Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

[rickydialez]

Received a claim? Yes
Issue Date: 5-5-2015
Amount approx: £6225
Claimant: CABOT
Solicitor: OPTIMA
Original Credit: UNKNOWN

Particulars of Claim:
The Claimant's claim is in resepct of a personal loan agreement regulated by the CCA 1974 made between 00012423 and the Defendant on . The defendant successfully applied for a personal loan in the sum of via the 00012423 website and was provided with the full terms and conditions. The Defendant failed to make the payments, as require, and is therefore in breach of the said aggreement.
A Default Notice was served on the Defendant, which expired on and the Defendant has failed to comply with the terms therein. On a Notice of Assignment was sent to the Defendant notifying them that this debt had been assigned to the Claimant. The Claimant's claim therefore stands at 5,715.66, plus costs. The Claimant has complied with sections III and IV of the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct.

Stat Barred? No

Have sent: Acknowledged the Claim, Sent a CCA request, Sent a CPR 31.14 request

Other Info:
I don't recognise the debt, but it is possible that I still have an outstanding debt as I have had many debts over the last few years, though I did think that I now have them all under control. If this is a debt of mine it will be at least ten years old. I am not sure whether there has been any contact within the last 6 years; I need to see if I have I have any paperwork that relates to any debt that I am currently not meeting.

I have definitely not received any Assignment notice or Pre-Court Notice in recent years/months. The other factor is that the Claim was sent to an incorrect address which is actually another (similar) address in the vicinity. I have had much post go astray here over the years even when the address is correctly written (as it was not here, compounding the problem) I suggest that the address fault could be a significant factor; it relies on the regular postman being on the ball.

I have acknowledged the claim, decared that I was going to defend in full and have 33 days in total before I have to defend (deadline today).

I have received none of the information I requested. I received a letter from the Claimant saying that this might take up to 40 days; the solicitor was equally vague. I contacted them three times to attempt to pin them down to allowing me a 28 day exension to make my defence. This was the last correspondence from the solicitor at the end of last week:

"....Thank you for your e-mail, we confirm due to your request for these documents your deadline has been extended to allow time for our client to provide your requested documentation and to allow time for you to prepare your defence after you are in receipt of copies. We confirm that we will allow 28 days from the day you are provided with the requested documents in which to file your defence. We hope you will understand that we cannot provide a specific date as we are not sure how long it will take for our client to acquire the documents from the previous creditor......"

My question today is very simple. Is this sufficient for me to wait on for receipt of documents without having to file some kind of defence imminently? Can I trust them not to apply for a judgment?

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Hi welcome to LB.

Usual Cabot rubbish 40 days for a CCA request, after the statutory timescale of 12 + 2 Working Days has expired the debt is unenforceable until the agreement is produced.
You say that this is an old account (10 years+) do you know when the last payment or written acknowledgment of the date was made?

( the six year limitation clock started ticking on the date a contractual payment was due and not made after which no further payment or written acknowledgment of the debt was ever made.

As to trusting them "NO Never! Inform the court of the agreed extension to be on the safe side.

The address problem: Did you have to retrieve the claim pack from the other address?

No Knowledge of Original Creditor: To what do the numbers 00012423 refer?

Have made any checks on Credit Reference files? If not try Noddle it is free online and sometimes has
some historical data that may help.

nem

[rickydialez]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Thanks for the swift intervention. I am grateful.

I've been in control of what I thought were all my debts for the last three years or so; therefore any last payments/contact would have been earlier; that said, I think I would have been aware three or four years ago if I could expect to be able to strike a debt off through no contact/payment. My feeling is that if it is my debt, it is probably one final old debt that has resurfaced. I do not know to what the code 00012423 relates.

From what I have read these companies put in claims with minimum details. I think the fact that the original lender is not even named on the claim form is taking things to the limit. I genuinely didn't feel that I should be forced into making a defence with no information at all.

I have now e-mailed the Court, forwarding a copy of the solicitor's e-mail of last week in which they agreed to an exension. I did try to notify the Court of this by phone last Thursday, but the Court was not very receptive; they didn't seem to have a mechanism to take this information other than suggesting I put in my defence or make an application to strike out the claim (neither of which I wanted to do at that point).

The Claim pack did arrive at my property, I assume via the Postman. But the post is hit and miss, especially if the Royal Mail official address auto find version is used. What Cabot carelessly used is even worse than that version and could absolutely easily have been delivered to the wrong address. When I requested the documentation I specifically asked for it to be sent to the correct address at the top of my letter.

[rickydialez]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Could somebody clarify a point for me regarding the extension of 28 days agreed with Claimant's solicitors to file my defence. The e-mail I received stated the following:

"Thank you for your e-mail, we confirm due to your request for these documents your deadline has been extended to allow time for our client to provide your requested documentation and to allow time for you to prepare your defence after you are in receipt of copies. We confirm that we will allow 28 days from the day you are provided with the requested documents in which to file your defence. We hope you will understand that we cannot provide a specific date as we are not sure how long it will take for our client to acquire the documents from the previous creditor."

I forwarded this on the deadline day for filing my defence to the Court (by e-mail); I have not heard a response from them and nothing is noted on the case file. Two question:

(1) When should the 28 days agreed run from? I believe it is from the daythe defence was due? In which case this 'agreement' from the solicitor does not make sense and they might deliberately have made it this way so that they can apply for judgement??

(2) Will the Court accept the forwarded e-mail in question as proof of the agreement anyway? Again, I am nervous that judgement will be made despite the fact that no documents have been provided and I have been granted an extension by the Claimant's solicitors.

