Cabot - statute barred now but wasn't when starting chasing.

[Coconutmilk]

I have previously received some really good advice from this site and hoping that I can again! Back in February 2020 I received a County Court Claim form from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors acting on behalf of Cabot Financial. This was supposedly for a Next account debt. I immediately sent off to Next for a Data Subject Access Request and received a letter back from them dated 11/03/2020 saying they had no details that matched and they were unable to help. I also wrote to Mortimer Clarke with a CPR request and postal order and received a letter back 11/03/2020 stating they have requested all the relevant documents from their client and placed the account on hold. I also sent a CCA request to Cabot at the same time and received two letters back from them stating they do not have the relevant information on file but would be requesting it from their client and would write with an update. I then filed a defence on 16/03/2020 online with Northampton County Court Business Centre. Since then I have heard nothing! Now four years on, I have moved house and on Friday received a text from Cabot asking them to contact me and today have missed a call from them. I am assuming it will be the same debt as I am sure I owe nothing else - I obtained a mortgage in August 2023 so have been on top of my credit files and knowing what is lodged and where. I have not received any letters yet - but interestingly the reference number from Cabot on the text is different to the original reference number from 2020.
This debt was not statute barred in 2020 but is now, however as they had applied to CCJ for it originally, does the statute barred thing become irrelevant? I have logged into moneyclaim to look at the original claim from County Court and it is still showing as Defence Submitted and nothing since?

[echat11]

When was the account opened?

This debt was not statute barred in 2020 but is now,

a) however as they had applied to CCJ for it originally, does the statute barred thing become irrelevant?

They applied for a CCJ, but did they get Judgement for the CCJ?

You can check https://www.trustonline.org.uk/ , for a small fee.

If they haven't got a CCJ, you could send the following letter, but get Proof of Postage -

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...ed-debt-letter

b) I have logged into moneyclaim to look at the original claim from County Court and it is still showing as Defence Submitted and nothing since?

MCOL only shows basic detail, for relevant information you need to contact the Court.

[Coconutmilk]

When was the account opened?

This debt was not statute barred in 2020 but is now,

a) however as they had applied to CCJ for it originally, does the statute barred thing become irrelevant?

They applied for a CCJ, but did they get Judgement for the CCJ?

You can check https://www.trustonline.org.uk/ , for a small fee.

If they haven't got a CCJ, you could send the following letter, but get Proof of Postage -

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...ed-debt-letter

b) I have logged into moneyclaim to look at the original claim from County Court and it is still showing as Defence Submitted and nothing since?

MCOL only shows basic detail, for relevant information you need to contact the Court.

They did not get judgement for the CCJ as it has never been lodged against me. I have checked this....

[echat11]

They did not get judgement for the CCJ as it has never been lodged against me. I have checked this....

Providing there has not been a payment or written acknowledgement of the debt in the last 6 years, then the debt is statute barred. Send the letter in (a).

When did they default the account?

[atticus]

The whole thing about "statute barred" is that a formal court claim must be commenced before the expiry of the limitation period. If that has been done, as here, then the debt is not statute barred.

[Coconutmilk]

Providing there has not been a payment or written acknowledgement of the debt in the last 6 years, then the debt is statute barred. Send the letter in (a).

When did they default the account?

I have no idea when the debt was defaulted. I think 2015 - definitely no later than 2016.
The only contact there has been in the past six years was when I received the County Court claim where I entered a defence, applied to Cabot, Mortimer Clarke and Next with the CCA and CPR requests back in 2020. However I am assuming this is not an acknowledgement of the debt? I am wondering if the debt is 'stayed' in the County Court system? I can log in and the last thing showing is the filing of my defence and nothing since. Is it worth applying to have it removed? I haven't yet received a letter from Cabot - I moved house in August but I am on electoral roll here and all my credit reports have my new address so presume they could find me here if they wanted? I don't want anything lodged against me as have worked hard to get out of debt and get a mortgage!

[Coconutmilk]

The whole thing about "statute barred" is that a formal court claim must be commenced before the expiry of the limitation period. If that has been done, as here, then the debt is not statute barred.

Thank you. That is what I was thinking from what I had read. The formal court claim was 4 years ago. So if they are to contact me via post then it would revert back to how it was before with requesting the CCA and CPR information as before?

[echat11]

Thank you. That is what I was thinking from what I had read. The formal court claim was 4 years ago. So if they are to contact me via post then it would revert back to how it was before with requesting the CCA and CPR information as before?

If there is a claim in the system, which by all accounts there is.
Let Cabot chase the matter. They haven't provided the requested documentation so haven't complied.
The reason why they have not pursued to date is that they haven't been able to get hold of the requested documentation. I know you want to be pro-active, it might be worth seeing if Cabot has anything of 'substance' to send you.

[Coconutmilk]

If there is a claim in the system, which by all accounts there is.
Let Cabot chase the matter. They haven't provided the requested documentation so haven't complied.
The reason why they have not pursued to date is that they haven't been able to get hold of the requested documentation. I know you want to be pro-active, it might be worth seeing if Cabot has anything of 'substance' to send you.

