Received a Court Claim for defaulted debts from between 2004 and 2015.

[PirateAndy]

So I received court claim documentation for defaulted debts from around 9-10 years ago. Mortimer and Clarke "solicitors" have recently started hounding me about it and sent the claim through the other week on behalf of Cabot Financial.

I have never paid a penny to Cabot Financial towards this nor ever admitted liability on the debt. They have the cheek to demand interest on the defaulted sum from 10/10/2022 (which is when I assume they obtained the debt from either Natwest or another debt collector who sold it on)... But my credit file clearly shows no defaults or missed payments from 2019 to present. I know the defaults were around 2016 at the latest as I was going through a bad patch at the time.

As far as I'm aware they are statute barred under all criteria I've researched.

I've already started the steps from the help info and filed an AOC with MCOL I've also this morning sent a CCA request to the claimant and a CPR request to the solicitor.

I have until 14th Nov 2025 to submit my defence. Hopefulkly I will have some form of response from them by that time as the rules suggest replies must be sent within 7 days. If not though I am still preparing a defence now so I have enough time to alter it based on any response or lack thereof.

I am wanting to just check that what I've written in my defence letter is OK and if I've either missed anything important or need to remove anything dumb from it before submission once I have the information back from the two letter requests:

_________________
IN THE COUNTY COURT
Claim No.: ############
Between
Cabot Financial (UK) Ltd (Claimant)
- and -
########## (Defendant)
_________________
DEFENCE
1. The Defendant received the claim ########## from the Civil National Business Centre County Court on 15/10/2025.

2. Each and every allegation in the Claimants statement of case is denied.

3. This claim appears to be for a Credit agreements regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4. It is admitted that the Defendant has previously entered into an agreement with NatWest Bank for provision of credit.

5. The Claimants Particulars of Claim state the agreements were entered into between 28/06/2004 and 02/09/2015. Over ten years ago as of the issue date of this claim on 15/10/2025.

6. The Claimants statement of case fails to give adequate information to enable the Defendant to properly assess their position with regards the claim. No dates as to when these defaults occurred is given. No information is provided as to when any default notice was issued, if ever. No evidence of original documentation with regards to the agreements in question are provided or referenced.

7. The Defendant contends the alleged debt is statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980 in that no payment or acknowledgment has been made for over 6 years.

8. The Claimants statement of case states that the accounts were assigned from NatWest Bank to Cabot Financial Ltd but fails to state when this occurred. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

9. It is denied that NatWest Bank served any Default notice on the Defendant pursuant to s87 Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Claimant is required to prove that a compliant Default Notice was served upon the Defendant. The Claimant is required to prove that the any Default notice relied upon complied with the requirements of s88(4A) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and that the notice was in the prescribed form as required by The Consumer Credit Enforcement Default and Termination Notice Regulations 1983.

10. Under Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) Where the claim includes a money claim, a defendant shall be taken to require that any allegation relating to the amount of money claimed be proved unless he expressly admits the allegation. Therefore, it is expected that the Claimant be required to prove the allegation that the money is owed as claimed.

11. It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief as claimed or at all.

12. No such defaults or missed payments appear on the Defendants credit file for the full six-year period between 2019 and 2025. Providing evidence that any default must have been prior to this, and therefore would be statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980.

Statement of Truth

I believe the that the facts stated in this Defence are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
_________________


Thanks in advance for any help with telling Cabot Financial and M&C to F right off.

[echat11]

Fill in the following, copy and paste back to this thread without personal details:

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 6 years?):
List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ):
Any Other Information or Background Details:

a) First Acknowledge the Claim, you can do this online via MCOL, this will give you 28 days (plus 5 days postal) in total to work on your defence - Your wife has done this, carry on with the steps below - you've done this.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ledge-a-claim/

b) Send a SAR request to the original Creditor, they have 30 days to provide all the data they hold on the account. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/

c) Send a CCA request to Cabot Financial (UK) Ltd, they have 12 days to provide a copy of the original agreement. Make sure you get Proof of Postage - you've done this.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...etter-example/

d) Send a CPR 31.14 request to Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Ltd, they have 7 days to provide all the documents they are relying on to make the claim against you, again get Proof of Postage - you've done this.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-of-documents/

e) This is an example Defence, start looking at it, don't fill or file it with the Court or their solicitors yet.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-court-claims/

Don't speak to creditors, solicitors etc over the phone, everything in writing. Keep on top of this, especially dates for filing defence etc. Workout when your Defence is due, 28 days from the date on the claim form. If you can post on the thread 5 days before it's due we can help with your Defence.

