court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

[djbridger]

I hope someone can help, i have spoken to national debtline who have been very helpful so far.

We have received a court claim from the Northampton County Court Business Centre with the claimant being Cabot Financial Ltd

There is a long history to this as the debt was first bought we (my wife and i) believe by nco europe and thus got sold on to other DCA's for the past several years. At each time we have been told to send a recorded delivery letter by national debtline to say we are not aware of this debt please send proof. All then goes quiet for a couple of years until it is sold on as a debt to the next DCA.

This time however Cabot have sent a county court claim saying the debt is with PROVIDIAN NATIONAL BANK-CREDIT CARD, who we had to google to find out who they were, we have never heard of them.

There is no mention of when the the card was opened or when the debt was taken at all on the claim form.

Question one, do we need to just send the response pack included to say we wish to defend and if so we would then not need to login to the website moneyclaim.gov.uk or do we need to do that also.

Question two should we go to a solicitors?
If answer is no

Question Three if we are not aware of the debt should we defend on this basis or on a statute barred basis as in either case no money has ever been paid as national debtline have told us that somebody else could of had this debt with the same.

Nothing shows in credit history with experian nor has done when we first checked this about 4-5 years ago. Else we would of paid it off!!

I will ask for more advice later but would like to take this step by step.

Look forward to any replies

[Amethyst]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

Hi

Yes you should acknowledge the claim with intent to defend - you can do this online OR on paper - online is usually easier, but you needn't do both.

1: ACKNOWLEDGE THE CLAIM - you can do this online usually at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk
You'll need your claim reference and password from the front of the claim form - this will extend the time you have to respond to the claim to 28 days from when you received it

Secondly you should check with the claimant that they do have the legal right to claim this debt from you, and ask them for more information about the debt. The first bits to do are to ask them for a copy of the agreement, and for copies of any documents they have mentioned in their particulars of claim such as the notice of assignment and default notice - if you type out the particulars of claim that would be helpful to see what is necessary.

2: Send A CCA REQUEST to the CLAIMANT ( see here )
This applies to all credit cards / loans / hire purchase / store cards type debt. It doesn't apply to Mobile Phones / Utilities or Overdrafts.

3: Send a CPR request to the CLAIMANT'S SOLICITORS ( see here )
This applies to everything unless they happen to have supplied you with a bunch of paperwork to back up their claim (v. unlikely)

So you have no recollection of a Providian Credit Card or anything at all ?

You don't know if it would be stat barred - has it been more than six years that you have been writing to various DCA's telling them you have no knowledge of the debt ? That might indicate it would be stat barred, though I think that would come in secondary after you make Cabot evidence that this is actually your debt ( if they do)

They must comply with your CCA request ( point 2 above) in order to be able to get judgment at court.

[nemesis45]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

Hi Welcome to LB.

Things to do:
1. Acknowledge service of the claim: Can be done online @ MCOL. state intention to defend in full. it quicker and easier.
2. CCA request to Cabot, for a copy of the Agreement mentioned in the particulars of claim £1 statutory fee
payable use a cheque or postal order endorsed " For Statutory Fee Only" there's a template in the forum library.

Cabot has 12 + 2 Working Days to comply. use signed for post.

Statute Barred is a complete defence: SB in England & Wales = No Payment or unequivocal written acknowledgment of the debt in 6 clear years, the 6 year clock starts ticking on the date a contractual payment was due and not made after which no further payment was made ( or written acknowledgment.)

Which Solicitor is Cabot using?

Can you post a redacted copy of the N1 claim form here please it will help advise more fully.

nem

[FlamingParrot]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

Question two should we go to a solicitors?
If answer is no

Most people on here are dealing with their claims without the help of a solicitor.

How much are they claiming?

Question Three if we are not aware of the debt should we defend on this basis or on a statute barred basis as in either case no money has ever been paid as national debtline have told us that somebody else could of had this debt with the same.

If this isn't your debt, then you can't say it's SBd, that would apply to a debt you did have and where you know no payments or written acknowledgments have been made in the past six years. If you didn't have this debt then you wouldn't even know what they've done with it, whether they've paid or acknowledged it. :noidea:

[djbridger]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

Ok Just to let you know i have just spoken to the financial ombudsman who are also going to write to cabot and barclays who bought providian back in 2002/2003, they are not happy with the case.

We are the first to pay any debts if we have any!!!!

we will still respond with the response pack saying we wish to defend, the financial ombudsman have said the first thing that should happen is that cabot will maybe suspend the court case whilst they look into the matter. I will keep you all posted on what happens if that is ok

[FlamingParrot]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

Statute Barred is a complete defence: SB in England & Wales = No Payment or unequivocal written acknowledgment of the debt in 6 clear years, the 6 year clock starts ticking on the date a contractual payment was due and not made after which no further payment was made ( or written acknowledgment.)

If this isn't their debt, they wouldn't know whether there's been any payments or unequivocal written acknowledgment in 6 years, would they?

[Amethyst]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

You must continue with the court case and meet the deadlines unless Cabot discontinue. ie. you must submit your defence to the court before 33 days after the issue date on the claim form, else you risk a judgment by default. Cabot will probably write and tell you it will take 40 days to obtain documents. Your court deadlines still stand.

Unless you agree an extension to your defence date with Cabot before your defence is due, and notify the court of such agreement, you should put in a defence.

