Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

[padmd900]

Hello everyone, i am new to here and very worried regarding a letter i received on Saturday but i put it to the back of my mind and ive decided that's defiantly the worst opetion to do. As i dont really know many people clued up on laws etc i thought id ask if anyone could help me with what to do.

I got a letter from Shoosmith Solicitors stating they are acting on behalf of Cabot Financial. It states if they don't reach an agreement with myself to pay the £2186.82 within 14 days they are instructed to to issue a claim in the county court. The only debt i cant think i have to this amount is for a drum kit i purchased 9-10 years ago. I dont know the rules on statue barred etc. I am a complete novice.

The bit that worries me in the letter is the sentence "Please treat this letter as notice that unless an agreement is reached" as this isnt scare tatic wording?

Ive done alot of reading on this forum and it seems the thing to do is send a CCA request? is this correct.

I would be so applicative of any help regarding this, its really worrying me. i was up till 4am last night worrying and reading forums.

Thank you in advance.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

Hi and welcome aboard
First of all, don't let those clowns scare you!

You are right to say that the usual procedure is to send a CCA request to start with, however, if you are sure the debt is SBd then you'd just respond with the SBd letter since SBd is an absolute defence and much more significant than anything CCA related.

However, if you are not sure this is, in fact, SBd, then you can send a CCA request to Cabot and a response to a letter before action to Shoosmiths asking them for more information in accordance with the pre-action conduct:

Dear Sirs

Ref: xxxx

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xxxx/2015. As the letter contains a threat of litigation, it is being treated as a formal letter before action. As such, I refer you to paragraph 3 of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct, which states: “before commencing proceedings, the court will expect the parties to have exchanged sufficient information to (a) understand each other’s position; (b) make decisions about how to proceed;”

Paragraph 6 states “the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives“ and Paragraph 6 (c) of refers to “the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.” My request refers to the documents I require to obtain the necessary information to assess my position in this case.
I require copies of the following:

1. The original credit agreement;
2. The Default Notice
3. The Notice of Assignment;
4. Statements of account;

These documents would be expected to be supplied if proceedings were issued and would likely be in your possession if you were issuing a claim. If you consider that there is difficulty in providing a copy of a document, please identify that document and the reason. Additionally, there is a duty to supply documents under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. A request has been made under ss.77/78 on xx/xxxx/2015 and I am awaiting a response.

I shall being able to provide you with a full response to your letter within 14 days of receipt of the documents listed above and also reserve the right to refer to the contents of this letter if proceedings are issued without first providing copy documents to me.

Yours faithfully,

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

If you know the account is SBd then you can just put the burden of proof on them to show it isn't:

Dear Sirs

Statute barred account xxxxx

You have contacted me with regards to the above account. The last payment to this debt was made over 6 years ago and no more acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time.

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written acknowledgment from me within this period, under Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980, you’ll no longer be able to take court action to recover the debt. Any court claim will be defended on this basis.
Section 7.15.8 of FCA Consumer Credit Sourcebook states: "A firm must not continue to demand payment from a customer after the customer has stated that he will not be paying the debt because it is statute barred."

If you have evidence that this debt isn’t statute barred then please send it to me within 21 days. Otherwise, please confirm that you won’t pursue me for this debt.

Yours faithfully

[padmd900]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

wow that was so fast, thank you very much for replying. I am unsure if it is indeed SB for definite you see so didnt want to jump the gun straight away in case im wrong and get meself into more trouble haha. So ill send this CCA request to cabot financial and do i send a copy to shoosmith also to inform them im dealing with this? in reagrds to SB im pretty sure it is as i havant heard from them in years and when i purcahsed the drums 10 years ago the reason it all went so bad was because they took my bank details wrong and never took a payment. so i havant paid anything in 10 years. but to confirm. send the cca request to cabot and do i send anything to shoosmith to let em know. once again, thank you!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

wow that was so fast, thank you very much for replying. I am unsure if it is indeed SB for definite you see so didnt want to jump the gun straight away in case im wrong and get meself into more trouble haha. So ill send this CCA request to cabot financial and do i send a copy to shoosmith also to inform them im dealing with this? in reagrds to SB im pretty sure it is as i havant heard from them in years and when i purcahsed the drums 10 years ago the reason it all went so bad was because they took my bank details wrong and never took a payment. so i havant paid anything in 10 years. but to confirm. send the cca request to cabot and do i send anything to shoosmith to let em know. once again, thank you!

In that case you'd send the CCA request to Cabot and the letter I posted on post #2 above to Shoosmiths which is a response to their letter before action, where you'd fill in the date when you sent the CCA request to Cabot in the paragraph just before the last one. :thumb:

[padmd900]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

Ok i have put the CCA request in an envelope and ready to go and now i just send the SB template letter you provided to shoosmith and then await? sorry to keep asking, i just want to double check im doing this the way you advise.

[padmd900]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

Oh i am sorry, i misread your message. So i just send the CCA letter to shooesmith too. thank you again.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

Ok i have put the CCA request in an envelope and ready to go and now i just send the SB template letter you provided to shoosmith and then await? sorry to keep asking, i just want to double check im doing this the way you advise.

Oh i am sorry, i misread your message. So i just send the CCA letter to shooesmith too. thank you again.

