Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

[dilema]

Hello Forum!

I have been reading various threads relating to similar cases.... ie Cabot making a claim against a credit card debt.

I am currently out of the Country but the Court Claim was sent to my parents address, not sure why, but perhaps as I still have an open account registered at the address (although not lived there)/ statements go there, due to being out of the Country

I have read the advice provided in other threads, in submitting the various request forms to the Claimant/their Solicitor to obtain a copy of the original agreement.
My initial question, is if they are unable to provide evidence and proof of the original agreement, how does this proceed, does it go to court for a decision and could/would it then be dismissed with the Claimant not able to pursue the debt further...?

Up until approx 2.5 years ago I had direct debits set up with various creditors, however although running I would then be contacted by various other creditors claiming they had taken over the various debts, so I was left not knowing who I should deal with! I never tried to ignore the debts and wanted to resolve them, but In the end I could not meet the payments and have buried my head in the sand for various reasons since..

Your advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Dilema

[Amethyst]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi and welcome to LB xx

You should get the claim acknowledged and send off the CPR and CCA requests. If they can't produce these then usually Cabot either discontinue their claim, or let it go on to be stayed while they try and find the documents.

You must put a defence in within the timescales set by the court even if they fail to respond to the letters.

How much approx and when was the credit card taken out originally ?

If they do respond with a fully compliant agreement then you can usually negotiate a Consent/Tomlin order with them to make payments and avoiding the CCJ.

They have probably sent the claim to your parents address as that shows on your credit file.

But first step is to acknowledge and get the letters sent off.

Ame
xx

[dilema]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi and thanks for the quick response.

The amount is for around £7k with their costs and they refer to the agreement 'on or around 27/04/2005. To be honest I cannot remember when it commenced.

Obviously, I do not want this to drag on indefinitely, would I be wrong in contacting them to discuss how the matter could be resolved without going through the court process, ie if they withdraw the application based on agreeing a formula...?

In the past I had tried to offer one off settlement payments to the creditors at the time, with no response, albeit only 10% of the debt when I was in a position to do so. My situation has not improved financially and i have also spoken with StepChange to discuss my financial position. They advised I could only offer £1 per month.
So my offer would be the same or if i could raise funds from family ie 10% to resolve the matter..

Regards

Dilema

[dilema]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

...also, if I am currently out of the Country, should the address still be the same as to where the forms were sent, ie my parents or do I need to put an address where I am staying at the moment..?

The papers were forwarded and now in my possession, so I need to fill them asap and then no doubt send directly back to the court and Cabot..?

Dilema

[dilema]

Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi again.

Amethyst, I am in the process of producing the CCA and CPR31.14 as suggested, which will be sent today along with acknowledgement to the Court.

I did in fact contact the solc. to discuss the matter to establish whether they would withdraw the application if a solution could made based on advice I had had from a Debt advice charity, which was basically £1/month due to my current financial situation. Or then whether I could agree a settlement amount if I could raise funds through family to get the debt off my back, however this would only amount to around 10% of the debt, debt being around 7k. At this level there would be probably no interest from them.

I requested proof of transfer of the debt/ the agreement to justify they actually own the debt, as in the past I had been contacted by various creditors chasing the same debt, even when payment plans had been put in place, plus I had also tried to agree settlement of 10% of the debt as that is all I could raise, with no response by the creditor at that time.
Initially the Solc. representative said no problem this could be supplied, however they contacted me a short time after to say that they could not produce any documents until the papers sent/being processed with the Court.

Any advice/comments would be appreciated.

Regards

Dilema

[dilema]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi,

Just checking the time frame I have remaining, as the issue date on the claim form is 8th June and the papers received at my parents address on I think the 9th or 10th. I received the hard copy on 15th as they had to be forwarded to where I currently am, as I am currently out of the country.

I am compiling the CCA request and CPR 31.14 and just trying to work out the date I need to submit for filing my defence, as per the letter template...?

Regards

Dilema

[Kati]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi,

Just checking the time frame I have remaining, as the issue date on the claim form is 8th June and the papers received at my parents address on I think the 9th or 10th. I received the hard copy on 15th as they had to be forwarded to where I currently am, as I am currently out of the country.

I am compiling the CCA request and CPR 31.14 and just trying to work out the date I need to submit for filing my defence, as per the letter template...?

