Help with Reston's Solicitors

[jonnyl_1970]

Hi I wonder if anyone can help. I have various CCJ's which are being paid and a recent check on my credit file shows that all my previous old defaults/CCJ's have disappeared since it was more than 6 years since they were applied.


One particular one is a credit card from halifax which is for £5.5k. It was only ever defaulted and I am now starting again to receive letters for settlement.


Over the years this has probably been passed on and I recently received a letter from Marlin who were appointment by Cabot Financial. I ignored this and they have now passed it onto Reston’s who are threating court action.


One thing to note here is around this time in 2009 I did contact the CCCS to start a debt management plan and only ever made 1 payment to them. I am unsure who the CCCS actually sent the money to but I am guessing they split it over all my creditors by apportionment.


My question is because this payment was made, is there any point writing to Reston’s saying the debt is statute barred? Would I be wasting my time as they will have a record already of the last payment being 5 years ago?

Also if the debt has been passed around for nearly 6 years why hasn't anyone granted a CCJ already?


I am tempted to just ignore the Reston’s letter but I have a feeling they will go for a CCJ.

i haven't yet CCA'd Cabot or sent a SAR to Halifax but I will do tomorrow.


Any advice would be most welcome.


Thanks

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help with Reston's Solicitors

Welcome to LB

One particular one is a credit card from halifax which is for £5.5k. It was only ever defaulted and I am now starting again to receive letters for settlement.

Over the years this has probably been passed on and I recently received a letter from Marlin who were appointment by Cabot Financial. I ignored this and they have now passed it onto Reston’s who are threating court action.

Can you scan or take a picture of the letter you've received and post it up here, after removing personal details? :typing:

Restons like to issue court papers :scared: so we need to see if it's a letter before action, in which case it has to be responded to appropriately.

One thing to note here is around this time in 2009 I did contact the CCCS to start a debt management plan and only ever made 1 payment to them. I am unsure who the CCCS actually sent the money to but I am guessing they split it over all my creditors by apportionment.

My question is because this payment was made, is there any point writing to Reston’s saying the debt is statute barred? Would I be wasting my time as they will have a record already of the last payment being 5 years ago?

They may or may not have a record, a payment may or may not have been made into that account. The onus would be on them to prove a payment was made in 2009.

Also if the debt has been passed around for nearly 6 years why hasn't anyone granted a CCJ already?

Difficult to say why, lots of us have debts that have been passed around and no court papers have been issued. :thumb:

I am tempted to just ignore the Reston’s letter but I have a feeling they will go for a CCJ

i haven't yet CCA'd Cabot or sent a SAR to Halifax but I will do tomorrow.

A very good idea! :clap2: The more info you have, the better.

[jonnyl_1970]

Re: Help with Reston's Solicitors

Thanks for the reply. I have tried to upload the actual letter but having trouble, I have OCR'd and copied the body of the letter below if this is any use.

Dear Sir

RE; Cabot Financial UK Limited v. Yourself Account Number:

We are instructed by our Client, Marlin Financial Services Limited, appointed by your creditor Cabot Financial UK Limited, to seek immediate payment from you of the outstanding balance on your above account, being £5,584.76, plus interest as appropriate. The above reference number may relate to several financial products.

We ask you to pay the sum of £5,584.76 direct to this office by Monday June 02, 2014 failing which, we have instructions to issue a Claim against you in the County Court for the full balance due plus any continuing interest, fees and costs that the Court may award our Client. We are instructed to seek a Judgment against you which, if granted will be registered by the Court. If Judgment is granted, this may affect your ability to obtain credit in the future.

Failing payment of the sum of £5,584.76 by Monday June 02, 2014 our Client may be prepared to accept payment by instalments. If you wish to consider this option please complete the enclosed questionnaire and return it to this office by Monday June 02, 2014. We may need to telephone you on any number we have available for you to discuss your completed form. Please let us know if there is any time that may not be convenient for you to discuss I this with us. Alternatively you may wish to telephone us to discuss your completed form on the above number by Monday June 02, 2014.

All future correspondence and payments should be sent to this office, clearly marked with your name and our above reference. Receipts will not be given unless specifically requested. Furthermore, our Client has asked us to draw to your attention to an opportunity for you to clear the account at a specially discounted settlement figure which could represent a substantial saving for you. If you are interested you should call the above direct line.

Finally, if you are not already doing so, we recommend that you seek your own independent advice regarding the outstanding balance on your above account, from a solicitor or for example, the Citizens Advice Bureau or any other non-fee charging money advice organisation.
Yours faithfully,

I would be grateful if you could have a read and see what you make of it and next steps. I am also going to contact the CCCS tomorrow to see if they still have a record of my DWP from 2009 and they may be able to tell me if a payment was made or what the original balance was and if it differs from the one above.

Also, how do I get Reston's to prove all this or is this something that I will be able to do once I get the CCA and SAR information back?

I really appreciate your time with this.

Thanks - Jon

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help with Reston's Solicitors

I would be grateful if you could have a read and see what you make of it and next steps.

It does sound like a letter before action and needs a suitable reply.

I am also going to contact the CCCS tomorrow to see if they still have a record of my DWP from 2009 and they may be able to tell me if a payment was made or what the original balance was and if it differs from the one above.

Also, how do I get Reston's to prove all this or is this something that I will be able to do once I get the CCA and SAR information back?

I really appreciate your time with this.

Thanks - Jon

The CCA request is merely to establish whether they can show there was a properly executed agreement for this account. It's not likely to shed light on whether it's SBd or not. The SAR should produce all statements at least for the past six years, but it they have 40 days to respond.

Restons are solicitors acting for Marlin who in turn appear to be acting for Cabot (that sounds a little strange since Marlin are debt purchasers rather than collectors :confused2 who would have bought the debt from the Halifax. In other words, they wouldn't be able to prove anything without going back to their client who in turn would have to go back to Cabot who...

If you tell them it's SBd, the onus would be on THEM to prove otherwise and, given the above, it could take some time. I'd say it's worth sending them the SBd letter, at the very least, it should buy you some time while both you and them carry out your own investigations into the history of this account. :thumb: