Debt reassigned to Cabot.

[LEYLA]

Hi everyone.

 

It's a familiar story. Got into a financial tangle earlier this year, but contacted all creditors and sorted out payments to each according to means. On the whole, most were helpful, and up to present, were patient with us. One exception being MBNA, who really have been most unpleasant and difficult. - I have an ongoing thread on that particular forum).

 

One of our debts was with Amberloan, a subsiduary of the Skipton Building Society. The original loan was for £5,000 and they accepted our offer of reduced payments, which we have been paying regularly. However at the end of November, my husband received a letter stating that the Society was exiting the unsecured lending market and that the outstanding balance has been assigned to another party, namely Cabot Financial (UK) Limited.

 

An introductory letter came with it from Cabot, asking us to contact them and make arrangements for repayment of the account, along with a leaflet called "piecing it together working out repayment solutions".

Having read a couple of the threads in this forum, I'm thinking I may need some advice before any contact is made.

Could anyone advise me whether this company is better dealt with by phone or letter? Just that our experience with MBNA has made us wary of entering any negotiations via phone!

 

Thanks, Leyla.

[Curlyben]

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.

This is achieved by requesting a copy of the Signed, Executed Credit Agreement via a Consumer Credit Act (CCA) request.

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

Letter N.

Is it important to start the letter:

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

 

It is best to send this request via recorded/special delivery as there are some important deadlines to observe.

 

After 12 WORKING days the "debt" is in default and stays that way until the request is complied with.

If a FURTHER month passes then the DCA has committed a summary criminal offence and the matter should be referred to Trading Standards for action once the DCA continues to demand payment.

 

I hope this clarifies some things.

[LEYLA]

Thanks for quick response Curlyben.

 

I have done this with several other finance companies, but wasn't sure whether it was applicable in this case. Doesn't the two letters being received together prove the deed of assignment? Or is this a totally different form of document all together?

 

Leyla.

[Seahorse]

So let me get this right. Amberloan can't be bothered any more, so have dumped all their accounts with Cabot???? What kind of bollix is that? Through absolutely no fault of your own, your debt is now with a company who exist to buy delinquent accounts. Smells a little bit, don't you think?

 

Or am I being a little bit cynical???? Let's see. . .

 

Amberloan Loans from Amber Select Limited.

Great Rate from amberloan - a wholly owned subsidiary of Skipton Building Society, a group of companies primarily offering innovative solutions to the financial services market.

 

So rather than the Skipton taking this over, being the same company, they've decided to get rid of you completely instead of offering to assist in other ways. Hmmmm. Doesn't sound as if the Skipton Building Society are very ethical to me, and I'd thought they were one of the good guys. But perhaps I'm wrong.

[debt_mountain]

If they have passed the debt to someone else then surely what ever agreement you had with the original creditor must be transferred too. the debt has not been sold due to non payment.

 

I am with Seahorse on this one. Not the typical Cabot account .

 

did Cabot send you a "welcome" letter and a "goodbye" letter from the original creditor?

 

Have cabot told you to contact them to agree payments?

 

You will need to check if Cabot are recording anything on your credit file, they generally file a default as a matter of course.

 

I would do as Curleyben advised but also check who regulated Amberloan and may raise a complaint with them as this does not seam correct.

 

Cabot are a DCA debt collection company, they are not you typical "lender" and a stigma is attached to them.

 

does the "welcome" letter mention who you have to pay your money to? Was it Cabot Financial Europe Ltd they are very different from the main company cabot Financial UK Ltd) ? or is it one of their other subsiduary companies?

 

Are Cabot branching out into a new market? or are Amberloan doing the dirty on you!!!!!

 

Keep us posted and we can help you handle them.

 

when was the loan taken out? the older the loan the more likly the paperwork will not be in order.

[LEYLA]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Sorry for delay in responding, but been a very difficult couple of weeks! Our baby grandson was stillborn and his funeral was yesterday. This is the first time I've been online for a while and I'm afraid my head is still `mush' at the minute!

 

Anyway in response to some of the questions asked.

The letters were a farewell from amberloan and a welcome from Cabot. Quoting a paragraph from amberloan:-

 

" This assignment is effective immediately and is entered into between Skipton Building Society and Cabot Financial (UK) Limited, part of the Cabot Financial Group.