[PirateAndy]

Received a claim? Yes

Issue Date:15/10/2025

Have you Acknowledged the Claim?: Yes

Total Amount Claimed : ~£14,800

Claimant’s Name: Cabot Financial (UK) Ltd

Solicitors Firm: Mortimer & Clarke Solicitors Ltd

Original Creditor: NatWest

Original Debt: Credit Card + 3 Loans

Particulars of Claim: ( Please type out in full excluding names/account numbers/exact amounts ):

RBS RE Natwest agreed to issue the Defendant with crediut accounts, Agreement #### on 28/06/2004 & ### on 05/06/2013 & ### om 09/03/2015 & ### on 02/09/2015 consolidated here as 'the Agreements'. The Defendant failed to pay the balances due & the Agreements were terminated. The Agreements were assigned to the named Claimant. Cabot Credit Management Group Limited, acting as servicing agent of the named Claimant through its Appointed Representative (Cabot Financial (Europpe) Limited), has arranged for these proceedings to be issued in the name of the Claimant. The named Claimant may be entitled to claim interest under the Agreement but does not seek such interest and instead claims interest under Section 69(1) of the County Courts Act 1984 at 8% p.a. from 10/10/2022 until date of issue only, or alternatively such interest as the Court thinks fit

THE NAMED CLAIMANT THEREFORE CLAIMS
1. 11240.00
2. Interest of 2692.69
3. Costs


Is the debt Statute Barred (have you had any contact with the creditor or claimant over the last 6 years?): No contact with creditor or claimant over the last 6 years

List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ): Sent CCA request to creditor, CPR 31.14 to solicitor. And I will be sending the SAR to NatWest in the morning.

Any Other Information or Background Details: Don't think so.



EDIT: As of this evening I've also edited my defence a little to include some things from the template provided.

The only bits I'm not sure of at the moment are which of the relevant sections of the CCA 1974 to keep and which to delete:

12.On the [Date] The Defendant sent a formal request for a copy of the original agreement to [Claimant] pursuant to section [77 or 78] of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 along with the statutory £1 fee.

13.The Claimant has failed to comply with [s77 (1) / s 78 (1)] Consumer Credit Act 1974 and by virtue of [s77 (4) / s 78 (6)] Consumer Credit Act 1974 cannot enforce the agreement.

[echat11]

Is your Defence that the debts are Statute Barred, in any case the account is 'unenforceable'?

You should send Nat West a Subject Access Request, remember there is 1 x credit card and 3 x loans.

After 3 missed payments (there T & C's) Nat West should have Defaulted the accounts (they should have
sent a Default Notice for each account), the Defaults would appear on your Credit File, they would then drop
off automatically after 6 years (they make no reference to Defaults on the Particulars of Claim).

The 1 x credit card falls under Section 78 and the 3 x loans fall under Section 77, your Defence need to reflect the
different types of account throughout, i.e. '3. This claim appears to be for a Credit agreements regulated under the
Consumer Credit Act 1974.'

The other think is that the small claims court has a limit of £10,000, so it might be that the case ends up in the
Fast Track as it's over £10,000.

'Background Information' is the circumstances that may help your case i.e. lost job etc.

[PirateAndy]

Is your Defence that the debts are Statute Barred, in any case the account is 'unenforceable'?

You should send Nat West a Subject Access Request, remember there is 1 x credit card and 3 x loans.

After 3 missed payments (there T & C's) Nat West should have Defaulted the accounts (they should have
sent a Default Notice for each account), the Defaults would appear on your Credit File, they would then drop
off automatically after 6 years (they make no reference to Defaults on the Particulars of Claim).

The 1 x credit card falls under Section 78 and the 3 x loans fall under Section 77, your Defence need to reflect the
different types of account throughout, i.e. '3. This claim appears to be for a Credit agreements regulated under the
Consumer Credit Act 1974.'

The other think is that the small claims court has a limit of £10,000, so it might be that the case ends up in the
Fast Track as it's over £10,000.

