Two old credit card debts - solicitors letter arrived, not sure what to do

GrandadJohnDoe

Hi all, first time posting. I'm a bit out of my depth with this so apologies if I get the terms wrong.

I pulled my credit file recently and found two old credit card debts I'd sort of put to the back of my mind.

The first is with Cabot, around £9,900. The file says it was originally a Barclaycard, opened December 2012, and it defaulted in September 2022. Last week I got a letter from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors saying they've been instructed by Cabot and I need to either pay in full or set up a payment plan.

The second is with Link Financial, around £10,300, defaulted July 2022. It was originally a Halifax credit card, and my credit file shows a start date of 2019. My old bank statements show the Halifax direct debit going out at about £300 a month, with a reference matching the account number. The last payment that actually went through was November 2021, then December and January bounced. I've heard nothing from Link apart from the account showing on my credit file.

I'd honestly hoped they might be too old to chase, but the payments in 2021 are clearly there in my statements, so I don't think that helps me. I haven't contacted any of them and haven't paid anything.

What I'm trying to work out:

1. How seriously should I take the Mortimer Clarke letter? Is this the sort of thing that actually ends up in court, or do they send these out routinely? Ideally I want these to become statue barred
2. Is it better to get in touch and try to agree something, or does contacting them make things worse?
3. I've seen people mention asking for a copy of the original credit agreement. Is that worth doing for a card opened in 2012?
4. The Link account shows a start date of 2019 on my credit file. Is that likely to be when the Halifax card was opened, or when Link bought the debt? My statements only go back to late 2021 so I can't tell.

Really sorry for the long post, and thank you for any guidance anyone can give

sourcrates

Mortimer Clarke act on behalf of Cabot, and they have 6 years from the date of default to enforce their rights in these matters, and yes they do send out letters such as this routinely, as bluff tends to work well in debt collection, but they also instigate legal action on occasion too.

Unfortunately we are not privy to the workings of the inner sanctum that decides Mortimer Clarke policy, so can`t really say what the chances are of this being taken further.

What we do know is that Cabot/Mortimer Clarke/Link, must all follow civil procedure rules, so any potential legal action will be pre-ceded by a "letter before action".

This is a document you self complete to avoid the matter going to court, you can ask for evidence of liability on this form also, and it has a 30 day return window.

So you should have plenty of warning if they choose to escalate things, so until or unless you get the LBA, you can simply ignore them all, if that is the path you want to go down.

ManyWays

Yes it is worth asking for a CCA agreement for these.

I suggest doing this sooner rather than later. Legislation is going through Parliament to remove the statutory right to ask for a CCA and replace this with some rules that will be set by the FCA. We do not know what they will be.

We also do not know what transitional provisions may be set by the Treasury, they could cover people who have already asked for the CCA and been told it cannot be produced.

But if you have already asked and it cannot be produced, there is a reasonable chance you will be in a stronger position that if you have not yet asked and have to do so under the new FCA rules.

GrandadJohnDoe

Thank you both, really appreciate those responses. So it sounds like the safer option is to ask for CCA for both debts. Lastly, would the CCA go to Mortimer Clarke for the Cabot debt and Link for the second debt or would it be Cabot and Link that get the CCA's?

fatbelly

I'd send to Cabot and Link.

In the event of a court claim, the standard response is: cca to the creditor, cpr request to the solicitor