A bit of a confusion above. If you are not sure it's SBd then you send the CCA request to Cabot with £1 PO

The following letter to Shoosmiths, replacing the text highlighted in red with your own details:

Dear Sirs

Ref: xxxx

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xxxx/2015. As the letter contains a threat of litigation, it is being treated as a formal letter before action. As such, I refer you to paragraph 3 of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct, which states: “before commencing proceedings, the court will expect the parties to have exchanged sufficient information to (a) understand each other’s position; (b) make decisions about how to proceed;”

Paragraph 6 states “the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives“ and Paragraph 6 (c) of refers to “the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.” My request refers to the documents I require to obtain the necessary information to assess my position in this case.
I require copies of the following:

1. The original credit agreement;
2. The Default Notice
3. The Notice of Assignment;
4. Statements of account;

These documents would be expected to be supplied if proceedings were issued and would likely be in your possession if you were issuing a claim. If you consider that there is difficulty in providing a copy of a document, please identify that document and the reason. Additionally, there is a duty to supply documents under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. A request has been made under ss.77/78 on xx/xxxx/2015 and I am awaiting a response.

I shall being able to provide you with a full response to your letter within 14 days of receipt of the documents listed above and also reserve the right to refer to the contents of this letter if proceedings are issued without first providing copy documents to me.

Yours faithfully,

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

Although I've posted it on the other thread, re-posting it here to keep it all together, below is the CCA request letter to be sent to Cabot with £1 fee, the other letter goes to Shoosmiths with no fee. Send both recorded delivery. :typing:

This is the CCA request letter, which also needs replacing bits with your own details:

Your name
Your address
Your address
Your Postcode

DATE

Creditor Name
Creditor Address
Creditor Address
Creditor Postcode

Dear Sir/Madam

Re:− Account Number xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please treat this letter as a formal request for you to supply a copy of my Consumer Credit Agreement as is my entitlement under sections 77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

I require you to provide me with a true copy, or reconstituted copy of the credit agreement relating to any account you deem to be mine, together with any other documentation the Act requires you to provide. I expect you to comply fully and properly with this request, within the statutory time limit.

Your obligation also extends to providing me with a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order, which represents payment of the statutory fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act. I understand that a copy of my credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days from the date of this letter.

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189.

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act, creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

Yours faithfully,

YOUR NAME

[Berniethebolt]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

I have to agree with FP

As well as sending the letter to shoosmiths I can see no problem with calling them and asking what the account is for as you have no idea. I know many people will say never phone a DCA or solicitors but in this case it may help to put your mind at rest. In addition nothing said over the phone can be held against you .
If by some chance it turns out that it is a case of mistaken identity it would be an ideal opportunity to sort it out.

I would still follow Flaming Parrots advice regarding the two letters , if you haven't posted them already send them signed for, it is not a disaster if you haven't.

[padmd900]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

I have filled out the templates which flaming parrot kindly provided and they are in envelopes ready to go to the post office as recorded delivery. With the enclosed £1 does it have to be a PO or can i just put a pound coin in the envelope? I was thinking about calling them but i read alot about how not do this and keep it all in writing so im a little torn on what to do. I will send these letters for sure and see what happens but thank you for your input berniethebolt. Ive never had to deal with these things before and feel very alone and stressed so so relieved there are guys like your selves online assisting! I thought if i call them ill just be shooting myself in the foot as ill say something wrong and they will hold it against me or something you know.

[nemesis45]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

I have filled out the templates which flaming parrot kindly provided and they are in envelopes ready to go to the post office as recorded delivery. With the enclosed £1 does it have to be a PO or can i just put a pound coin in the envelope? I was thinking about calling them but i read alot about how not do this and keep it all in writing so im a little torn on what to do. I will send these letters for sure and see what happens but thank you for your input berniethebolt. Ive never had to deal with these things before and feel very alone and stressed so so relieved there are guys like your selves online assisting! I thought if i call them ill just be shooting myself in the foot as ill say something wrong and they will hold it against me or something you know.

Hi,
Under no circumstances send cash you need proof of the payment just in case your £1 gets allocated to the alleged debt and no agreement is sent.
Best to use a postal order write " For Statutory Fee Only " on both sides and keep the counterfoil safe.

nem

[padmd900]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

Thank you nemisis45. I finish work at 8pm today so ill go straight to the post office in the morning and get these sent off. you have all been really very helpful, thank you all again.

[nemesis45]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

Thank you nemisis45. I finish work at 8pm today so ill go straight to the post office in the morning and get these sent off. you have all been really very helpful, thank you all again.

You're most welcome!

Good luck!

nem

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Letter from Shoosmith Solicitors/cabot financial threatening court

I have filled out the templates which flaming parrot kindly provided and they are in envelopes ready to go to the post office as recorded delivery. With the enclosed £1 does it have to be a PO or can i just put a pound coin in the envelope? I was thinking about calling them but i read alot about how not do this and keep it all in writing so im a little torn on what to do. I will send these letters for sure and see what happens but thank you for your input berniethebolt. Ive never had to deal with these things before and feel very alone and stressed so so relieved there are guys like your selves online assisting! I thought if i call them ill just be shooting myself in the foot as ill say something wrong and they will hold it against me or something you know.

It has to be a PO even though you'd have to pay 50p for the privilege (at least that was the amount when I last sent one which was a few years ago). If you sent cash they'd argue they never received it.