Regards

Dilema

33 days from date of issue for your defence, which takes you to Sat 11th July (http://www.timeanddate.com/date/date...&am=&aw=&ad=33) xx

[dilema]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Kati,

Thanks for that. Should the date for filing my defence be the last day ie 11th July or prior..?

Text from template

"Toenable me to file my defence and/or counterclaim, I requireinspection of documents you mention in your statement of case aheadof filing my defence on 201X."

Dilema

[Kati]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

the 11th is the date your defence is due ... although as that's a Saturday, it might be better to put it in on the 10th

[dilema]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Ok, thanks again...!

Dilema

[dilema]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi again..

Should a copy of these letters be sent to the court ...?

Dilema

[dilema]

Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi again!

My head feels like a tumble dryer at the moment, trying to process the Court Claim in my mind and now that I have read other threads on similar cases....

I am not disputing that there is a debt there and I have tried previously to remedy the problem. But now that this action has been put against me, Once I have sent the letters off today and if they cannot comply with the requests, what happens then...?

Is their claim withdrawn and what happens to the debt...? My understanding is that this could be pursued/challenged again at a later date, by the same company or a new one..

If that is the case, would it be an option to seek a mediator to try and agree a settlement, if I can raise funds from family to help, to draw a line under it, albeit it would be a small percentage of what is being sought, ie an offer of 10%, may be max 20% on 7k debt..

Advice and comments appreciated.

Regards

Dilema

[nemesis45]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

You have sent ?? CPR 31.14 request to MC?
CCA Request to Cabot?

Making a full and final payment (less than the amount owed) need to be done very carefully
and on your terms, if you decide that is to be your approach please come back here for guidance.

nem

[dilema]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Nem,

Thanks for your response.

I am currently sorting the letters now to send, plus acknowledging to the court.

I am considering whether this may be an option, in order to get this off my back, as at the moment I am unsure that if they are unable to produce the documentation to support their claim, what happens then, is the debt still open for someone else to challenge later..?

If a settlement could be reached, albeit small the debt would no longer remain open and be deemed satisfied.
I close friend had a similar situation, contacted the Court to discuss and that he had spoken to the creditors advisor to try and agree some form of settlement. It was then suggested a mediator assist, which did in fact result in a settlement amount of around 20% of the debt, as that is all they could do.
Obviously there is no guarantee it will happen in the case, but perhaps through mediation in the same way it may help in reaching a settlement.

What I am trying to avoid is having this weight around my neck indefinately. I do have other debts, but so far I have had no correspondence relating to these for a while. I had been paying monthly nominal payments to all of them up until about 2.5 - 3 years ago. I have since been out of the Country, although still have an open bank account in the UK, as still been trying to deal with old business things, otherwise I am currently unemployed.

Appreciate any advice..

Regards

Dilema

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Dilema v Cabot Financial/Mortimer Clarke Solc.

Hi again!

My head feels like a tumble dryer at the moment, trying to process the Court Claim in my mind and now that I have read other threads on similar cases....

I am not disputing that there is a debt there and I have tried previously to remedy the problem. But now that this action has been put against me, Once I have sent the letters off today and if they cannot comply with the requests, what happens then...?

You can either submit an unless order to get the court to order them to disclose the documents or file a generic defence based around lack of documents to assess your position.

Is their claim withdrawn and what happens to the debt...?

They *could* discontinue, but it would be at a later stage if they did, not before you submit your defence. They don't do it very often though. Cabot have, on occasion, managed to obtain the documents months after issuing the claim.

My understanding is that this could be pursued/challenged again at a later date, by the same company or a new one..

Issuing a new claim for the same debt would constitute abuse of process unless there was new evidence that wasn't available this time.

If that is the case, would it be an option to seek a mediator to try and agree a settlement, if I can raise funds from family to help, to draw a line under it, albeit it would be a small percentage of what is being sought, ie an offer of 10%, may be max 20% on 7k debt..

Once you submit your defence, if the claimants decide to proceed with the case, you will receive an N180 directions questionnaire where you can tick a box agreeing to mediation if you so wish. :thumb:

- - - Updated - - -

Hi again..

Should a copy of these letters be sent to the court ...?

Dilema

No, the CCA request goes to the Claimant (Cabot), the CPR request to the solicitors (Mortimer Clarke).