Slartibartfast and Cabot

[Slartibartfast]

Greetings.

 

Cabot started the telephone bully stuff a while back. I sent a CCA request which has long since defaulted and gone past the +30 days criminal default. They replied with the 'if unable to comply we will write...' and 'we are not obliged...' template often seen posted. Since then I've had two statements a month apart showing approx 1% interest added but no other letters or calls.

I can't do the S.A.R. thing as I have a negative disposable income ATM.

Should I just wait now?

 

 

I've been reading as much as I can here and its been very uplifting. The support for people in desparate situations is utterly wonderful! I hope I'll be able to pass on anything I learn.

 

I hope you'll accept this as application to join the CFC.

[Seahorse]

Welcome to the club!!!!

 

Silly buggers are adding interest on whilst in dispute, eh? Oh, well. They've as much chance of recovering that as you have of becoming the next winner for Fjord design in Norway. Oh, you already have? Well, you know what I mean.

 

Anyway, you probably don't need to wrry too much about SARing Cabot at the moment. Interesting as some of the stuff proves to be, you'll only really get templates of letters they MIGHT have sent you, and not actual copies of anything, as they don't keep copies.

 

However, you might like to seriously consider SARing the original creditor though. Perhaps there are penalties or charges that you might like to recover for instance? Or just to prove you don't owe what Cabot say you owe?

[Seahorse]

Oh, just while I'm here could I ask a favour? Could you possible remodel Britain, but leave out West Malling in Kent? Leave the roads in, so that when they go to work in the morning, they all just disappear into a Fjord or something.

 

By tomorrow just before rush hour will be fine.

 

Thanks.

[Slartibartfast]

Thanks Seahorse

 

I thought that a SAR to the OC would reveal little since I had been paying this faultlessly untill earlier this year when things came to a critical point and the OC were of no help. Any penalties would be Cabot only.

 

 

 

As regards redesgning Britain, I'm afrtaid it will have to wait untill I've finished Africa. I did think that West Malling could do with a few more crinkly bits though. Funny you should recognise the name - I didn't think it was important.

[Seahorse]

HOHO. Funniest books I ever read when I was cold and miserable on top of a hill in Northern Ireland. Couldn't you have designed them with natural wind breaks?

[Slartibartfast]

HOHO. Funniest books I ever read when I was cold and miserable on top of a hill in Northern Ireland. Couldn't you have designed them with natural wind breaks?

 

That would mean inverting the crinkly bits and I'm not sure the Vogons would look too kindly on that - exploding planet shards and all that, you know how they are with admin stuff.

 

 

 

Just read them all for the nth time - sad, very sad.

[Seahorse]

It would serve the buggers right for bulldozing their planning applications through. Nobody wanted the bloomin bypass anyway.

 

OOOPS. I fear we are heading off at a bit of a tangent here.

[Slartibartfast]

No CCA, no letters, no phone calls, I wonder if they have given up.

Perhaps I should complain to TS about non-compliance?

[Seahorse]

It's certainly an option. Of course, Cabot don't think the CCA applies to them.

[Slartibartfast]

Wote and complained about non-production of CCA and continued processing of information etc. Got a reply saying 'we are entitled and obliged under the agreement you signed' ?? How can they know this ? They basically said bog off we will do what we like.

 

True to form.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Cabot appear to operate in some sort of parallel universe, in which the laws and regulatory guidelines by which others are bound do not apply to them.

 

In the meantime, engaging the improbability drive, I note that the chances of Cabot having compliant documentation are minus 23 to the power 10 - and falling...

[Slartibartfast]

I think I'm a sofa!

[Slartibartfast]

Cabot ? ! ?

 

Since receiving my S78 request, and despite being reminded that they were in default over six months ago, they have slapped more than £600 on in interest charges.

 

They have fobbed off my S10 notice saying it doesn't apply to them.

I expect they have been registering this with CRAs but not bothered to check yet.