 

Cabot Financial will be contacting you directly to introduce its services. I would confirm, however that all future enquiries and payments concerning your account should be directed t:

Cabot Financial (Europe) Limited

PO Box 241

West Malling,

Kent,

ME19 4NA "

 

 

Letter from Cabot:-

 

" The Cabot Financial Group has recently bought the account you held with Skipton Building Society and we're now responsible for answering your queries and receiving payments.

According to our records you currently owe £4189.51 and interest is currently charged at 6.2% APR. Please contact us as soon as possible to discuss the options of repaying your account.

 

Then gives choice of payment methods along with phone number so that "helpful customer advisors will discuss the options for repaying account. Our aim is to help customers get thei accounts cleared."

 

The loan was taken out in 2005.

 

There have been regular messages left from the same woman on voicemail - becoming more stern and shrill with every call. So far we haven't made any attempt to contact these people, and we don't take any business calls. However, I'm aware that we really have to get our act together now.

Due to the recent circumstances, I never got round to requesting CCA. Is it still a worthwhile route to take?

LEYLA

[Seahorse]

It certainly is. In light of Skipton's unreasonable handling of your account, I really wouldn't worry too much about the morality or otherwise of disputing this. ANd it's certainly not your concern that Cabot may be left out of pocket either. Think of it like this... Skipton have made a business decision. You should do likewise and concentrate on the legalities here. If Cabot can't prove they have a legal right to your cash, why should you care? Cabot certainly won't lose any sleep over it, whatever happens.

 

Well, the shrill young lady abusing your phoneline might get a bit upset at losing some commission, but if she has to do with one less Bacardi Breezer of a Saturday night for a few weeks, it's probably no bad thing.

 

Oh, yes. Writing only. Don't phone them. Ever. Make sure you emphasise that in your CCA request.

[LEYLA]

Many thanks Seahorse.

 

Will write to them with CCA request and see what comes our way.

LEYLA

[FANTASY CHARGES]

LEYLA and of course write to them recorded delivery

[LEYLA]

Thanks Fantasy Charges.

Just completed letter, and returned for swift look-about!

The way my mind is working at the minute, it could well have been the very thing I would forget.

 

LEYLA

[LEYLA]

Letter received from Cabot today. Pretty much the standard that everyone else seems to get in reply to CCA request. States that they will be contacting original creditor in order to forward documents. Will be interesting to see what is sent!

 

Just another (perhaps silly question).

In the day and age of digital answer phone/services (with mine I have to dial 1571 to hear messages and only kept a short while). How do you go about keeping calls as evidence?

On the old answer machines, they used small cassette tapes which were removeable and easier for logging. Is it enough to note on paper, times and dates messages are left? As you can gather, Cabot are still phoning and leaving messages.

 

Leyla

[robingetz]

I have recently been sent a letter from Cabot for an account I had with Vanquis. I CCA'd Vanquis in July last year, and have since heard nothing from them until this from Cabot. Looks like Vanquis are getting shot of all accounts they have no CCA for. Now it looks like Cabot have lumbered themselves with an unenforceable debt. The CCA request to Cabot is now in the post.

[Seahorse]

I wouldn't be too confident about the reasons for Vanquis dumping accounts. Some of their agreements are pretty much on the ball.

 

If this turns out to be the case with you, get your negotiating hat on.

 

On the other hand, it might just be so much bog roll, too.

[MarkusDY]

Leyla,

 

I've had exactly the same thing happen with my Amberloan account. My account was totally upto date and has not been in arrears, they've still ditched me to Cabot along with everyone else who was an Amberloan customer by the sounds of things. I think the whole thing is absolutely disgusting!

 

I've had the calls from them too, but as Amberloan seem to have decided not to accept any telephone calls etc, I thought I had no choice but to make payments to Cabot. When I called them, they asked if I would like to make an "offer" to clear the £3k ish thats outstanding. Very odd tactics! I politely declined but I did pay them the same as I'd been paying Amberloan as I dont want my credit file going down hill!

 

Anyway, since then, I've noticed that Amberloan has removed all my payment history from my credit file with Equifax and replaced it with a love big fat DEFAULT! I'm fuming!!!!

 

Watch your credit files!!!

 

Any ideas on what to do next? I'm already typing out a strongly worded letter of complaint to Amberloan as we speak.

[pelham9]

I note that Cabot have said the APR on the loan is 6.2%. They should not be quoting the APR at you because APR is an approximation to one decimal place and that means that the actual annual rate charged is between 6.15 and 6.24999...%.

 

We need to see the CCA. If the prescibed terms are there it is easy to work out the actual rate charged and hence the approximation that is the APR. For this type of loan they do not have to spell out the actual rate - this can be worled out fom the amount of the loan,amount of payments and the frequency of payments. The APR is a red herring;

 

The actual annual rate charged is very rarely the APR.

