Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

[Lefin]

Hi all,

I have received a letter from MCS stating their client (Cabot) have instructed them to start court proceedings for a debt of £370.00.
The debt has been defaulted by Cabot since 2014. The original creditor was Vanquis Bank.
I cannot be 100% certain that I have ever made a payment to Cabot, but I believe I haven't,
Can someone advise - Do I respond to MCS with an offer of payment

- or, is there an email/letter process I should start?

Many thanks in advance

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

Hi

So does the letter include the words letter before action or letter of claim in it.

You might want to scan it ( remove anything that identifies you) and post it up

Can you just answer
When was the account opened?
Do you know when the default notice was issued ( you might want to check a free credit score like noddle to check)

From what you say it does sound like a LBA but before I tell you what I would do I need to know more precisely

Whatever you do, at this point do not phone them or admit anything in writing ( filling in an income and expenditure can be seen as admitting)

[Lefin]

Re: Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

Hi Warwick,

Thanks for your quick response, answers to your questions as followed -

Account opened 05/2011
Defaulted 07/2014

Rather than scan the letter I'll type it out -


"We ask you to pay the sum of £367.78 direct to this office with 14 days of the date of this letter, failing which, we have been instructed by our client to issue a claim against you in the County Court for the full balance, plus any continuing interest, fees and costs that the court may award our client.

If we start court proceedings and you do not reply to the claim form that the court sends you, within the prescribed period of time advised by the court, our client will request that the court grants a judgement in default by instalments, unless information is held, by us and our client, which suggest that this is not appropriate, in which case, our client will request the claimed sum be payable forthwith. Etc etc etc"



It may be worth noting that this letter has been sent to my previous address even though I've set up the mail divert with Royal Mail. The people who live there are family friends so luckily I have seen this before it's too late!

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

Ok thanks for the response

This is what I would do
1) Send a S78 request to cabot. You will need to include a cheque/postal order for £1

I would use this letter

Re:−Reference Number xxxxxxx
This letter is a formal request pursuant to s.78 of the consumer credit Act 1974. I require you to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreement relating to the above account, 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. You are reminded that should you fail to comply with my request; the provisions of s78(6) will apply
If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA 1974 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. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties.
Your attention is drawn to ss.5 (2), 3(b),6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).
I enclose a cheque/postal order No xxxxxx in the sum of £1.00, which is the statutory fee. Note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose.
If you are unable to comply fully and properly with this request, you should confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity, and certainly within the statutory time limit for compliance, and return the fee.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Amend the bits in red as needed. Send it Royal mail signed for and keep copies of the letter and the receipt from the post office

2) Send this to the solicitors

Dear Sirs
Ref: xxxxxx
Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/xx. 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 agreement
2. The Default Notice
3. The Deed of assignment
4. The Notice of assignment
5. 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.
In addition a S78 request was sent to xxxxxx ( copyenclosed for your information only)on xx/xx/xx and I am waiting 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,

Again edit the red and send by RM signed for

You may or may not get anything back from the second letter but it is good practise and shows you are 'playing the game'

[Lefin]

Re: Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

Warwick, thank you for your help I will Keep you updated.
Can I email the solicitor rather than a recorded letter? Only reason being the 14 days will be up on Sunday or can I do both? An email & recorded letter?

[MIKE770]

Re: Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

many solicitors will not accept e-mails unless agreeing before hand, best send Recorded Delivery and keep copy on file. a signature is better than hearsay!

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

You could do both - I know others don't recommend email but it is something I often do.

The only thing to be aware of is that they might try to contact you by email. What i do is add to my email the following or something similar

'Please note this email address is used for sending emails only and is not monitored for incoming communication. Please respond in writing via Royal mail'

I tend to reserve my current ISP's email address for these sort of letters. What some solicitors do is claim as they do not have your email on file please confirm name, address, DOB, inside leg measurement etc - I just ignore.

Print it, sign it and scan it as a PDF then email it with a note saying a hard copy is in the post

If you can get it in the post tomorrow early wish they should get it Monday

I don't disagree with Mike in principle but I am 'different' or 'special'

[Lefin]

Re: Mortimer Clarke/ Cabot Financial

I've had a response from Mortimer to advise they've put the account on hold whilst they get the requested information from their client.