Thankful for any advice please :(

[ScottishGal]

Hi everyone, I’m new here & hoping for some advice please?
I won’t bore you all with my sob story but I have recently got a simple procedure from Calbot Financial for just under £1700 on behalf of simply be.

I have no means to pay this back as I work part time, have 2 young kids and I’m also a full time student. I also get a salary top up from universal credit for the kids as my income is low.

I have no idea what to do next, wether I should ignore it as I have been doing, ask for time to pay or something else.

like everyone else that gets this through the door, it’s making me feel ill.

can someone please help, I appreciate your time reading this?

thanks in advance

[MIKE770]

CCA Request send with a £1 postal order and get proof of posting - only use this if told to, will alert somebody Celestine
when taken out ? defaulted?
CPR 31.14 Request no charge send and get receipt to solicitors keep copies of all

[echat11]

Try not to worry, hopefully you can get it resolved.

If you can fill in the following:-

Received a claim? Yes/No:
Issue Date:
Have you Acknowledged the Claim?:
Total Amount Claimed : ( approximately please do NOT use EXACT figure given on the claim form, round up to next £100 or £1000)
Claimant’s Name:
Solicitors Firm:
Original Creditor:
Original Debt (eg. Credit card/Loan/Overdraft) :
Particulars of Claim: ( Please type out in full excluding names/account numbers/exact amounts ):
Is the debt Statute Barred (have you had any contact with the creditor or claimant over the last 5 years?):
List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ):
Any Other Information or Background Details:

[Celestine]

Send off CCA request asap. Follow process below to dispute the claim to buy more time.

But if the CCA is sound and you need to settle, then you should contact Cabot and arrange a payment plan. You would fill in an income/expenditure form and lending rules mean it has to be affordable, so in reality it will be token payments of very little over a very long time. Interest will be frozen.
Try not to be scared of contacting them, they are much easier to deal with these days.

FROM:
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking...mple-procedure

How do I respond to a claim?

If a claim is made against you, the first formal notice you will receive is a copy of the completed claim form. Contained in the same envelope will be a response form (Form 4A). This usually comes by recorded delivery post but you may also receive it from a sheriff officer.

The claim form contains the details of the claim made against you. If you wish to either:

• dispute the claim,
• admit liability for the claim and ask the court for time to pay; or
• admit liability for the claim and settle it before the last date for a response

you should complete the response form. You can either do this online or fill in the Form 4A by the last date for a response. The form will also need to be sent to the claimant. This will be done automatically if the claimant has indicated on the claim form that they would prefer the court and other parties to contact them online. If they have not, then a copy of the response form will have to be sent to them by post.


Alternatively you can complete Form 4A and send it by post to both the court and the claimant by the last date for a response.

Part 4 of the simple procedure explains how you respond to a claim and what the court will do with your response.

Part 5 explains how you may ask for time to pay if the claim is for payment of a sum of money and how the claimant can consent or object to that.

Please note that staff in the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service cannot give you legal advice, although they can help you to understand court procedures. You may wish to consult with and be represented in court by a solicitor, lay representative or courtroom supporter. Part 2 of the simple procedure explains about representatives and what they may and may not do.


What will happen to my case?

You may not need to attend court if:

• The respondent has not sent a response form
• The respondent has settled the claim before the last date for a response
• The claimant and the respondent have agreed payment terms about the payment of the claim

You may need to attend court if:

• The claimant has not accepted the offer of payment detailed in a response form
• The respondent wishes to defend all or part of the claim
• The sheriff or summary sheriff wishes to discuss certain matters about the claim

Should you need to attend court, you will be informed of the reasons, date and time of any hearing or discussion that the court has fixed.

You may be worried about attending court, particularly if you do not have a solicitor or other representative to speak for you. The following may help you to prepare:

• Part 7 of the simple procedure explains what happens after a response form is received or if no response form is received.
• Part 8 of the simple procedure explains the orders that a sheriff or summary sheriff can give to manage or decide a case.
• Part 21 contains a glossary explaining the meaning of certain legal words and expressions used in simple procedure.

If you are attending court, you may have already looked at some parts of the Simple Procedure Rules which can be viewed in full here.