'Background Information' is the circumstances that may help your case i.e. lost job etc.

I'm sending the SAR this morning via 1st Class Tracked Delivery.

They make no reference yes, I find this suspicious, l,like they're obfuscating the truth because they know they will show the defaults to be over 6 years old, or actually don't know because they don't have the documentation.

So I should edit to reflect both pieces of the law then as they are governed by each respectively?

Will it being in Fast Track affect anything?

I didn't technically lose a job. A contract-term job came to an end and I couldn't find another. I took whatever I could get which happened to be a zero hour delivery job. It didn't pay enough. I was in a rough spot in life with ex-girlfriends causing psychological stress, and like an idiot, I took loans to cover the shortfall. Don't know what I was thinking to be fair. Probably wasn't thinking.

[echat11]

I'm sending the SAR this morning via 1st Class Tracked Delivery.

They make no reference yes, I find this suspicious, l,like they're obfuscating the truth because they know they will show the defaults to be over 6 years old, or actually don't know because they don't have the documentation.

So I should edit to reflect both pieces of the law then as they are governed by each respectively?

Will it being in Fast Track affect anything?

I didn't technically lose a job. A contract-term job came to an end and I couldn't find another. I took whatever I could get which happened to be a zero hour delivery job. It didn't pay enough. I was in a rough spot in life with ex-girlfriends causing psychological stress, and like an idiot, I took loans to cover the shortfall. Don't know what I was thinking to be fair. Probably wasn't thinking.

So I should edit to reflect both pieces of the law then as they are governed by each respectively?

Yes, you have 4 accounts, 1 x credit card, 3 x loans, it's o.k. for them to have the one claim, but there are 4 accounts, what if they have one agreement and not the other three? (It's a very, very long shot that any of those agreements exist, even if they do they may have to provide 'True Copies' because they were taken out in 2004. So they can't 'reconstruct' them from different data they hold.

Will it being in Fast Track affect anything?

There maybe costs, you might have to pay the other parties costs

[PirateAndy]

So I should edit to reflect both pieces of the law then as they are governed by each respectively?

Yes, you have 4 accounts, 1 x credit card, 3 x loans, it's o.k. for them to have the one claim, but there are 4 accounts, what if they have one agreement and not the other three? (It's a very, very long shot that any of those agreements exist, even if they do they may have to provide 'True Copies' because they were taken out in 2004. So they can't 'reconstruct' them from different data they hold.

Will it being in Fast Track affect anything?

There maybe costs, you might have to pay the other parties costs

So from that, What do the terms 'True Copies' and 'Reconstructed' mean legally?

Just so I have the full understanding.

[echat11]

So from that, What do the terms 'True Copies' and 'Reconstructed' mean legally?

Just so I have the full understanding.

A 'True Copy', is an actual copy of the agreement at the time the agreement was taken out.

'Reconstructed Agreement', is where they can 'populate' an Agreement with data from various sources / systems.

[PirateAndy]

A 'True Copy', is an actual copy of the agreement at the time the agreement was taken out.

'Reconstructed Agreement', is where they can 'populate' an Agreement with data from various sources / systems.

Though the data of an agreement from 10 years ago still needs to exist on a system Cabot has access to. Which is the highly doubtful part I take it?

[echat11]

Though the data of an agreement from 10 years ago still needs to exist on a system Cabot has access to. Which is the highly doubtful part I take it?

Possibly, the accounts have probably been sold multiple times, so who knows what actually exists.

[PirateAndy]

Well I've added and changed some bits in the defence. This one assumes I get no reply from the CCA, CPR or SAR by the time I submit.




Para 14 is floating as of now as if I do get a response I will offer extension with the knowledge that they will not likely respond before I submit (I have about a week left before the dealine. Though I plan to submit next monday).









In The County Court
Claim No.: #########
Between
Cabot Financial (UK) Ltd (Claimant)
and
######### (Defendant)

DEFENCE
1.The Defendant received the claim M2CD84AM from the Civil National Business Centre County Court on 15/10/2025.

2.Each and every allegation in the Claimants statement of case is denied unless specifically admitted in this Defence.

3.This claim appears to be for a Credit agreements regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4.It is admitted that the Defendant has previously entered into an agreement with NatWest Bank for provision of credit.

