Mortimer Clarke Solicitors/Cabot Financial - advice needed

[Ventnorboy1]

Good morning,

I have an outstanding debt owed to HSBC credit card of £4270 which was sold onto Cabot Financial in April 2014.

I had previously been paying Cabot £20 a month up until January 2017 when I changed banks, and in all honesty thought they had given up chasing the debt until now.

I have now received a letter from Cabot Financial telling me my account has been referred to Mortimer's Clarke Solicitors. The solicitors contacted me yesterday by letter to say if they do not hear from me within 30 days they may be instructed by Cabot to order a CCJ.

Due to my job I can't really afford to have a CCJ made against me.

What I am seeking advice on is can I reply with a proposal to pay back some of the debt in monthly installments? And will they respect the agreement to write off some of the debt or will the rest of the debt be sold onto another company who will begin the whole process again?

I would like to propose that I will pay back £2500 in installments. Is this viable or will It just be seen as me acknowledging the debt and they will have more ammunition to serve me a CCJ?

Any advice is most appreciated

[MIKE770]

any offer is acknowledging a debt,


could set up an agreement with them (Cabot not Mortimer Clarke (I am after commissions)) with the provisal that no CCJ applied for as long as payments made as per agreement?

or ask for a Full & final offer?? starting at say 30% and work up see what they say, only do this if a CCJ really needs to be avoided = remember these people pay pennies in the pound for the alledged debt.



By the way have you requested a CCA1974 from HSBC in the past? if not do so now with £1,00 postal order as many HSBC agreements years ago are not found due to events??
CCA Request

[Ventnorboy1]

Thanks for that info mike. With regards to the CCA, if HSBC do not reply within 12 days does that have any effect on the possible CCJ from Cabot?

If I offer a full and final offer would that be of one payment? Or could I do that in installments?

Thanks again.

[MIKE770]

just that no enforcement can take place until they do, but send copy to solicitors - oopppsss send request with postal order to Cabot as the owners now

installments then you would have to ask them >? bet they would say full amount , full final or full amount, but only guessing?

@Amethyst

[Ventnorboy1]

Thanks I will definitely get a CCA sent out to Cabot now. Would it be best to wait until I receive any feedback from the CCA before I send out a final agreement offer to them? Also do you know of any templates for final offers?

Many thanks.

[Ventnorboy1]

Also they have sent me a statement from Cabot listing the payments I have made, i take this is not a CCA?

[Amethyst]

Is the letter you received from Mortimer Clarke a formal Letter of Claim ( eg. http://legalbeagles.info/forums/foru...ence#post99526 )

[Ventnorboy1]

hi @Amethyst, yes it is very similar apart from it doesn't mention the particulars of the debt.

I have added a couple of attachments.

Really appreciate your help.

[MIKE770]

begging letter we may this that the others see what others suggest

[MIKE770]

hi @Amethyst, yes it is very similar apart from it doesn't mention the particulars of the debt.

I have added a couple of attachments.

Really appreciate your help.

No not as the photo Ame put up are official letter before claim, Mortimer Fart ooppps Clarke is a begging letter at this stage

[Amethyst]

Did they include a reply form with the letter ?


If so you do need to complete it and return to them.

If there is a dispute on the debt you can say so, and ask for documents evidencing their claim, including the agreement, notice of assignment and default notice.

[Ventnorboy1]

@Amethyst yes there is a reply form with it. Do i reply to them or Cabot? And do i reply before or after asking for the CCA?

What do you propose I do?

At the moment I believe I have the following options -

1. Send CCA to Cabot and wait for reply.

2. Send Mortimer back there reply letter with an offer of 30% of settling the debt in final agreement (paid in installments)

3. Ignore and wait for CCJ

Thanks

[Amethyst]

Send the CCA now, separately, and direct to Cabot.

The reply form, complete it as need more information and ask for all the documents, I wouldn't go in on a reply form with a 30% offer myself - maybe a call, without prejudice, to make a full and final settlement offer to save time/hassle/costs of dealing with a potential claim before completing it, but I don't think a 30% offer would be accepted at this stage, and tbh you want to ensure they have the right to claim this debt from you in any case.

It is likely as you were paying £20 a month to Cabot for what, 3 years?, they are just going to want to use court to secure the debt now and let you continue paying at £20 a month ( or get an increase on that ) with the option for them to enforce if it went to a CCJ. You could always make an offer of the £20 a month in the reply form, but it will just be back to the same position in a couple years - though it should come off your credit file in what 2020? ( defaulted in 2014? ) so think your options are F&F settlement or defend against the case to get it dealt with once and for all.

Bit of thinking aloud there.

[Ventnorboy1]

Thanks so much for your help Amethyst

I will get the CCA sent out tomorrow, and fill in reply form asking for all documents as suggested. Should I fill in the bit about seeking debt advice too?

I would be happy to continue paying them back £20 a month if it meant no CCJ. Just believe it may be in my interest to settle for a final agreement at a lower total seeing as the debt has been sold on.

Will the rest of the debt be sold on to someone else if they agreed to a 30-50% final agreement?

[Diana M]

yes there is a reply form with it. Do i reply to them or Cabot? And do i reply before or after asking for the CCA?

What do you propose I do?

At the moment I believe I have the following options -

1. Send CCA to Cabot and wait for reply.

2. Send Mortimer back there reply letter with an offer of 30% of settling the debt in final agreement (paid in installments)

3. Ignore and wait for CCJ

You have received a Letter Before Claim dated 26th February. You have 30 days from that date to reply. Do your research first and don't feel rushed into making any hard and fast decision right now. These LBC seem to be panicking debtors into paying without taking stock of their legal position.

The first thing I notice is that the owner of the debt is Marlin Europe I Ltd which is unlicensed, and has been since April 2015. This may cause them problems if they try to enforce the debt in court.

My feeling is if you make an offer at this stage then you are sending out the signal that you admit the debt and are willing to pay. That won't stop them from issuing a claim.

Before throwing in the towel consider all your options. You don't have to do everything at once.

Send the s 77 - 79 CCA Request to Cabot with a copy to Mortimer Clarke (as a standalone item not with the LBC Reply Form).

See if Cabot can comply with your CCA Request within the statutory timeframe. If they can't or don't then you can send back the Reply Form to Mortimer Clarke ticking Box D to say there is a dispute (before the 30 days expires). The dispute would be that their client has not complied with your CCA Request (if they can't/don't).

If they can't or don't comply with your CCA Request within the statutory time frame then the debt becomes 'unenforceable' in court unless or until they do comply. That would place you in a better negotiating position if that's what you want to do.

You say this was a HSBC credit card. What year did you open that account and how did you open it (online, in a branch etc).

Did you have more than one account with HSBC such as a loan, overdraft and/or credit card? Could this £4.k debt be an amalgamation of more than one financial product?

Send a Subject Access Request to HSBC asap to get the full history of this account - only then will you really know your chances of success if they were to issue a claim (although I have already mentioned that Marlin are unlicensed regardless of them producing a credit agreement).

I can't comment on whether you should make an offer to pay this alleged debt, or how much you should offer, because debt advice is regulated by the FCA.

You must do what feels right for you, but getting the right information upfront, while you have time, will enable you to make an informed decision when the time comes.

Di