Problem with Cabot Financial

stressed12 · 15 May 2009 at 2:27PM

Hello i am having a problem with Cabot Financial

We received letters from them, and a company called Mackenzie Hall, saying we had a debt to pay. This debt was last acknowledged by us in 2001. We had sent the usual statute barred letters (at the appropriate timescales) to their agents Mack Hall and copied them in on it. We sent the final letter to them last year saying that as they had not provided the cca in the alloted time and we wanted acknowledgment that they would treat this matter as closed. This was was oct/nov last year. Heard nothing till last week when a photocopy of the signed cca and all our statements of account (which prove that the debt had not been acknowleded since 2001) and asking for the debt to be paid. We have sent a letter back quoting chapter and verse that the debt is statute barred and they didnt provide the CCA in the legally alloted timeframe.
What i would like to know is what we did correct and what should our next course of action be?

Thank you.

Tixy · 15 May 2009 at 2:33PM

I think just concentrate on the fact that it is statue barred rather than the CCA. As its statute barred then the CCA is effectively irrelevant.

Keep sending the statute barred letter everytime they write to you - if you have done this say 2-3 times and they are still hassling you complain to the OFT.

Edit: In fact as MH are already in trouble with OFT over this type of thing then if they do not write back to say the will stop chasing you and acknowledge that it is statue barred then complain straight away - see this thread post 1
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1639473

stressed12 · 18 May 2009 at 1:28PM

Thanks for that, the problem with these people is they never reply to letters and then they send out another bleedin' letter after 4 months or so asking for the money again. I have told them it is statute barred in every letter i have sent i just wish they would listen. It gets frustrating that i cant pick up the phone and shout at them, that would be really satisfying.

rigger_john · 18 May 2009 at 1:53PM

stressed12 wrote: »

..., the problem with these people is they never reply to letters and then they send out another bleedin' letter after 4 months or so ....

Make sure you send everything recorded signed for, that way you have a paper trail to show to the OFT and MH can't say they never got your letters.

stressed12 wrote: »

It gets frustrating that i cant pick up the phone and shout at them, that would be really satisfying.

Now you wouldn't want to be rude to those nice people would you :rotfl:

stressed12 · 19 May 2009 at 8:45AM

I do want to be rude now. Because in reply to our letter they have sent out the same load of cr*p as last time, i.e. a pack up with all the default statements in with a photocopy of the original signed CCA and copies of chasing letters. Grrr, do they not read letters? But i do appreciate them sending proof that the last acknowledgment of the debt was in 2001.

fermi · 19 May 2009 at 8:51AM

The OFT have recently come down on a different DCA for this.

Link: OFT imposes requirements on Mackenzie Hall to improve handling of disputed debts

Maybe send the letter below recorded, and then report Cabot ot the OFT and Trading Standards if you hear anything more?

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Acc/Ref No: *******************

FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman.

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/2008, the contents of which are noted.

On xx/xx/2008 I wrote to <Name of debt collector> regarding a debt that was alleged to be owed by myself. That letter was received and signed for on xx/xx/2008 as confirmed by Royal Mail tracking.

In this letter I pointed out the following items:
1) Under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

2) The OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

3) The last correspondence/payment/acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

4) The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".
Therefore it is clear that your original contact regarding this debt may well have been in breach of the Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (2).

Furthermore, your second letter is in breach of Office of Fair Trading Guideline referred to in item (4) and directly constitutes harassment.

As you are no doubt aware, breaches of the OFT's Guidance on Debt Collection are treated seriously by the OFT when considering your fitness to hold a Consumer Credit License.

In particular the OFT has recently stated that:
The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act) requires debt collectors, businesses that offer goods or services on credit and/or are involved in activities relating to credit or hire to be licensed by the OFT. Following implementation of the OFT's new powers under the Consumer Credit Act 2006 on 6 April 2008, the companies could also have specific 'requirements' imposed on them by the OFT. If such a requirement was not complied with, the business concerned could be subject to a financial penalty of up to £50,000. The OFT can also refuse or revoke a licence if it decides that a trader is not fit to hold one. The OFT can take into account any circumstances which appear to be relevant when considering the fitness of an applicant or licensee, including evidence that the company has contravened the Data Protection Act 1988.
Furthermore, that the OFT has recently enforced their guidelines by placing a legal requirement on Mackenzie Hall Ltd to cease pursuing statute barred or disputed debts.

Therefore I wish to formally notify you that unless I received confirmation that this matter is now closed, then I will not hesitate to make a formal complaint to the 'Office of Fair Trading' and also to 'Trading Standards'.

Furthermore, any attempted contact (other than to confirm that this matter is now closed) by any:
"trading style" of the <Name of debt collector> group

constituent member of the <Name of debt collector> group

a third party acting on your behalf

a third party that claims to have been legally assigned this debt

will result in an immediate complaint to the aforementioned regulatory bodies.

Also please note that any legal action you may consider will be FULLY and VIGOROUSLY defended, and you will be put to a strict proof of the alleged debt and any payment or acknowledgement that you claim within the relevant limitation period.

Furthermore, you may consider this letter a FORMAL COMPLAINT under the complaint procedures set out by the Financial Ombudsman. If you wish to correspond with myself with any other purpose than to confirm that this matter is now closed, then I require you to supply me with a written copy of your complaints procedure and a "final response" that I may forward to the Financial Ombudsman with my complaint.

This COMPLAINT is not going to go away and ignoring this problem could potentially make your situation worse. I therefore strongly recommend that you send written confirmation that no further contact will be made concerning the above account and confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

PauliP · 19 May 2009 at 10:11AM

Hi, Sorry to enter this forum but didnt know which one to go to for advice.

A few years ago a CCA was entered into with ONLINE finance. Payments became a problem and a fixed amount per month was negotiated, which was regularly paid. Towards the end of last year a letter was received advising that the debt had been passed to CABOT, despite regular payments being maintained. A letter was sent to CABOT asking for a copy of the CCA and giving them 12 days.... This came and went with no reply. Eventually several weeks later they sent a reply advising they were looking into it and asking online for a copy, but at that time couldnt provide one. A similar letter was sent again a few weeks after. Then a letter came asking for the car back ! A letter was sent to them pointing out they had failed to provide a copy of the CCA within the require time etc etc etc.... And asking them again, giving 14 days notice for details of all payments etc etc etc.... That was quite a few weeks ago.... and nothing..... Suddenly out of the blue they have miraculously managed to obtain a 'copy' of the original agreement....

Can anyone please tell me if they can now enforce this, as they did not supply this within the required time?

Thanks....

stressed12 · 26 May 2009 at 2:52PM

Good news letter came through on friday saying that Cabot recognise the debt as statute barred and will no longer chase the debt.

Win.

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice.

fermi · 26 May 2009 at 2:57PM

Thanks for the update.

Good result.

Problem with Cabot Financial

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free