[rickydialez]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

This case has now gone on for months. Here is a brief update:

The Claimant's solicitor produced only one of the requested pieces of missing documentation after a delay of weeks and weeks. Then a letter from the Claimant (Cabot) arrived which clearly stated that they could not provide the other requested information at present and that they would be unable to continue with the claim until they could provide the information.

Shortly after this a judgment was obtained by default (Sep). The solicitors had achieved this independently I assume.

I immediately filed a request for the judgment to be set aside on the grounds that I had not been provided with the required documentary evidence to file a defence. The case was transferred to my local Court. Soonafter the Claimant's solicor wrote to me stating that the request for judgment had been made by mistake and that they proposed a Consent order, as follows:

Judgment be set aside on the basis that it was entered by the claimant in error; the claimed be stayed until claimant complies with statutory documentation request; defendant given 14 days to defend after such information is eventually supplied (after which time if no defence is supplied claimant shall be permitted to enter Judgment in default; claimant to pay my costs in applying for the current judgment to be set aside.

I agreed to the Consent order and it was filed at the Court. Heard nothing for a month or so. Now the Court has written to me asking whether I wish to withdraw my application to set aside and proceed with the consent order instead?

I don't know which road to continue on. Obviously the consent order should set the case aside...but which route gives me the best protection? The court has a copy of the letter from the Claimant stating that they did not have the right to continue to take action whilst I do not have the documents (before the judgment was made) plus all other necessary copies of letters. I would be fairly confident that judgement would still be set aside with my application as things stand...except for the fact that might the judge not look badly on the fact that the claimant now consents to this (albeit with conditions). In which case, should not the judge disregard the claimant's solicitor's statement that the judgement request was made in error?

I obviously need to get back to the Court with an answer as soon as possible.

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

[QUOTE=rickydialez;595348]This case has now gone on for months. Here is a brief update:

The Claimant's solicitor produced only one of the requested pieces of missing documentation after a delay of weeks and weeks. Then a letter from the Claimant (Cabot) arrived which clearly stated that they could not provide the other requested information at present and that they would be unable to continue with the claim until they could provide the information.

My feeling would be to get crapbot to withdraw / set aside the judgement without conditions
rather than leave this hanging as stayed.
The conditions set out for the consent order are unfair in my opinion.

nem

[rickydialez]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Thanks ever so much for your very swift response. I am grateful.

I am a little unclear, however. Are you suggesting that I have the right at this stage to go back to the Claimant/Claimant's solicitor rather than comply with the Court's request for clarification about which of the two options I want to proceed with? After all, I signed the consent order application, even though the terms did seem unfair. They agreed in the consent order to meet the costs of my application...that's because they wanted me to go down this route, of course.

If the consent order route was taken by me, what would the effect of the case being stayed be? I don't think they will come up with the rest of the documentation, as 7 months have now passed since my requests for statutory documentary evidence were submitted...and they admitted months back that they had not provided the evidence to proceed.

I really don't want this hanging over me any longer, not least because there has now been a judgement in my name since September. What is the main consideration I should make in deciding to continue with the application to set aside? Maybe the Claimant would not attend? Might the judge not use the access he has to the consent order document at such a hearing as evidence that unfair conditions were being placed on me and for that reason I continued down the application to set aside route. Is there a longer term benefit to me of going down this route of getting the judgment set aside (end of litigation?)

My gut instinct is to ask the Judge to ignore the Consent order request and continue with my application to aside, but having signed the Consent order request might I not provoke the Claimant at this stage?

[rickydialez]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Just wondered if anyone can guide me as I decide whether to withdraw my application for judgment to be set aside or go along with the consent order which I have signed and has been submitted? Would really appreciate some guidance as to the pros and cons.

[R0b]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Just wondered if anyone can guide me as I decide whether to withdraw my application for judgment to be set aside or go along with the consent order which I have signed and has been submitted? Would really appreciate some guidance as to the pros and cons.

Continue with the application to set aside, do not agree to a stay of proceedings, as this will essentially halt proceedings until they can be resumed at a later stage. You want the judgment set aside and that's that. Cabot stupidly obtained judgment when they shouldn't have. If you stay proceedings they will have an infinite amount of time to produce documents and playing into their hands, if you set aside it is likely a new court date will be set and so they will have to discontinue the claim as they wouldn't have the correct documentation.

The terms of the consent order are clearly on their side. Tear up the consent order and explain after receiving advice you are not willing to consent. Continue with the application and tell them the only thing you shall consent to is set aside of the judgment and your costs of the application.

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Just wondered if anyone can guide me as I decide whether to withdraw my application for judgment to be set aside or go along with the consent order which I have signed and has been submitted? Would really appreciate some guidance as to the pros and cons.

Hello Ricky.
Continue the set aside application, the TO is not really any advantage to you.

nem

[rickydialez]

Re: Court Claim - CABOT / UNKNOWN - 5-5-2015

Thanks for the two pieces of advice. If I go down the likely route I'll go down today of continuing with the application, then I am putting confidence in the judge setting aside based on the fact that the Claimant has not provided all the required paperwork. The only single piece of paperwork provided after 6 months is a copy of the agreement.Last questions really.... do I just submit to the Court a one line letter stating that I wish to continue with the application or do I send a more elaborate letter explaining why I have abandoned the consent order I signed (having taken advice)?And do I need to contact the Claimant at the same time at this stage or do I let the court make the contact and await the next stage which would presumably be a date for a hearing from the court?