Cabot Financial chasing Husband to be for debt we believe to be paid!

katyp1

Hello All

A little bit of background... my H2B was a bit reckless with credit cards when he was younger and got himself into a bit of debt. One of the last debts he had to pay off was paid off by his dad (as H2B had leant his dad some money, so his dad agreed to pay the debt off directly instead of giving H2B the money)

Anyway, this was 3 years ago. And then out of the blue last week H2B has received a letter from Cabot Financial saying that he owes nearly £700 for a debt he believed was paid off by his dad back in 2006!
H2B's dad said the debt had been paid off in full. he said he had received a settlement letter and had paid the settlement fee.
However his dad cannot remember how much he paid, which bank he paid it in to and does not have any proof of payment (receipt, letter etc)

So, H2B phoned Cabot Financial and queried this with them and have said that they have been sending letters to H2B's parents house for the last 3 years to chase this outstanding debt but had no response. So they tracked H2B down at our new address and sent the letter through to him directly.

Now, we have asked his parents about this and neither can recall ever receiving a letter from Cabot Financial....

So... we have spoken to H2B's dad and he has been really unhelpful and thinks we are accusing him of not paying the debt (which we havent done), we have just asked him to help us prove that the debt has been paid.
Cabot financial have agreed that if we pay by 1st June, they will accept payment of £300.

We have checked on Experian and this debt isnt showing up on H2B's report.... should it show?

We are really unsure what to do. We have discussed going to CAB but we dont have any real proof that this has been paid.
We are torn between paying the settlement fee now (we have a letter to confirm the settlement fee) or to investigate and risk Cabot Finanacial demanding the full amount once the settlement period has lapsed....

Sorry for the long email. Just not really sure what to do!!

fermi

Up to Cabot to prove that the debt is owed, not the other way round.

So.....................

1 High Street,
Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH
October 9, 2007

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

Dear Sir/Madam

Ref: xxxxxxxxxxx

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

We would point out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to The Loan Company.

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

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.

We would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence as to our liability for the debt in question.

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

We look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully





Mrs A N Other

katyp1

so i would send this letter directly to Cabot Financial?

What happens if they really start to push for payment? Can they send the bailifs round or anything?

x

Merlinexcalibur

Yes, in all instances the people who are chasing you eg DCA.

What happens if they really start to push for payment? Can they send the bailifs round or anything?

Okay, step back from this ... take a look at this problem from another perspective.

a) You are unsure whether you owe this money?
b) Fermi's letter tells you all you need to know/do at this point - CABOT has to PROVE this debt is owed
c) So, if they can't prove it - as is their legal obligation otherwise I could say you owed me x amount and you'd pay me without challenging it(?) well, this is no different to this - bailifs will not get involved. CABOT can't just send bailifs, this is a misconception that DCAs rely upon. It has to go to court first ... but
d) If you don't owe this debt then it won't even get that far as any sensible court in the land would chuck the book at them for wasting time for a start if it ever got that far

All you have to do is send that letter.

GeorgeUK

They could only send bailiffs round once it had gone to court. This hasn't happened, so no bailiffs.

If they start to really push, you could do a subject access request to the bank. This costs £10 but will allow you to see all the transactions that have been made to the account and can get copies of all correspondence.

Don't speak to anyone regarding this over the phone - make sure it is all done in writing.

fatbelly

GeorgeUK wrote: »

If they start to really push, you could do a subject access request to the bank. This costs £10 but will allow you to see all the transactions that have been made to the account and can get copies of all correspondence..

Worth doing I would say, though you might want to start with a cca request for £1.

I've had a similar case and done a SAR. The creditor sent transcripts of all phone conversations through the history of the account with the bits they didn't want me to read blacked out and then photocopied.

However, I found if you hold the paper against a very bright light you can read every word....