

"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 )

[sargantbash25]

Thanks for the advice.

 

However, I have probably already acknowledged the debt as when they phoned I gave them my bank details, but was unable to commit to a payment schedule until I worked out what I could afford.

 

They rang me at work one day and took me by surprise.

 

And yes, before anyone says it - I know it was stupid to give my bank details to some company that I never heard of ringing me up and asking for my bank details as I owed them money. But as I said, they took me by surprise and frankly scared the hell out of me.

 

They said they would send me some paperwork to fill out and send back which would help them determine a payment schedule - as yet nothing received.

[djdave]

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?

[sargantbash25]

Don't worry, nobody here thinks your stupid.

Thank you, that is very re-assuring.

 

I will of course follow your advice and send the letter, I will post the response on here.

 

The girl that rang me was very abrupt to the point of rude to be honest.

She said that if I didn't resolve this they would go to court and send the baillifs round and did I really want to loose my stuff and that I would never get a mortgage if this went to court.

 

She also said that they had done their research on me and knew that I was a DJ and said "do you really want the adverse publicity that would be caused if this becomes public". I should of thought about the fact that as they rang me at work then that would've given away what my job is.

 

They did listen to my request not to ring me at work, but they then started ringing me on my mobile - christ only knows how they got that number! I certainly didn't give it to them.

[djdave]

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.

[sargantbash25]

I used to be a DJ, many moons ago.

 

Now djdave, I wonder why I thought you might be a dj.....

 

Thanks for all your advice, I will let you know what happens next.

[Seahorse]

What goes around, comes around...

 

and you two should know that better than most.

[sargantbash25]

What goes around, comes around...

 

and you two should know that better than most.

 

That was terrible!

[djdave]

Groan....

 

 

[sargantbash25]

Sorry it's been a while since I posted.

 

Your going to like this update.

 

I have CCA'd them, am waiting for a response. I sent the letter with the money by guaranteed next day recorded deliver so I know they have had it.

 

I also sent them the letter telling them to stop calling me (again, guaranteed next day recorded delivery). Only it hasn't stopped them, it has actually made them worse.

 

Only, instead of ringing from one of their many 0800 numbers, they have started ringing from either 01732 847763 or 01732 842650. Now, when you ring either of these numbers back you get a BT recorded message which says "the other person has hung up, please try again later", neither number connects to anything or anyone. And they have stopped leaving messages on my answerphone.

 

Is this their way of saying, "go ahead, tell us to stop calling you - because we are going to ignore it, and if you report us, how can you proove it is us ringing you???"

 

In other words, as I can't prove it is them ringing, can I still report them?

[Seahorse]

I would imagine you'd be entitled to report the fact that someone is causing you undue stress by phoning you from these numbers. And as you can't get anyone to answer when you call back, you have no idea who it is. But it's affecting your health, and would Mr Plod and BT please advise what to do next, as you are sure someone is committing an offence.

[sargantbash25]

You all will be forgiven for thinking i'm making all this up, but believe me i'm not.

 

The calls have got stranger.

 

I have still been getting calls from these 01732 numbers, so I started answering them to tell them to feck off and do as my letters are telling them to, but they are silent calls.

 

Yes SILENT!!!

There is NEVER anyone on the other end of the line!

 

They have started making silent calls now.

What the heck is going on!

[djdave]

They may be using an automated dialler which makes more calls than they have available staff.

 

Just keep a log of every call for when you make your formal complaint for harassment.

[Windywoo]

I had calls from those two numbers, and they were silent!!

 

I also tried ringing them back, just out of curiosity, and the line was always dead!

 

Thankfully, I have Call Carring on my line, so I have no contact from these idiots at all.

[MoonHawk]

Call offcom on 020 7981 3040 and register a complaint on that number. They log it and if they get several compaints on the number they then follow it up. They have recently imposed heavy fines on 4 companies using predictive diallers which received a large number of complaints.

 

Best Wishes

MoonHawk