Cabot Financial

pnw72

Hi

Sorry if this is in the wrong category, but I couldn't find one suitable.

My wife has received a letter from Cabot Financial (who we've just found out are debt collectors), which states that she owes nearly £5,000. It also mentions repeated attempts to obtain commitment to repay the debt.

This is the second letter, the first which came just before christmas was about a limited offer to repay a debt. She ignored it as she thought it was a scam

The letter gives an original lender as Barclaycard Littlewoods and a 16 digit account number, which looks like a credit card number.

We don't know anything about this.

Does anyone know the best course of action to take?

Thanks for any help.

creditcardhelp11

Could be 1. Mistaken identity or 2. Your wife has been the victim of ID theft. Cabot Financial is a legitimate debt collection agency who are members of the Credit Service Association.

Step 1. Obtain your wife’s Credit Report from all 3 credit reference agencies see here: http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/credit.aspx
Step 2: Contact Cabot and explain to them that your wife has not had any credit agreement with the creditors in question and for them to suspend any collection until you have obtained your Credit Report. If your credit report is clear i.e. no fraudulent activity then Step 3 if the reports indicate fraud then go to step 7
Step 3: Write to Cabot by recorded delivery and ask for a copy of the agreement and all information (subject access request) relating to the account (you need to pay £10 for this by postal order) see here: http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/the_guide/principle_6/access_to_personal_data.aspx
Step 4: If the information arrives that shows it is not your wife’s account i.e. DOB, transactions, address, etc… then write to Cabot and explain the situation - they should then cease collection. Also ask them to remove any adverse credit history they may have placed on your credit report.
Step 5: If Cabot (or other creditors) are not acting satisfactorily then contact the Credit Services Association here: http://www.csaconsumers-uk.com/welcome and make a complaint
Step 6: If the situation is not resolved satisfactorily or you do not receive a response within 8 weeks contact the Financial Ombudsman here: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm
Step 7: If you think fraud has been committed contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 20 40. They will supply you with a crime ref number as they report crimes for you. Then contact all the creditors in question explain the fraud and give them the crime ref number asking them to close the accounts, to cease collection and to remove adverse credit data. It may take 3-12 months to clear your credit report. Move to Step 6 if the creditors do not act swiftly.
There is also the question – is your wife being absent with the truth? She may have financial worries she is not telling you about.

nottoolate

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan

There are a number of Debt Collection Agencies, whose job it is to chase down unpaid debts for other companies, and disgustingly one time-saving tactic used is to fish for the right person by sending demands to all those with the same surname, in the hope someone will pay up.
If you're called or receive a letter asking for money, the onus is on THEM to prove that you DO owe the money and that it is genuine debt. So if the debts aren't yours, don't panic; send a letter to say you're not responsible. National Debtline has a template letter you can use.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/attachment/3rdpartydebtsletter.rtf

pnw72

Thanks for the replies, very helpful!

We've already printed the letter and we'll do the credit searches tomorrow when we have more time.

Happy new year!

pnw72

Hi

We sent the template letter as advised in the the third comment.

However my wife received another letter, insisting the debt was hers. It also had the date and amount of the last payment on the account.

My wife checked her old statement. The alleged payment is not on her statement.

We also checked her credit record yesterday. Cabot have place a default on her account. It was last updated a few days ago. Is there any way to find out when this default was placed on her record?

I'm fuming that they have done this without any reasonable proof this debt is my wife's.

I'll write to Cabot as stated in step 3 of the 2nd comment.

Best regards

creditcardhelp11

All you can do is request the Credit Agreement and wait to see what it says. Once you have the statements from the accounts this should show name, address etc.. and where the money was spent i.e. transactions. You should telephone/write to cabot and ask them to suspend all collections whilst you investigate this account. If they fail to do this complain to the CSA as per step 5. Remember every time they ring you or you ring them make a note of the date, time, call duration and who you spoke to and outline what was said. Once you have the credit agreement and or statements you can progress, CAB will also help you if needed.

Also, was there any other accounts showing on your spouses credit report that she does not know about and did you check all 3 agencies?

creditcardhelp11

nottoolate wrote: »

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan

There are a number of Debt Collection Agencies, whose job it is to chase down unpaid debts for other companies, and disgustingly one time-saving tactic used is to fish for the right person by sending demands to all those with the same surname, in the hope someone will pay up.
If you're called or receive a letter asking for money, the onus is on THEM to prove that you DO owe the money and that it is genuine debt. So if the debts aren't yours, don't panic; send a letter to say you're not responsible. National Debtline has a template letter you can use.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/attachment/3rdpartydebtsletter.rtf

This should not be happening and if a debt collection agency does this and is a member of the CSA then you should report them.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

pnw72 wrote: »

<snip> My wife checked her old statement. <snip>

Just to clarify, do you mean her bank statement?

pnw72

Sorry, that wasn't clear. There was no transaction on her bank statement.

Best regards

pnw72

Hi.

Thanks for all the help thus far.

We managed to access the credit reports (Equifax & Credit Expert)

The plot thickens.

A Capital One account was linked (on the credit report) to my wife's name last year. The name on this account was the same as my wife's, but with a different middle initial.

This account was default last year, 5 months before ths account was linked on the credit report.

The address for this person is in Essex, over 50 miles from where we are.

I'm guessing this person in Essex is the same person with the Capital One account.

I think the default for the Cabot account has only been added to the report in the last few days. This is a particularly !!!!!! thing to do, given my wife wrote to Cabot to say she had no knowledge of this account.

Does anyone know what info a company can see on a credit report?

If they can see that a name is different (even if it's a middle initial) surely they must know they're on a sticky wicket?

Can anyone suggest how we write a Notice of Correction of the credit report?

I'm reporting this whole episode to CSA.

Once again, your help is greatly appreciated.

Best regards

Tremour-88

Write a letter to all 3 CRA's stating where you want the comment to appear and what you want it to say, 200 words max. It has to be a friendly comment or they will not accept it.