Mortimer Clarke Solicitors / Cabot Financial

In2Deep_3

Hi all,

New member, first post, so please be gentle with your replies

I need sound advice on my next course of action.

I have an alleged debt of £2.5k approx relating to a credit card. As a lurker on these forums for some time, I know a little about this process, so I wrote to Mortimer Clarke Solicitors previously and said the alleged debt is statute barred.

To quote their reply:

"You have alleged that the claim is statute barred. Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 provides that 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."
"The six year limitation period runs from the latest date on which:"
"1. A payment was made towards the debt, or"
"2. The agreement was terminated, or"
"3. You acknowledged the debt in writing"

"We are instructed that in this case the cause of action accrued when the agreement was terminated on 08/08/2009. Therefore the claim is not statute barred. If you disagree please explain why. Alternatively please find enclosed an income and expenditure form for you to complete and return".

That's it. I don't know if the 2009 date is correct or not. What are your suggestions as to my next move? I have never acknowledged this debt in any way, and in my previous letter to them I asked them for a signed copy of the credit agreement which I have not received. So should I go back and repeat this request, and how should I word it?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

rizla_king

legalbeagles.info and consumeractiongroup.co.uk forums are best place to ask on legal issues like that

fatbelly

In2Deep wrote: »

"You have alleged that the claim is statute barred. Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 provides that 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."
"The six year limitation period runs from the latest date on which:"
"1. A payment was made towards the debt, or"

"3. You acknowledged the debt in writing"

Correct. Their point 2 only applies in specific situations.

In2Deep wrote: »

"We are instructed that in this case the cause of action accrued when the agreement was terminated on 08/08/2009.

Rubbish. Particular rubbish if it relates to a credit card.

If they start a court claim, use Legalbeagles to help you defend it.

As you're still not acknowledging that this is your debt (the right strategy I think) I would not do a CCA request yet - it's still up to them to prove that (a) it's your debt and (b) you acknowledged it within the limitation period

solentsusie

IN2Deep - please see my previous thread re Mortimer Clarke and Cabot:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5029872

This shows how I dealt with receiving a CCJ from them out of the blue.

Your post:
"We are instructed that in this case the cause of action accrued when the agreement was terminated on 08/08/2009. Therefore the claim is not statute barred. If you disagree please explain why. Alternatively please find enclosed an income and expenditure form for you to complete and return".

Have you checked your statutory credit report and is this alleged debt on there? If it is, is the default date 08/08/2009?

Most companies will default an account 3-6 months after the last payment or contact is made. A debt can therefore be classified as statute barred up to six months before it is put into default.

Your post:
That's it. I don't know if the 2009 date is correct or not. What are your suggestions as to my next move? I have never acknowledged this debt in any way, and in my previous letter to them I asked them for a signed copy of the credit agreement which I have not received. So should I go back and repeat this request, and how should I word it?

Check your credit files with Equifax, Experian and CallCredit (Noddle their online version is free if you sign up). You only need your £2 statutory reports don't sign up to any deals, they aren't necessary.

Once you have these you can then see if the debt is registered on your file, if you haven't done this already. If the default date is 08/08/2009 then it is a pretty good bet that this debt is statute barred.

I doubt very much Cabot will be able to provide a credit agreement or proof of when the last payment towards this debt was made.

I just contested the CCJ as statute barred and they did not make any counterclaim whatsoever. I am pretty sure you will have the same experience if it goes down that route.

Please remember that the onus is on Mortimer Clarke/Cabot to prove that this debt is not statute barred. From your post it doesn't look as though they have provided anything of the sort.

It sounds like they are trying last ditch scare tactics to get you to acknowledge the debt or pay something so they can start the six year time period again.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

antbebe

Hi there,
Found this post so thought I could be of assistance. I hate to say it but the person above is wrong. They will not chase up proof unless you do ask for a CCA request. Obviously these come with a small fee. As you want proof first another option is to call them and just ask for specific documents. In this case the termination/default notice. The advisor will place your file on hold as you are awaiting documents. Document requests can take months as there is no set time frame. However just make sure you call back every 6 weeks to make sure the documents haven't been sent out and you've not received them in the post. The best thing you can do is keep in regular contact with them. Hope that helps.

fatbelly

antbebe wrote: »

Hi there,
Found this post so thought I could be of assistance. I hate to say it but the person above is wrong.

A bold statement for a first post.

What exactly is wrong on solentsusie's post?

sourcrates

solentsusie wrote: »

IN2Deep - please see my previous thread re Mortimer Clarke and Cabot:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5029872

This shows how I dealt with receiving a CCJ from them out of the blue.

Your post:
"We are instructed that in this case the cause of action accrued when the agreement was terminated on 08/08/2009. Therefore the claim is not statute barred. If you disagree please explain why. Alternatively please find enclosed an income and expenditure form for you to complete and return".

Have you checked your statutory credit report and is this alleged debt on there? If it is, is the default date 08/08/2009?

Most companies will default an account 3-6 months after the last payment or contact is made. A debt can therefore be classified as statute barred up to six months before it is put into default.

Your post:
That's it. I don't know if the 2009 date is correct or not. What are your suggestions as to my next move? I have never acknowledged this debt in any way, and in my previous letter to them I asked them for a signed copy of the credit agreement which I have not received. So should I go back and repeat this request, and how should I word it?

Check your credit files with Equifax, Experian and CallCredit (Noddle their online version is free if you sign up). You only need your £2 statutory reports don't sign up to any deals, they aren't necessary.

Once you have these you can then see if the debt is registered on your file, if you haven't done this already. If the default date is 08/08/2009 then it is a pretty good bet that this debt is statute barred.

I doubt very much Cabot will be able to provide a credit agreement or proof of when the last payment towards this debt was made.

I just contested the CCJ as statute barred and they did not make any counterclaim whatsoever. I am pretty sure you will have the same experience if it goes down that route.

Please remember that the onus is on Mortimer Clarke/Cabot to prove that this debt is not statute barred. From your post it doesn't look as though they have provided anything of the sort.

It sounds like they are trying last ditch scare tactics to get you to acknowledge the debt or pay something so they can start the six year time period again.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Well done you, I'm only sorry I missed your original post, as some of the comments on it were not very helpful to you.

I think your advise is 100% solid, and you seem to of handled it just fine.