Scatoony71 v Cabot ? please help

[scatooony71]

Hi,

 

I received a letter from Cabot a few days ago advising me that i owed them £767 pounds on a credit card from Monument that had defaulted. I was not aware of any credit card so i rang Cabot up to see why i had recieved this letter. The guy i spoke to then said they had TWO accounts on me! one from defaulted Oct '03 for £767 and one that defaulted March '98 for £1200. I denied knowing what the accounts where but he kept insisting on making me offers to settle both debts. I kept insisting i knew nothing about the debts so why should i pay anything! He then said "forget the one from March '98 and concentrate on the one you do know about from Oct'03" I told him again i only knew about either of them because he was telling me now and i had never received any of the letters he said they had sent out. After 45 mins on the phone i said we were going in circles and i was going to take legal advice. He then said that this would show up on my credit file and i would be blacklisted and legal fees would be more money than the account settlement figure!!!!! I just hung up.

 

I then looked up my credit file and sure enough i had two default accounts, One from Barclaycard and one from Cabot. Both the same dates and both for £313. Their was no record of anything for £1200 on any dates.

 

I have since recieved another copy of the Cabot letter saying i owe them the £717.

 

What do i do?

 

This site has been fantastic reading but i cant quite find a strategy i can use to get these idiots to listen!

 

I appreciate any help you can give.

 

Scatoony71

[rory32]

Well first of all stop speaking to them on the phone. As you will now have realised it is a pointless exercise. The first letter to send them is a 'prove it' letter asking for written details of any debt (template below). Depending on their response, or lack of it, we can move on from there. As with all letters to DCA's send recorded delivery and don't sign the letter.

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Account no:

 

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

 

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

 

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

 

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

 

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

 

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

 

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

 

I/we look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

 

(Your Name) Print do not sign

[Michael Browne]

Their was no record of anything for £1200 on any dates.

There wouldn't be. Any default from 1998 would have fallen off your credit record in 2004 and is statute barred, which is why he dropped that one so quickly.

 

You need to CCA Cabot for the Monument one.

[scatooony71]

Thanks for the quick replies, It really is appreciated !

 

I have been looking at the site and have come across the term "statute barred" on a few posts, What is it and are they breaking any laws/rules trying to get me to pay, more so the fact i have no idea what account they are talking about!

 

Thanks again.

[rory32]

What is it

If after 6 years no court action has been taken and no acknowledgement of a debt has been made by the debtor either in writing or by making a part payment then the debt is statute barred and the debt can no longer be enforced through the courts.

are they breaking any laws/rules trying to get me to pay

No they can still ask you to pay but if you say you won't be that should be an end to the matter.

more so the fact i have no idea what account they are talking about!

Which is why I suggested you send the prove it letter rather than ask for a copy of the credit agreement. What you obviously eventually want is the removal of the defaults which at the moment will be adversely effecting your credit rating.

[NailPost]

I would do as above and asap. Then let them default because it is very unlikely they will have any documents - they can't agree with themselves on how much you owe them.

 

You may also like to consider a SARN (Subject Access Request Notice I think) on Cabot.This is demanding to see everything they hold on you - documents, notes, recordings of (the) telephone conversations, everything - the comments made by the bloke on the phone about adding fees would be a great one to hand to the OFT.

 

If there is a default by Barclaycard and Cabot for the same mount and the same date one of them should be dropped immediately. You can only be dafaulted once by one company. They can transfer the default from Billycard to Cabot but not add it. A letter to the Information Commissioner would be in order here. But if there is no debt at all the defaukt shouldn't be there so writing and telling Barclaycard and Cabot they face legal action for defamation if it stays on the credit files for much longer could spark its removal.

[scatooony71]

Hi,

 

I have sent the letters off as advised, thanks again!

 

I have looked on the royal mail website and they were delivered 30/04/08. So what is the timescale for things to happen now? When does the 12 day limit start from and how long have they got to reply before i can complain to someone.

 

Thanks.

scatooony71

[maroondevo52]

Hi, Skatoony71.

 

I think the time starts when they receive your letter.

 

The Consumer Credit Act allows 12 working days for a request for a true copy of a credit agreement to be carried out before your client enters into a default situation.

 

If that request is not satisfied after a further 30 calendar days your client commits a summary criminal offence.

 

These limits have expired.

 

As you are no doubt aware section 77(6) states:

 

If the creditor fails to comply with Subsection (1)

 

(a) He is not entitled , while the default continues, to enforce the agreement.

 

And

 

(b) If the default continues for one month he commits an offence.

 

Therefore this account has become unenforceable at law.

 

 

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[rory32]

When does the 12 day limit start

They are full working days so it's the first working day after delivery.

and how long have they got to reply before i can complain to someone.

Really you should wait until they start asking for payment while in default before making any complaint.

[Iceman54]

Hi Tony

 

from my reading of various threads I believe the timescale to be as follows:

 

date of receipt +1 day for processing then 12 working days (remember to EXCLUDE bank holidays), then allow 2 days for postage so its

 

30/04/08 +1 +12 +2

 

 

after which the account is in dispute (unenforceable) and they cannot demand payment, add interest or other charges, issue a default or sell the debt on until they do produce the requested documentation

 

after a further 30 calendar days they commit a summary criminal offence....... this means the debt is unenforceable unless ordered by a court

 

and they would have to explain to said court why they had committed the aforementioned criminal offence

 

Cabot will send you a series of letters saying that it is not their responsibility but have asked the oc for documentation blah blah........... they will also return you postal order............ you will usually get further letters at days 11 and 24.................... just file these.............. they cannot get out of the timescale

 

The clock is ticking..................and remember print off the proof of delivery from the Royal mail website.................they can take up to a week for the POD to actually get posted............ and file it with the rest of the stuff

 

hope this helps

[scatooony71]

Hi,

Just a quick update.

 

I have received the "experiencing delays getting info from archives" and "as a gesture of goodwill your account is on hold" etc letter that Iceman referred to on the earlier post. Nice to know you are just another line in the generated letter machine, God forbid you might deserve a personal reply to your concerns !!!

 

I just need to clarify one point though, When you refer to " another 30 calendar days" does that mean weekends and bank holidays are included in that?.

 

Sorry if i am asking the obvious but thought i should just check.

 

Thanks you all who have helped so far.

[scatooony71]

Hi All,

 

Got this letter through the post this morning (sat 7th june)

 

 

Does this mean that as i thought they can not prove the debt is mine, as i have already told them, and that i can now get them to remove the default of my credit file?

 

What kind of letter do i need to send to them now to get it removed if thats what i can do?

 

Thanks in advance.

[scatooony71]

Hi,

 

Just a quick post to bump this up.

 

I really could do with some advice so i can get this all sorted.