Cabot Claimform, 2005 citi card 'debt'

[scottwilsonmr]

hi,

 

i have recently been sent court papers from Northampton

re a debt which I last paid a token payment of £50 back in 2008.

I guess the DCA are now taking it to court just before it is statute barred.

 

since the debt was assigned to the claimant in early 2005

the debt has gone from £850 when assigned to them to £1700 now.

 

the court papers clearly states the agreement was terminated in 2005

and the agreement assigned to the claimant in early 2005.

 

They have been adding around £8 a month in interest.

 

my questions are:

Can the DCA add interest to the amount once the original agreement was terminated?

&

If I make an offer of payment to the court then will that stop a CCJ against my name?

 

thanks in advance.

[scottwilsonmr]

hi all, as an addendum,

 

i can see that the original credit was charging me £5 a month for payment protection.

 

This was something i was unlikely ever to need as i was an NHS member of staff

and on a fixed term contract so the payment protection wouldnt pay out anyway.

 

i was never given a choice about PPI in the first place.

[renegadeimp]

Can you give more info on the debt and the companies involved so far? Also the last date you made express written acknolwedgement that the debt was yours and last date of payment.

[scottwilsonmr]

Credit card was citi-financial and the DCA is Cabot.

 

my last payment was £50 in Aug 2008,

hence why they are threatening court action now before it is statute barred next month.

 

I made the payment of £50 in Aug 2008 in response to their pestering letters.

I was subsequently in dialogue with them in Jan 2009 to ask for documentation like the CCA agreement etc.

At that time they havent sent me the assignment of debt paperwork etc.

 

I feel duty bound to pay some of the debt but I am angry that they have put close to £800 interest

on what was a £800 debt originally.

 

Can they charge this interest and what would be a reasonable offer of payment.

 

I am minded to ask for £50 a month until the debt is paid off.

Thoughts welcome.

[renegadeimp]

So theyre in default of a valid CCA request.

 

As usual. Cabot rarely ever have enforceable debts thats why we always advise people to check the facts asap.

 

However, since they now seem to have added on a ton of interest themselves

and its a subject of a court claim,

 

you'd need more specific advice.

 

Sit tight and the regulars will be around as soon as they can.

[theoldrouge]

please read the following and answer as fully as possible

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?419198-You-have-received-a-Claim-What-you-need-to-do.-**UPDATED-April-2014**%282-Viewing%29-nbsp

[scottwilsonmr]

Hi, here is my information, thank for your time and help.

 

 

Name of the Claimant: Cabot

 

Date of issue – top right hand corner of the claim form – this in order to establish the time line you need to adhere to.

 

Date of issue 27/06/2014 + 19 days ( 5 day for service + 14 days to acknowledge) = 16/07/2014 + 14 days to submit defence = 30/07/2014 (33 days in total)

 

What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim? That I had a credit card with Citi Financial from 2003, agreement terminated in early 2005 and assigned to Cabot.

 

What is the value of the claim? £1,600

 

Has the claimant included section 69 interest (8%)within the total claim or is it shown separate within the Particulars but not added to the debt?

 

Interest has been added since debt was assigned to Cabot, this has broadly doubled the debt.

 

Is the claim for a current or credit/loan account or mobile phone account?

No, claim regarding a debt that defaulted in 2005 and was assigned in early 2005

 

When did you enter into the original agreement before or after 2007?

Before 2007

 

Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim.

DCA was assigned debt and they are issuing claim.

 

Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment?

Possible, was a long time ago. Had dealt with Cabot in 2008 but they never sent me the notice of assignment so I left it at that.

 

Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor?

Probably, back in 2005.

 

Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ?

No

 

Why did you cease payments:-

I had a number of competing debts as spending was more than coming in, to my shame I put my head in the sand and ignored debts.

 

Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? No, other than penalty charges which I complained about at the time.

 

Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan?

I have managed to clear most of the outstanding debts from before 2007 but Cabot has remained outstanding.

 

What you need to do now.

 

Answer the questions above

 

If you have not already done so – send a CCA1974 request to the claimant

 

I had received a number of documents in 2010 relating to my request for CCA 1974 documents, that said i didnt receive an assignment form.

 

Send a CPR31.14 request to the solicitor named on the claim form for copies of documents mentioned/implied within the claim form. There are two different versions - one for Loans/Credit cards the other for Current accounts

 

Request 1 - Loans/Credit Cards

Should I ask for this again? considering I got most of the documents previously?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AndyOrch]

Hi scottwilsonmr

 

As the debts been assigned you need to do a further section 78 request....unless it was Cabot in 2010.

 

If you could type out the particulars of claim (verbatim less any identifiable data) as requested above and then we can fully advise what your CPR 31 should request

 

PS Dont forget you must acknowledge the claim by tomorrow 15th July

 

Regards

 

Andy

[scottwilsonmr]

Thanks for your reply, yes I did acknowledge the claim (online using moneyclaim website) last week, didn't want to be caught out by a judgement by default! Here is the particulars of the claim:

 

By an agreement between Citfinancial (CFE) the the defendant on or around 1/2/2003 CFE agreed to issue defendant with a credit card upon the terms and conditions set out therein. In breach of the agreement the defendant failed to make the minimum payments due and the agreement was terminated. The agreement was assigned to the claimant on 20/02/2005. The claimant therefore claims £1,800 (includes 105 court fee and 80 solicitor costs).

 

Note that the debt was £850 when assigned to Cabot on 20th Feb 2005. Note I sent a CCA1974 request to the claimant in 2008 and received a copy of the credit agreement (albeit no signatures) and past statements. No deed of assignment at that time. thanks in advance for your help. Scott

Edited July 15, 2014 by Andyorch
Paras added

[AndyOrch]

So it was assigned over 9 years ago.....have you ever made payment or acknowledged the debt to Cabot?