5.The Claimants Particulars of Claim state the agreements were entered into between 28/06/2004 and 02/09/2015. Over ten years ago as of the issue date of this claim on 15/10/2025.

6.The Claimants statement of case fails to give adequate information to enable the Defendant to properly assess their position with regards the claim. No dates as to when these defaults occurred is given. No information is provided as to when any Default Notice was issued, if ever. No evidence of documentation with regards to the agreements in question are provided or referenced.

7.The Defendant contends the alleged debt is statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 in that no payment or acknowledgment has been made for over 6 years.

8.The Claimants statement of case states that the accounts were assigned from NatWest Bank to Cabot Financial Ltd but fails to state when this occurred. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

9.It is denied that NatWest Bank served any Default Notice on the Defendant pursuant to s87 Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Claimant is required to prove that a compliant Default Notice was served upon the Defendant. The Claimant is required to prove that the any Default Notice relied upon complied with the requirements of s88(4A) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and that the notice was in the prescribed form as required by The Consumer Credit Enforcement Default and Termination Notice Regulations 1983.

10.On 30/10/2025 the Defendant sent a request for inspection of documents mentioned in the Claimants statement of case under Civil Procedure Rule 31.14 to Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Ltd which requested the Claimant provide copies of the Agreements and Notice of Assignment.

11.Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Ltd has not sent any of these documents to the Defendant.

12.On 30/10/2025 the Defendant sent a formal request for a copy of the original agreements to Cabot Financial (UK) Ltd pursuant to section 77 and 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 along with the statutory £1 fee.

13.The Claimant has failed to comply with s77 (1) and s78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and by virtue of s77 (4) and s78 (6) Consumer Credit Act 1974 cannot enforce the agreement.

14.The Defendant has asked the Claimant if we may agree to extend the time period allowed for filing of the defence pending receipt of documents (as allowed under CPR 15.5), but they have declined.

15.Under Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) Where the claim includes a money claim, a defendant shall be taken to require that any allegation relating to the amount of money claimed be proved unless he expressly admits the allegation. Therefore, it is expected that the Claimant be required to prove the allegation that the money is owed as claimed.

16.The Defendant respectfully requests the court orders the Claimants to provide the necessary documentation in order for the Defendant to fully plead his case else the Claim should stand struck out.

17.In the event that the relevant documents are received from the Claimant, the Defendant will then be in a position to amend his defence, and would ask that the Claimants bear the costs of the amendment.

18. It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief as claimed or at all.

[PirateAndy]

So, that last post above from me was not long before I submitted my defence to MCOL. Been busy and have been checking once a week to see if anything has moved but it seems not. Now that Xmas is out of the way I can come back to focus on next steps for this.

Currently the MCOL updates look like this:

• A claim was issued against you on 15/10/2025

• Your acknowledgment of service was submitted on 18/10/2025 at 09:03:26

• Your acknowledgment of service was received on 20/10/2025 at 01:05:43

• Your defence was submitted on 10/11/2025 at 08:19:39

• Your defence was received on 10/11/2025 at 12:05:11

I'm wondering, since it's getting on for 2 months since I submitted my defence and Cabot / Mortimer & Clarke seemingly have not proceeded further (and I never got replies from the CCA or CPR). Have they given up?

I did get my SAR from NatWest back within the month of requesting. Nothing in it showed copies of terms that I could discern (saved copies on my PC for possible future use).

I am of the mind that the claim is dead in the water at this point but I'd rather have something tangible that states they have discontinued.

Do I just leave this until I get further correspondence?

[echat11]

Don't rely on MCOL, that will only contain basic information.
If you want 'updates' ring the Court. After you have filed your Defence
normally they have 28 days to respond to your Defence. If they haven't
responded, then the case is 'stayed'. Give the Court a ring. It's up to the
Creditor if they want to 'progress' the case.

Whatever documents they have sent, look for anomalies, CCA agreements,
Default Notices and Letter of Assignments.

[PirateAndy]

Well it seems Cabot / Mortimer & Clarke have given up. I received this letter this morning from them:

[echat11]

Well it seems Cabot / Mortimer & Clarke have given up. I received this letter this morning from them:

Well done, great result.
Keep the letter 'safe'.