Cabot who ?

[helpmenow]

A letter arrived today saying someone was coming to our house from Cabot Financial. My partner rang them and they said he owed them £2300 from a defaulted credit account in 2001. We have never heard anything about this before, we have been told they have charged him 69p per day since they took over the account in 2002. Are they allowed to do this? is there anything we can do? please help.

[Sidewinder]

It may be worth checking out some of the advice and information here

 

Cabot are so special that they have their own forum!

[Goldlady]

They could have charged you £69 per day for all it matters! Sounds to me as if it is well and truly statute barred - if you have not acknowledged the debt or made any payments for six years they have no legal right to pursue it.

[pt2537]

 

Dear xxxx

 

Account Ref xxxx

 

Please be advised that I will only communicate with you in writing. I have noted your repeated attempts to contact me by telephone over the past few weeks/months and these have been duly logged by time and date.

 

Furthermore, should it be your intention to arrange a “doorstep call”, please be advised that under OFT rules, you can only visit me at my home if you make an appointment and I have no wish to make an appointment with you.

 

There is only an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v. Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.). Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives to visit me at my property and if you do so, then you will be liable to damages for a tort of trespass and action will be taken, including but not limited to, police attendance.

 

Yours faithfully/sincerely,

 

 

ok throw this at the fools and if they turn up hand this to them and tell them to go away,if they wont then ring the police and get them to remove them as they are tresspassers

[helpmenow]

Thankyou so much for your quick replies as we have been very worried. They actually said they had charged him 96p per day not 69p per day ( Not that it matters much but it sounds just a little worse) I will have a read at the information you have directed me too and see what we can do.

[helpmenow]

Sorry I need help again. Found a credit report from 2005 that says the account was started 31/08/2001 defaulted 14/06/02 doesnt look like any payments have been made from the start.Is it six years from opening or from default to claim statute barred?

Please note that we are not trying to get out of paying the debt itself but the interest they have charged, admittedly it would be lovely not to have to pay anything if they have left it too late, but what can we do about the interest if they haven't? thanks again.

[Goldlady]

I think it is from when the last time the account was acknowledged - so if you used the account between Aug 01 and June 02 it would be when you last used it - ie made a payment in or out. I may be wrong:p. But it is certainly getting close to being Statute barred.

[Curlyben]

The clock starts when you LAST made an acknowledgement in writing or by payment of the debt.

 

It is quote possible that this debt is close to being barred, but not quite.

So here's the plan of attack.

 

First NEVER talk to these "people" on the phone as they will try and get you to agree to anything.

 

Before you even think about making any sort of acknowledgement or payment to a DCA you MUST ensure that they have the LEGAL right to collect the debt.

 

Now in this case I would throw a Statute Barred letter at them.

There is a template letter to be found here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html

Letter M.

Is it important to start the letter:

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY in Big Bold letters.

 

Keep us updated and we'll assist.

[helpmenow]

please tell me we have not ruined it by speaking to them on the phone today.We didnt agree any payments but confirmed who we are etc

[Curlyben]

You should be alright, but NEVER speak to them again.

Everything in writing.

[NailPost]

To restart the clock on a debt (for statute barred purposes) an acknowledgment must be in writing or a payment made. Talking to them on the phone doesn't count as either but from now on don't talk to these leaches on the phone.

[helpmenow]

Hello again, Does anyone know whether it is true that even if a debt is classed as Statute Barred, Cabot or anyone else recovering debt can keep updating your credit reports with defaults every six years so it is never wiped off enless you do something about it?

[pt2537]

Hi There

 

This wrong, once a debt is statute barred it remains that way so the answer is NO they are not allowed to do this once the 6yr term is up it should be removed from your credit file

[helpmenow]

We have had a reply from a statute barred letter sent.

Here it goes,

"You've stated that your outstanding balance is statute barred because the cause of action in this matter began more than six years ago.

A default notice for this account was issued by Associates on 14 june 2002 and as a result the limitation period runs from that date.

Therefore our right to recover the outstanding balance on this account is not statute barred and we can take action through the courts to recover the outstanding balance, including all interest accrued since 14 June 2002. We recommend you contact us. bla bla""

What do you all think? I know that from credit reports it does say the date of default as 14/6/02 but I know that no action/payment was made way before that from when it was taken out 09/01. It doesnt even look like they know who the orginal lender was. Please can anyone tell us what we should do next?