Thank you - the only thing that concerns me about this is my change of address. I moved in Sept 2023 and so any post now sent to my old address by Cabot I won’t receive. I’m more concerned they could send something and I won’t know a CCJ has been lodged against me at an old address? I did have a mail redirection but only for three months. My new address is up to date on all my credit files though and on electoral roll too. Would a CCJ go to my current address if they re-claimed for it?

[echat11]

Thank you - the only thing that concerns me about this is my change of address. I moved in Sept 2023 and so any post now sent to my old address by Cabot I won’t receive. I’m more concerned they could send something and I won’t know a CCJ has been lodged against me at an old address? I did have a mail redirection but only for three months. My new address is up to date on all my credit files though and on electoral roll too. Would a CCJ go to my current address if they re-claimed for it?

You should inform the creditor you have moved. Because there has been a stay and a number of years, you would think they would check to see if the address is still correct. Say a Judgement goes against you and they want to go for a CCJ because they haven't been able to contact you, they would have to check the Electoral Roll.

[Coconutmilk]

You should inform the creditor you have moved. Because there has been a stay and a number of years, you would think they would check to see if the address is still correct. Say a Judgement goes against you and they want to go for a CCJ because they haven't been able to contact you, they would have to check the Electoral Roll.

Thank you. Creditor (Next) has no record of me or my account, so cannot inform them. I really want to avoid calling Cabot if I can or answering the phone to them, but I think I might need to to ensure right address is used etc.

[echat11]

Thank you. Creditor (Next) has no record of me or my account, so cannot inform them. I really want to avoid calling Cabot if I can or answering the phone to them, but I think I might need to to ensure right address is used etc.

O.K. send the following letter, make sure you get Proof of Postage, make sure your current address is included.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/sam...sment-warning/

[R0b]

In my opinion, the OP shouldn't be sending letters back to Cabot for harassment at this stage, they should be seriously considering making an application to strike out the claim on the basis that the issuing of proceedings was an abuse of process since Cabot did not have the documentation at the time of issue to sufficiently pursue the claim, evidenced by the fact that the claim has been stayed for 4 years and has not progressed. it also means you lose out on the defence of the claim being statute barred as a result of the stay.

I see this time and time again on this forum, debt purchasers issue claims, debtors file a defence, claim is stayed and debtor does nothing about it. The debt purchaser now has all the time in the world to find the information they need to progress with the claim, only for the debtor to then complain that it's all unfair when they eventually get that information and want to proceed.

Whilst the original creditor says they do not have any record, I would still pursue the an application for strike out for the purpose of finality knowing that the claim will not raise its ugly head in the future.

If I were in this position, I would be writing to Mortimer Clarke, telling them that the original creditor has confirmed that they have no record of the agreement or any other details and that unless their client discontinues the claim, I intend to make an application to the court to strike out the claim with costs, on the basis of an abuse of process. This is because the claim has been stayed for 4 years without any reasonable justification other than the fact that Cabot does not have the correct evidence in its possession to proceed with the claim, and it should have had that information in its possession before it decided to. The result is that I have been deprived of the lawful defence of the claim being statute barred.

However, the OP is free to choose whatever option they wish.

[Coconutmilk]

O.K. send the following letter, make sure you get Proof of Postage, make sure your current address is included.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/sam...sment-warning/

Thank you

[Coconutmilk]

In my opinion, the OP shouldn't be sending letters back to Cabot for harassment at this stage, they should be seriously considering making an application to strike out the claim on the basis that the issuing of proceedings was an abuse of process since Cabot did not have the documentation at the time of issue to sufficiently pursue the claim, evidenced by the fact that the claim has been stayed for 4 years and has not progressed. it also means you lose out on the defence of the claim being statute barred as a result of the stay.

I see this time and time again on this forum, debt purchasers issue claims, debtors file a defence, claim is stayed and debtor does nothing about it. The debt purchaser now has all the time in the world to find the information they need to progress with the claim, only for the debtor to then complain that it's all unfair when they eventually get that information and want to proceed.

Whilst the original creditor says they do not have any record, I would still pursue the an application for strike out for the purpose of finality knowing that the claim will not raise its ugly head in the future.

If I were in this position, I would be writing to Mortimer Clarke, telling them that the original creditor has confirmed that they have no record of the agreement or any other details and that unless their client discontinues the claim, I intend to make an application to the court to strike out the claim with costs, on the basis of an abuse of process. This is because the claim has been stayed for 4 years without any reasonable justification other than the fact that Cabot does not have the correct evidence in its possession to proceed with the claim, and it should have had that information in its possession before it decided to. The result is that I have been deprived of the lawful defence of the claim being statute barred.

However, the OP is free to choose whatever option they wish.

Thanks Rob - I did look at the N244 form yesterday but to be honest I was quite scared by what I saw as the form looked confusing and I was concerned that I would 'poke a sleeping dragon' and cause the entire thing to come back up at me again. I was also concerned that if I were to lose the application to strike out the claim then I would then be in a worse position than I am currently? If I were to write to Mortimer Clarke, presumably they do not have to discontinue the claim at all? I would pursue an application but am concerned from reading on here that I will have to attend court etc.