Cabot - Relentless Pursuit of Debt

RichLess

Hi,

I am desperate need of advice regarding Cabot Financial UK Ltd.

Back in April of this year, I received a letter from my local court office, which was a "Notice of Application for Attachment of Earnings Order". This was for an outstanding debt via J.D. Williams for £1,011.94 (though Cabot had raised this to £1,111.94 with an Attachment Issue Fee). I responded to the court and proved that I am currently unemployed and claiming JSA benefits. The court replied that the order had been dismissed on April 20th and I assumed that would be the end of the matter.

How wrong I was. Last week (6 months after the above event), I received another court letter, which was a "Notice of Issue of Warrant Control", stating I had "not made payment under the judgment as you were ordered" - I wasn't ordered to, so I'm not sure what they are talking about here - and have now been told that unless I make payment in full before September 25th of £1,114.19 (it seems to have gone up a little), that a bailiff will call and may remove goods for sale at a public auction!

I phoned the court bailiff office (as instructed), and they were very unhelpful. The woman I spoke stated that she would send forms out for me to fill in and return, but that I needed a JSA letter dated within the last 30 days (which I'm going to have to send away for) and that the forms must be returned by October 2nd or further action might be taken! She also said that I would have to make a token payment (per month) to Cabot and repay the debt in full, eventually.

This has put me in a complete frenzy, as I have no idea if this information is accurate.

Can anyone advise me as what to do next?

Many thanks!

andyfromotley

Give National Debtline a ring, they are very helpful and knowledgable.

fatbelly

The original judgement probably orders you to pay the whole sum 'forthwith'

It's because you haven't done that that they are able to try these enforcement options. Some things come to mind but they may be not relevant if you have other debts.

Do you have other debts? What is the total?

RichLess

First of all, thanks for the replies.

Secondly - this is quite a shock. It goes against what the people at the court told me back in April, as they said once I had filled out the attachment of earnings form to show that I am unemployed, that I would not have to pay - why tell me that if I still did have to pay?

Not only that, but why have I not heard from Cabot for half a year? Surely, if I had to pay, they would have been in touch with me after the attachment was return to both them and the court, informing me that I still had to pay something. This is insane!

As I do have other debts (due to now being unemployed), they have mounted up to around the 10K mark. I instructed them to put a stop to the interest, which they did, but the settlement offers are just unrealistically high for someone in my position and even the monthly payments they have suggested would leave me with no money to live on.

So, it would seem (in light of what I've been told) that bankruptcy is possibly the only option open to me?

Thanks again (in advance) to anyone who can help me.

andyfromotley

Ok richless, if you contact one of the following charities/not for profits you will get specific professional advice tailored to your situation.

National Debtline
Stepchange
CAP (christians against poverty) - you don't have to be a christian to use them.

These groups consistently get excellent feedback on these forums, they are free. Never pay for debt advice!

It sounds as if your situation is complex and they will be able to suggest the best option for you. Once you have done this you could then post back here and see what people think of your options? Hope this helps.

National_Debtline

Hi

In order for the claimant to be able to use enforcement in the first place such as the attachment or earnings you must have been in default of the original judgement. As fatbelly says it may well have been a forthwith judgement, which basically means it had to be paid immediately.

As a quick fix for the CCJ you could apply to court on a court form called N245 to request an instalment order and you can also suspend a bailiff warrant on the same form. It normally costs £50 to make the application but as you’re unemployed you shouldn’t have to pay if you also send an EX160 court form with the application.

This factsheet covers the process:

www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/08%20EW%20County%20court%20-%20suspending%20a%20bailiff%27s%20warrant%20or%20reducing%20instalments%20on%20a%20county-court%20judgment/Default.aspx

In terms of dealing with your debts overall a debt relief order (DRO) may be more appropriate as it’s a form of insolvency similar to bankruptcy but only costs £90 to apply.

A DRO may be suitable for you if you can realistically only afford less than £50 per month to pay towards your debts after your living costs, you owe under £15,000 (this increases to £20,000 in October) and do not own assets worth over £300 (increasing to £1000 in October), or a vehicle worth over £1,000. You would need to meet those criteria for a full year.

Our DRO factsheet explains this in more detail.

www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/37%20EW%20Debt%20relief%20orders%20%28DROs%29/Default.aspx

James
@natdebtline

RichLess

Thank you - I will look into this right away - as it seems to be the route I can take.

fatbelly

James has hit the nail on the head I think