Cabot- Advise really needed!!

[withoutapaddle]

Hello all!

 

I really need some advise please.

 

I got a letter through the post today from a company called Cabot Financial.

 

It related to a Barclaycard I had a few years back about 5 years ago I think.

 

Anyhoo I called them up and tried to arrange a settlement with them. They want over £1100 off me:shock: !

 

I lived at a different address when I had the Barclaycard and a collection company offered me a settlement of £500. But I just moved and ignored it:rolleyes: .

 

Cabot refused this offer when I asked them if they'd accept £500 and wanted £900, after a bit more talking they went down to £750. I then offered £650 but they wouldn't budge.

 

So the telephone conversation ended there. She said she'd put the offer in writing and send it to me and I also said that I'd put my offer in writing and send it to them. I said that I would pay the £500 in £100 instalment per week.

 

Any advise!!!!

[Sve]

NEVER EVER communicate with these people over the phone! And I mean NEVER EVER! Always have it in writting.

 

WHat you need to do first is to send them CCA request via recorded delivery and a cheque for £1 - please, go through the other threads - there are templates of the letter you have to send and explanation of how the process goes - also check Dealing with Cabot 101 thread in the stricky threads area.

 

See what they reply to your CCA and take it from there.

[djdave]

It might be worth also sending a SAR to Barclaycard. You say the debt was "about" five years ago, if it's six or more it could be Statute Barred.

 

Plus if it's made up of unauthorised charges you should be claiming those back, have a look in the Bank Charges section for more details.

 

To echo what Sve says, keep all your dealings with Cabot in writing and make sure every letter includes the line I do not acknowledge any debt to your company.

[Seahorse]

Just a thought. If you live in Scotland, the limit is 5 years.

[withoutapaddle]

Many thanks for the advice!!

[elizabeth1]

I was just thinking - You could send for your Credit Reference Agency file from Experian or Equifax it costs £2 can do it online or by post it usually takes about a week to come through the post - this way you'll see exactly who is writing about your credit history (Cabot often write under the name Kings Hill No1 Ltd too) also you'll see shown the date of default and the amount defaulted etc.. so will know exactly the amounts etc.. You say you moved addresses - so write to Experian your old address etc.. so they will be able to track the correct address for you. It's worth £2 to see what is being written?

 

It may be worthwhile sending an SAR to "both" Cabots and Barclaycard and make a point of asking for all the information they have on you to include deed of assignment, letters, default notices, transropts of any telephone calls, any manual intervention with the account involved etc.. - you should get everything for the full history of the Barclaycard that way (most companies interpret the SAR to be for Data covering the last 6 years - when infact you want the whole lot of Data if it's an account older than 6 years?) this way you should have everything you need to sort this out - if you have charges that go back further than 6 years you can claim them back too.

 

The CCA as above is also good to ask for as this way you'll see whether debt is enforceable or not.

 

In the template library are the template letters you can edit by "copy & pasting" to your needs. Keep a note of your dates so you'll be able to know whether these requests are met or not - often these companies do go into default.

 

The best advice here is to read, read and read some more - ask questions if you get stuck and someone can help you out. You'll see lots of threads like your own here - keep reading you'll soon feel at ease here and know that answers are here to help you deal with this stuff.

 

ALSO - AS EVERYONE ELSE SAID HERE - DON'T TALK TO THIS COMPANY ON THE PHONE - AND SEND ALL LETTERS BY RECORDED DELIVERY IT COSTS £1 TO POST - THIS WAY IF THEY LOSE YOUR LETTER - IT'S TOUGH ON THEM - you have proof you posted it.

[withoutapaddle]

Elizabeth-thanks!

Great information!

I've been reading through loads of threads and it's slowly begining to make sense!

 

But for the life of me I can't find the thread or post for the CCA template!!

 

Any pointers!! Please!

[elizabeth1]

Use Letter N in here to request CCA - there are other leters in the template library for SAR etc.. too

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html

 

 

the most useful page to "bookmark" or save as a "favourite" is this one as it's an A-Z

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/welcome-our-forum/69359-cant-find-what-youre.html

 

There is a "drop down search tool" at the top of the pages too - you can type in what you are looking for and it will list similar / same things for you.

 

Don't worry about getting lost in here - I still do it now!!

[withoutapaddle]

You're a star!!!

 

Thanks!!

[elizabeth1]

You are welcome