Details on extension http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...filing-defence

[djbridger]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

to us none of this makes sense hopefully financial ombudsman will eak out some details here or not as i think will be the case, but i think they can stop barclays reissuing this debt as it is definately over 6 years old who ever opened the account, i did not reliase that it is barclays reselling the debt to the DCA each time. we should of gone to the financial ombudsman earlier perhaps.

[nemesis45]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

If this isn't their debt, they wouldn't know whether there's been any payments or unequivocal written acknowledgment in 6 years, would they?

I realise that you are "jumping" in on this thread to use your own words, just for the sake of trying to get one over on me!

The OP has said the are " unaware of the debt" no this it " is not theirs" a totally different statement.

I will now place you back on my ignore list!

My apologies to the site team and djbridger for having to respond in this way.

nemesis45.

[djbridger]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

Hi

Yes you should acknowledge the claim with intent to defend - you can do this online OR on paper - online is usually easier, but you needn't do both.

1: ACKNOWLEDGE THE CLAIM - you can do this online usually at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk
You'll need your claim reference and password from the front of the claim form - this will extend the time you have to respond to the claim to 28 days from when you received it

Secondly you should check with the claimant that they do have the legal right to claim this debt from you, and ask them for more information about the debt. The first bits to do are to ask them for a copy of the agreement, and for copies of any documents they have mentioned in their particulars of claim such as the notice of assignment and default notice - if you type out the particulars of claim that would be helpful to see what is necessary.

2: Send A CCA REQUEST to the CLAIMANT ( see here )
This applies to all credit cards / loans / hire purchase / store cards type debt. It doesn't apply to Mobile Phones / Utilities or Overdrafts.

3: Send a CPR request to the CLAIMANT'S SOLICITORS ( see here )
This applies to everything unless they happen to have supplied you with a bunch of paperwork to back up their claim (v. unlikely)

So you have no recollection of a Providian Credit Card or anything at all ?

You don't know if it would be stat barred - has it been more than six years that you have been writing to various DCA's telling them you have no knowledge of the debt ? That might indicate it would be stat barred, though I think that would come in secondary after you make Cabot evidence that this is actually your debt ( if they do)

They must comply with your CCA request ( point 2 above) in order to be able to get judgment at court.

We will still do this i think regardless of the financial ombudsman situation, i guess it will not hurt to have two lines of attack
again to state nothing has been in credit file for about 10 years thats including the 4 years ago when we started checking and the last six years, my wife has a great credit record and has no problem getting any.

Logic tells me that as soon as Cabot receive request from financial ombudsman they will not have any proof as it would have been sent to us already, to say the least i think they are using scare tactics in order for us to send the money, they also have a very obliging solicitors who are earning good money out of them in my opinion.

I have read up that i should wait until about 20 days to send in our defence after we have sent the response, this is the tiome by then we are hoping that the court claim will be put on hold by Cabot if they do not have proof but if it isnt this is the period i would like help with.

The difficulty for us is if we defend it being statute barred then we are admitting to it being are debt collectable on non-collectable, the amount is only £1000 approx so the initial debt wherever it was opened is smaller than that.

We would rather defend on the principle that we are not aware of the debt and never have been, if by the time we get to respond with our defence nothing has come back already.

Anyways i am sure we will be back and we are so thankful for all help as it does calm us down after the initial freak out.

[djbridger]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

I also should state we now have two financial ombudsman ref numbers that we can find out whats going on with the companies in question

[Kati]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

Just popping in here to add some info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barclaycard

Providian
In 2002 Barclaycard took over the UK wing of the American Company Providian National Bank, known as Monument, when it was sold off due to financial irregularities of its American parent company. Providian's former base in Crawley (West Sussex) was fully part of the Barclaycard group, mainly catering for the very lower end of the credit card market. This targeting of the less affluent has created a lot of controversy as invariably the people targeted have existing financial problems. Barclaycard sold the Monument business and premises to Compucredit in 2007.

It looks like the UK branch of Providian was known as Monument, and was bought by Barclays in 2002 then sold on to Compucredit in 2007

[FlamingParrot]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

I have read up that i should wait until about 20 days to send in our defence after we have sent the response, this is the tiome by then we are hoping that the court claim will be put on hold by Cabot if they do not have proof but if it isnt this is the period i would like help with.

You have a total of 33 days from date printed on claim to submit you'd defence.

The difficulty for us is if we defend it being statute barred then we are admitting to it being are debt collectable on non-collectable, the amount is only £1000 approx so the initial debt wherever it was opened is smaller than that.

We would rather defend on the principle that we are not aware of the debt and never have been, if by the time we get to respond with our defence nothing has come back already.

Anyways i am sure we will be back and we are so thankful for all help as it does calm us down after the initial freak out.

That was precisely my view. :thumb:

[Amethyst]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

We would rather defend on the principle that we are not aware of the debt and never have been, if by the time we get to respond with our defence nothing has come back already.

That's exactly what you should do. Base your dates on the issue date of the claim - get the acknowledgement in within 14 days of then, and the defence within 33 days of the ISSUE DATE on the claim form.

If you do receive anything other than a 'wait 40 days' letter let us know xx

[djbridger]

Re: court claim: cabot financial vs djbridger

in the letter from the financial ombudsman to barclaycard and cabot it says this in the letter
"We have explained to (name omitted my wife) that she may ask the Court to stay or sistthe debt recovery proceedings until the Financial Ombudsman Service has completed its
consideration of the complaint."

Could some one explain this to me, as we have already acknoledged the court to give us the extra time?