[scottwilsonmr]

Yes, I paid £50 in Aug 2008 in response to their pestering letters. Hence why they are seeking a CCJ now before it is statute denied. I was subsequently in dialogue with them in last 2008 and earlier Jan 2009 to ask for documentation like the CCA agreement etc. At that time they havent sent me the assignment of debt paperwork etc. Left it at alone since then.

[scottwilsonmr]

Hi everyone, should I make an offer of payment to clear this debt. I paid £50 in Aug 2008 otherwise it would be statute barred by now. If I make an offer of payment and keep to those payments will that prevent a CCJ in your opinion ?

Thanks for your help

[AndyOrch]

Hi everyone, should I make an offer of payment to clear this debt. I paid £50 in Aug 2008 otherwise it would be statute barred by now. If I make an offer of payment and keep to those payments will that prevent a CCJ in your opinion ?

Thanks for your help

 

No not unless you agree a settlement and get them to stay the claim...otherwise you must submit a defence.

 

Andy

[scottwilsonmr]

Thanks Andy, yes I intend to submit a defence but not sure exactly what I should write.

 

I have made another payment toward the account and made an offer of a repayment schedule via email. I will copy these to the court unless I get any feedback from the company as proof that, even at this late stage, I am attempting to make a repayment plan.

 

Once the defence is submitted, I assume I will get a court date to defend infront of a county court judge ? I will attend to plead my case, namely that I had other debts to clear and Cabot was forgotten about. Not much of a defence but true. My financial situation was a mess and I have made a concerted effort to improve it.

The original lender but on penalty charges each month when my situation deteriorated and PPI from the start which was taken off as a monthly charge.

 

I know the debt is outstanding and, eventually, cabot produced the proper paper work albeit without a notice of assignment. I just want to make arrangements and ensure I dont get a CCJ, and most importantly that they dont get one by default without having to ge their solicitor to stand up infront of a judge and state their case.

 

any help or advice most welcome.

Scott

[renegadeimp]

If you admit any part of their claim you will get a CCJ. The only way to avoid it is to pay in full befopre court action, settle out of court ( cabot love doing this as 90% of their claims wouldnt get past a judge), or pay within 28 days of judgement.

[scottwilsonmr]

Hi renegadeimp. thanks for reply, i have decided to pay the original debt as it was when the debt was bought by Cabot. £900 and argue over the addition of interest charges since then. They never sent me a notice of assignment back in 2010 when they sent the original paperwork hence can I argue that they cannot ask for interest on the debt ?

[AndyOrch]

If you are paying the full amount and then arguing it after....I dont think it will be successful...yes you will avoid a CCJ but you wont ever see any unfair interest/charges refund.

[Alloyz1]

Hi renegadeimp. thanks for reply, i have decided to pay the original debt as it was when the debt was bought by Cabot. £900 and argue over the addition of interest charges since then. They never sent me a notice of assignment back in 2010 when they sent the original paperwork hence can I argue that they cannot ask for interest on the debt ?

 

If I have this right, the debt is for more than £900, but you will pay £900 which was the balance some time ago and argue over the rest of the claim value because it is interest and charges?

[scottwilsonmr]

Yes that is correct, paying the original balance when sent to Citi Financial, the remainder (doubling the debt) is interest and charges, I never received statement of accounts detailing the interest or charges and never recevied the Assignment of Debt hence I will claim that these are unenforceable.

I dont mind paying what is due but not all of the additionals that DCAs try to add on in profit especially if they are not following the correct administration of debts.

Most importantly, i want to avoid a CCJ.

Thanks for all your advice,

[Alloyz1]

I think I am right with the following (but I am sure someone will correct me if wrong!!):

 

If you pay the amount you suggest and defend all the claim you would avoid a CCJ until judgement and then it depends on the judgement and your subsequent action as to what happens in respect of a CCJ.

 

If you defend part of the claim only, you will get a CCJ

 

If you admit you will get a CCJ

 

If you do nothing you will get a summary judgement against you and a CCJ

[scottwilsonmr]

Thank you again, but I will have paid the amount that I admit £900 and then defended the other £900 (lack of Notice of Assignment and lack of Statement of Accounts).

There is no point in me defending all the claim when I have admitted £900 of it and paid that before it goes to court. Does that make sense?

 

Wish me luck,

 

Scott

[Alloyz1]

It is not luck you need Scott.

 

If you admit any part of the claim, you will get a CCJ.

 

There is a point in defending all of the claim, as the claim is for £1800. You do not agree to the £1800 so you can defend it.

 

As part of the process you can then explain why you defended the claim of £1800 i.e. you believe you only owe £900

 

A

[scottwilsonmr]

Ok, thanks, I dont really understand the jargon. I will ensure that I am defending the entire claim of £1800 and therefore I am defending it and stating I have paid £900 towards the debt.

 

Your help and comments gratefully received. Scott

[Alloyz1]

I believe that is the appropriate process to avoid the CCJ and pay the amount you want to, but if someone else could comment that would be great

 

A

[AndyOrch]

I think I am right with the following (but I am sure someone will correct me if wrong!!):

 

If you pay the amount you suggest and defend all the claim you would avoid a CCJ until judgement and then it depends on the judgement and your subsequent action as to what happens in respect of a CCJ.

 

If you defend part of the claim only, you will get a CCJ

 

If you admit you will get a CCJ

 

If you do nothing you will get a summary judgement against you and a CCJ

 

No you will get a Default Judgment

 

Regards

 

Andy