[Curlyben]

They are talking bovine excrement.

The clock starts from your last acknowledgement, not the date of default.

 

Throw this at them.

 

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY

 

Dear sir/madam,

 

Thank you for your letter of the DATE, the contents of which have been noted.

 

I refer you to my letter of DATE, in which my position was clearly described. To reiterate, you were informed that this alleged debt is Barred under Statute in accordance with Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980. I have included a copy of this original correspondence for your perusal and ease of reference.

 

 

As your letter contests that this is the case, it is now your legal obligation to substantiate your claims and to prove that this alleged debt is indeed enforceable and not barred by statute.

 

You should be aware that I am fully familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance, which states that it is unfair to mislead debtors as to their rights and obligations by falsely stating or implying that the debt is still legally recoverable and continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred.

 

 

You should also be aware that if you are unable to substantiate your claims then your behaviour will be considered harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and may result in my choosing to pursue action against you.

As was stated in my last letter, any attempt to contact me by telephone regarding an alleged debt is an offence under section 127 of the Telecommunications Act 2003.

 

 

In addition, I hereby demand that you now supply me with information regarding your complaints procedure. Failure to comply will result in the complaint being escalated to the Financial Ombudsman Service, who will charge you for investigating my complaint.

 

Finally, I expect no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide clear evidence as to my liability for the debt in question, or your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

 

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

Yours faithfully,

[pt2537]

Hi

 

It would truly depend upon when the monies were owed, the fact that they issued a default on x date is somewhat irrelevant as there is case law which sets oiut that

 

I refer to LINDLEY, L.J. in REEVES v. BUTCHER. - [1891] 2 Q.B. 509

“This expression, "cause of action," has been repeatedly the subject of decision, and it has been held, particularly in Hemp v. Garland (1), decided in 1843, that the cause of action arises at the time when the debt could first have been recovered by action. The right to bring an action may arise on various events; but it has always been held that the statute runs from the earliest time at which an action could be brought.”

 

so it is my belief that if the monies became owing and they failed to issue a default for months and months that's their failure not your and the limitation period runs from when the cause of action accrued not when they issued the default notice

 

i hope this helps

 

Regards

paul

[helpmenow]

okay Cabot must be truly stupid or something.

I have had two letters since my last post from them, the first dated 24/01/08 saying that they are willing to offer a 40% discount of the amount owed if we pay in 10 days or they may issue proceedings. We ignored this and sent the letter by curlyben 14/01/08.

We have had a reply to this letter today- it is exactly the same letter that they sent before dated 11/01/08 saying that it is not statute barred (see my post on 14/01/08) They have not done anything asked of them in my letter, shall I just ignore them or what shall I do?

Thank you so much for your advice and help.

[confused78]

send copies of the letters they've sent claiming that the debt is not statute barred to the Office of Fair Trading along with a copy of the letters you've sent to them. Then send another letter to Cabot informing them of this. Just make sure all letters to Cabot have "I do not Acknowledge this debt" written across them, also tell them that any further correspondence from them that attempts to seek payment or mislead you will also be forwarded.

 

Also it would be useful to write "YOUR ATTEMPTS AT DECEPTION" in bold red print across the top so that they pay attention, as what I think is happening is that someone is just taking a quick look to see the gist of your letter and sending out an automated reply when they see it's about the 6 year rule.

[Curlyben]

While the OFT is a cause of action, they normally require that Trading Standards are contacted first.

Time to give Consumer Direct a call (Consumer Direct) and they will pass you information on to your local TS.

As for Cabot, you have made your position VERY clear and you have NOTHING further to say to them.

[helpmenow]

We have had another letter this morning from cabot.

"this is your last opportunity to agree a suitable repayment plan, before we move your account to our Pre Litigation Department ..."

Does this mean they are taking us to court? They havent given me any of the information that I have asked for yet and I haven't got in touch with Trading Standards yet either. My baby is due next month so I am worried, should I be doing anything?

[lickthewallfatboy]

complete crap,of course...."pre-litigation dpartment"

 

what a load of bull....file under "ignore"

[Newborn]

This is another standard threatogram. Most of the time they don't have a clue what computer generated rubbish is leaving in the post bag.

When this happened to me I just sent a letter to them with the normal 'I do not acknowledge etc' stating that attempts by them to continue to collect a disputed debt is outside OFT guidelines.

 

Newborn