 

Now this:

"Please be advised, that the failure to provide a copy of your agreement in time does not affect the legality of your debt with the Cabot Financial Group but merely renders the credit agreement unenforceable until such time the agreement can be produced. As aforementioned, Cabot does not have a duty to provide this information and therefore section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act does not apply to us. As a gesture of goodwill, Cabot has and shall cease any collection activity until such time the credit agreement is supplied to you."

 

Also received was "a copy of the notice of assignment you were sent when this account was sold to Cabot". The original was never received.

 

They don't seem to be doing very well with this.

 

Are they misleading me with these claims?

 

Do I need to write back to them or wait for eventual offloading to another DCA ?

[NailPost]

You don't have to do anything as you are still waiting for the proper paperwork but you could write back and point out they are talking ballcocks about S78 not applying to them and you would like to file a complaint. To that end you are requesting details of their complaints procedure.

 

If they send you this make the complaint and wait for them to resolve it. They have eight weeks. If they don't send you the complaints proedure you are entitled to make your complaint direct to the Financial Services Ombudsman. If they decide to investigate it will cost them about £400 just for one of the FOS blokes to turn up and poke about in their files. That wold just about wipe out their profit on this account so its got to be worth doing.

[Seahorse]

Complaints procedure here...

 

Complain : Cabot Financial Blog

 

As Nailpost says, the FOS can let them know all about their obligations under the CCA.

 

If there is no agreement, I wonder how they can otherwise claim that there is legally a debt outstanding.

 

Nice to see that they acknowledge that it's unenforcable though.

 

It's amazing that they think a copy of a template they MIGHT have sent, proves that a notice of assignment was ever sent. They tried that on with me. Nice try Cabot, but no cigar.

 

In fact, if you SAR them, they don't actually send you copies of very much. They just run a few blank templates off, with the mail merge bits still in. They think they don't have to kep copies of correspondance sent. Which is why I prefer the email approach.

[Slartibartfast]

I already sent them a complaint letter and they continue to tell me that the law does not apply to them. The letter also said, "If you remain dissatisfied with our final response then you may bring the complaint to the attention of the FOS". Perhaps it is time to complain to the FOS.

 

The copy of the notice of assignment was supposedly originally sent by CitiFinancil and had the Citi logo, and I was also sent a bunch of statements that Cabot aquired from them. I'm guessing a SAR to Citi would be in order now too? But then its £10 I can ill afford.

 

Is the notice of assigment important?

[Seahorse]

Well, without it, they haven't really properly indicated that they have been legally assigned the debt. But that would mean in court this...

 

You - No you didn't

Them - Yes we did

You - No you didn't

Them - Yes you did

You - No you didn't

Them - Yes we did

You - No you didn't

Them - Yes you did

 

Judge - SHUT UP!!!!

 

No, best to concentrate on concrete evidence. Or rather, NON concrete evidence, as there doesn't appear to actually BE any, and probably never will. Their letter indicates that they know there's feck all they can do. So I'd have a word with the FOS as it's way over the 8 weeks you can reasonably have been expected to wait for a satisfactory response.

 

You don't NEED to tell them you are going to complain. But it might just help to rub salt in their wounds. Does that sound vindictive?

[Slartibartfast]

So the Consumer Credit Act 1974 does not apply to Cabot and they have no duty or obligation to supply any infomation.

 

"Please be advised, that the failure to provide a copy of your agreement in time does not affect the legality of your debt with the Cabot Financial Group but merely renders the credit agreement unenforceable until such time the agreement can be produced. As aforementioned, Cabot does not have a duty to provide this information and therefore section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act does not apply to us. As a gesture of goodwill, Cabot has and shall cease any collection activity until such time the credit agreement is supplied to you."

 

Despite this 'final response' they are still adding interest and sending regular statements with request for payment.

 

Their approach does not seem to be uniform. Some people are reporting wholly different treatment. Very strange.

[davey77]

Same here.. ignoring requests, adding monthly interest (what i call a charge for debt collection tho!) and sending payment demands. Awaiting the SAR (which will be incomplete) so as to report to the ICO.