[ScottishGal]

Thanks so much everyone who has taken the time to reply, I feel like a lost puppy facing reality and dealing with all of this. I’ll get a £1 postal order and use the template on here for the cca request tomorrow.
Received a claim? Yes/No: notice of /simple procedure
Issue Date: 16/09/21
Have you Acknowledged the Claim?: no
Total Amount Claimed : £1700
Claimant’s Name:Cabot Financial UK Ltd
Solicitors Firm: Shoosmiths LLp
Original Creditor: Simply Be
Original Debt (eg. Credit card/Loan/Overdraft) :
Particulars of Claim: they have stated they want the court to order me to pay the outstanding funds and that their claim should be successful as I entered into an agreement and failed to make payment of sums due under that agreement. Credit agreement is dated 23/09/18, last payment was made 023/07/20.
Is the debt Statute Barred (have you had any contact with the creditor or claimant over the last 5 years?): yes
List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ):n/a
Any Other Information or Background Details:n/a

[echat11]

Where it states Particulars of Claim, you need to copy and write what is written on the actual claim form you have received.

[ScottishGal]

Ok. I'll do that right now - thank you

[ScottishGal]

The claimants are a finance company which inter alia operates the business of debt purchasing. By virtue of a debt purchase agreement ('' the agreement'') between the claimants and JD Williams (''the original owner'') dated 10/03/2021, the claimant acquired title to and was assigned the right to payment in respect of all debts and other monetary claims of any nature due or owing by the respondent to the original owner which were in existence as at the date of the agreement, and in particular in relation to the contract herinafter condescending upon, the said assignation was intimated to the respondent by way of a written notice on or around 10/03/2021. The agreement between the respondent and the original owner upon which this action is based was regulated under the consumer credit act 1974. further information in relation to that agreement is contained in section d4, which we set out the sums due and the basis upon in which they fell due.

[ScottishGal]

my final date for response is 09/11/21 - Do i sent the response form in and send it back with the cca request at the same time to shoosmiths or cabot?

[echat11]

a) You need to send the CCA Request to Cabot now, make sure you get Proof of Postage.

b) You need to send the Response Form to the sheriff court before the deadline passes, make sure you get Proof of Postage.

3) You send a copy of the Response Form to Shoosmiths before the deadline passes, make sure you get Proof of Postage.

Are you sure 09/11/21 is the final response date?

Please go through thoroughly the response pack that's been sent to you.

[ScottishGal]

Thank you Yeah it says last day for service is 19/10/21 and last date for a response is 09/11/21.

Ok, so my next steps are, send the CCA request away to Cabot, send the response form to the sheriff court and copy the response to send to shoosmiths. Do I need to go on to civil online and acknowledge the claim? Am I waiting until I get the CCA request back until I offer time to pay?

I really appreciate all your help.

[ScottishGal]

Am I best to offer to pay a small amount each month rather than go through all these court proceedings, I'm very overwhelmed by it all and just want it to go away.

[echat11]

Thank you Yeah it says last day for service is 19/10/21 and last date for a response is 09/11/21.

Ok, so my next steps are, send the CCA request away to Cabot, send the response form to the sheriff court and copy the response to send to shoosmiths. Do I need to go on to civil online and acknowledge the claim? Am I waiting until I get the CCA request back until I offer time to pay?

I really appreciate all your help.

When you say 'acknowledge the claim', do you mean the bit I've underlined? Yes, wait until you get the CCA back, 14 days, no longer.

'If you decide that you want to admit the claim and settle it before the last date for a response, or that you want to dispute the claim or part of the claim, you must fill in the Response Form (Form 4A). You can complete the response form online or you can complete and print the form and send it to the court. You must also send a copy to the claimant. If you complete the form online and the claimant has indicated on the claim form that they would like the court and the respondent to communicate with them online, the system will do this for you. However, if you have chosen to send the form to the court in paper form or the claimant has indicated on the claim form that they want you to communicate with them by post, you will need to send a copy of the claim form to them by post. The court and claimant must receive the completed response form by the last date for a response.'

Response to post 12, read the first paragraph post 4.

[Celestine]

Am I best to offer to pay a small amount each month rather than go through all these court proceedings, I'm very overwhelmed by it all and just want it to go away.

How old is the account? If newer than 2014 it’s likely to be CCA compliant but this is still a very important step to take.
Yes, if your income/expenditure shows you have virtually nothing to spare then the payments will be very low. If you have any health issues or vulnerabilities, you should let their vulnerable persons team be aware.
As this account is not near time barring under the Limitation Act, you have little to lose by talking to them.

[ScottishGal]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a pest. I just find all this legal chat and jargon in the pack I have been sent really confusing & intimidating. I know you underlined that I need to read through the pack, I have and I don't know what to do for the best.

My options are: Offer to pay a little each month to minimize the disruption to my life or ask for CCA request to delay and possibly halt the proceedings against me if they don't have it?

I have 2 kids who rely on me and diligence is not an option

By sending the response form to the court and admitting the claim against me, am I setting myself up for court proceedings regardless if they find the CCA or not?


I think it might be best if I speak to my local CAB

Thanks for all your help, as always i do appreciate it.