 

Note also that if there were costs other than interest eg starting fee or compulsory PPI the APR reflects this so that the actual rate they can charge is significantly less than 6.2%

[LEYLA]

Hi everyone,

 

Still waiting to hear anything further from Cabot.

 

MarkusDY - Can't believe they've done that to you! Might be an idea to make official complaint to FOS.

LEYLA

[monkee10]

my barclaycard account has been bought by cabot asked for a cca said they were not obliged to issue one but would contact original lender . if they bought it wouldn't they have a cca.

[Seahorse]

my barclaycard account has been bought by cabot asked for a cca said they were not obliged to issue one but would contact original lender . if they bought it wouldn't they have a cca.

 

HAHA. So young, and so innocent.

 

NO!!!!

 

By the way Markus, I have heard that Amberloan have pulled out of the market, and dumped their customers (a bit like Egg are doing now apparently) Although if there is now a DEFAULT registered against you, I wouldn't even bother with a complaint about it, I'd send a letter straight off to the FOS outlining exactly what has happened. OFT, TS, might be similarly interested in Amberloans' shenanigins. I'm stumped as to how they think they can get away with dumping debts just because they don't fancy trading any longer. I wonder if the taxman would be interested too?

[LEYLA]

Still nothing from Cabot, but I'm going to send complaint off to FOS anyway.

 

LEYLA

[andrew1]

Leyla, when you send your letter can I refer you to your post above that shows what was in the Cabot letter. This needs to be highlighted to Trading Standards and the FOS:

 

There is the use of 3 names - 1) Cabot Financial (UK)Ltd - has bought the debt

 

2) it has been passed to The Cabot Financial Group

 

3) You are given Cabot Financial (Europe)Ltd

 

It needs to be pointed out to the authorities that Cabot continue on a mass basis to refer to their companies in this way. They are all separate Ltd companies and this is so wrong doing this and they are still at it!

 

Tell me Leyla, hyperthetically, if you were in a position to sue 'Cabot' which name would you be using to sue them? Get it wrong and you could go through the whole process, trauma, stress, cost, waiting for a court date and your claim will be thrown out for being against the wrong company. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH ! They keep on doing this time after time and it MUST STOP! COMPLAIN to Trading Standards as it confuses the consumer.

 

You might also like to put a little tiny sentence at the bottom of any reply to Cabot too -

 

We've told you - DON'T FECK WITH THE CABOT FAN CLUB!

 

 

You are in very good hands with the people advising you here, these are people who know ;-)

 

 

Sarah

[blencathra]

Once again as in other contributions Cabot fails to treat its customers with respect and behaves in an un-professional manner I have a letter here from them sent as Cabot Europe. They say that Cabot does not have a duty to provide the information and therefore section 78 of the Consumer credit Act does not apply to them, but as a gesture of goodwill. They will cease Any collection activity until such time as the credit agreement is supplied. They have purchased an alleged debt from Yorkshire Bank, making them the owners of any such alleged debt as far as i am concerned. They are responsible to provide the CCA Why do they play these silly games. I suppose when they buy hundreds of debts for about 3p in the pound. It becomes a numbers game and some will pay up making it worth the while to fob folks off with patronising letters of Contempt.

[st clair]

Hiya, out of the blue i just got a letter from cabot financial, and i dont even owe money, earlier this year i had the sAME PROBLEM WITH ACTIVE Capial, now this, i dont know why this is happening? Pherhaps anyone could answer.

[andrew1]

whoops!

Edited December 22, 2008 by andrew1
double posted

[andrew1]

Hiya, out of the blue i just got a letter from cabot financial, and i dont even owe money, earlier this year i had the sAME PROBLEM WITH ACTIVE Capial, now this, i dont know why this is happening? Pherhaps anyone could answer.

 

I don't suppose they do either Take a roam over tbern123 and the Cabot threads http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/131321-cabot-threads.html, many had the same and took Cabot to task over it...watch your credit files at the CRA's too (Equifax etc...), they'll be dumping a default on your file before you know it....

 

 

Sarah

[st clair]

Thanks, they dont say if i owe money or how much, just will i call them, once again, i dont owe money, i am paying store cards etc... but im not in default, do you think i should just ignore? I dont know why they are giving me a refrence number, its really upsetting, i hope i can get this sorted out. I will be glad when this ends!!!!!!!