Hi, new to the forum and need some help. I defaulted on a Barclaycard in Feb 2005 with a balance of £7164 The default became a CCJ in 2007 and then a charging order as due to circumstances I didn't deal with it at the time. Cabot purchased the debt from Barclaycard when the balance was £7164 and the current balance with Cabot is £8960 I asked Cabot why the huge difference in balances and was told that they were their charges. When I pushed and asked "charges for what" they said they were Barclaycard charges! I know this is nonsense from Cabot but I am trying to re-mortgage and the CCJ/charging order is an issue and I want to pay it off. What I really want to do is reclaim all the charges made by Barclaycard and Cabot but don't know how to proceed. Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks

Article also states Cabot spent £100m on £6.6b of face value debt, wtf. Is that approx 1.4p in the £ ? http://www.credittoday.co.uk/article/14330/online-news/cabot-credit-management-posts-first-results

Hi Guys, I am hoping for some help with an issue we are having with CABOT. My husband recieved a letter about 2 years ago from Cabot stating he owed an outstanding debt to them for a monument card which was taken out in 2002 in his name. (We never got together until 2006 and he lived on his own at the time). After following some advise on this forum we have attempted to tackle this issue with cabot and have disputed this debt and not acknowledged it with them. We also recieved several other debt letters from capital one and O2 and it appears that he has had his ID stolen. We reported this to the police and obtained a crime reference number which we have issued to all companies and cabot are refusing to acknowledge the fact that he is not liable for this debt. We sent off a CCA request and recieved a reply card (does not look like a credit agreement to me) back from them by way of a credit agreement and the signature is not the same as the one my husband uses on all of his legal documents, additionally it states he was a student. My husband was in and out of hospital that year with ill health that we can prove. We have been going backwards and forwards with letters and even complained to the ombudsman who has referred the case back to cabot to resolve. The final response from cabot is attached for you to have a look at, as is the reply card they have sent by way of a CCA request. Additionally, they say the account was active until 2006, is this not statute barred now anyway? Confused and annoyed with these very arrogant people and I would welcome any advise you can offer to assist us in sorting this out. Thanks Peeps

I have a debt management plan with FCH. Several months ago I got a phone call from Cabot, they asked me for the usual information to see if they were talking to the right person, but when it came to my date of birth they said it didn't match. I left it at that assuming they have to wrong ....... A couple of months after that I got a phone call from FCH asking if I could send in a copy of my drivers licence to have the proof of my date of birth as Cabot were insisting they have the right person. I sent it in, and FCH as well as myself were told it was to do with my barclay card debt. We thought nothing of it after this and thought all was going well .... until!!! On the 30th August (2012) FCH contacted me to say they'd had a phone call from Cabot saying they had given the wrong reference number, FCH thought they were paying my barclay card account but the reference number cabot had given them was for an ambrose wilson account!! This ambrose wilson account is not mine. I phoned Cabot in regard to this and I was told by them this must be my account, I answered by saying no of course!! I actually got clever and asked .... have you got a previous address for me? Their answer was yes..... they gave the address and I said now that's impossible as I have lived at my current address for 20 years plus! I know there is a ...... who lives a few miles away from me (although I don't know her personally) and this is her address. So what the stupid idiots have done is, manipulated the date of birth and address to make this debt mine! Instead of doing what their supposed to be doing and looking for the person the debt belongs to! It's fraudulent! I have made several frustrating phone calls to them, I've been told I'm a liar as most clients say it's not them in order not to pay their debt. The e mail address they have for this person is nothing similar to mine! I do not have a previous address and it's not me!! Their reply was well it must be linked to you on the experian report. I said no, that the blame is with Cabot. They have made fraudulent changes to an account to make it mine, and to top it off I've been paying this ambrose Wilson account since December as they'd given the wrong reference to FCH. So... I went on Experian and downloaded my credit report (as it's free for 30 days) and there is no link to any previous addresses on my report nor this account that they are talking about. When I pointed all this out to them they said well this isn't proof of me being me. They have told me my drivers licence is not proof of who I am and they want a copy of my tenancy agreement as proof! It's ridiculous with them! They have been rude to me and have manipulated information to suit their greed in order to gain payments of a debt that does not belong to me! since my date of birth did not match the name they should have continued to search for the right person, just because I have the same name does not make it me! Their response for having a different date of birth was, well people lie about their date of birth all of time in order not to pay off their debt!! This other ...... is 30 years older than me! I'm 38!!! I told them the onus is upon them to find the right person but they just say they've put it with their trace department but obviously if they don't find anything wrong then the debt will be mine! I said no it won't! They have apparently put *my* account on hold for 28 days, I have told them no ... that they can put it on hold indefinitely until they find the correct person to go with that account! Their answer was... that's if you're telling the truth! I have told them they will look like fools at the end of this and I will be expecting an apology from everyone I have spoken to as I have been accused of being a liar and they stole my identity!! I will be writing to the FSA as well as the financial ombudsman but if anyone has anything else to add that I can do then please contact me!! I hope I get compensation for the hell they've put me through!! Julie

Dear All, I need your advise, I was taken to Court 4 years ago by Cabot Financials and I won, the case was dismissed. Now Cabot is back writing threatening letters demanding payments and even passing on the accounts (the same ones they were defeated on) to external collection agency. What I want to know is can I drag Cabot back to County Court and claim compensation for harrassment and possibly contempt of court? is there a provision in law for this type of action? Thank You

Hello all, My mum has received a letter from Cabot Financial in regards to a credit card, where the original lender Barclaycard Littlewoods. This letter is in one of her previously married names and its take a very long time for them to contact her, atleast 4/5 years. She apparently owes just over £2,200, although my mum can not remember ever taking out a credit card with Littlewoods, and if she ever did have a credit card, the limit would have only been maximum £500.. The things we were wondering is, how do we go about finding out what the original debt was for and how much for, and also when? Do we just write a letter to Cabot Financial and request a copy of her credit agreement under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 or are there a few more things we will need to include in the letter? Thanks

Hi, am new on here and would appreciate some advice. I'm being pestered by Cabot for an alleged debt for which they do not have a date. They are continually phoning me (up to six times a day, mostly at the same time). I wrote to them on June 7th this year asking for proof of the debt and asking not to be contacted by telephone as I consider this to be harrassment. I also gave them 7 days in which to answer my letter but they have yet to reply. The calls, however are still coming. I'd be grateful if anyone can give me some advice what to do next as I'm just about at the end of my tether. Many thanks for your help, Ruthie

Hoping someone can give me a little advice! On checking my credit report this evening I noticed there was an account with Cabot Financial (UK) Ltd which had defaulted and the outstanding balance shown is £49. I'd never heard of them so I looked them up and gave them a call to query it. They bought my account from Next in 2008 which rang a few bells with me. I couldn't remember receiving anything form them about this outstanding amount, and he confirmed they sent me two letter back in March 2008 - none since. Sorry if I'm being naive - I'm new to this, but surely they should have tried to contact me some time during the next 4 and a bit years? His excuse was "because it's such a small amount it's probably just gone under the radar" ... Under the radar???? It's been sitting on my credit report and I'd never have known about it unless I had checked it tonight? Surely this isn't right? The guy got stroppy on the phone and said I should have replied to their two letters in 2008, and they don't have an up to date phone number for me so "it's my responsibility" . . I accept it is my responsibility but again, I'd never have known unless I checked my credit report (can't remember as far back as last weeks post never mind 2008) I'm ready to complain but I just don't know if I've got a leg to stand on here??

Briefly, I've been fighting Lloyds TSb over a credit card claim for about 4 years. In that time I've been through about 6 DCAs. The latest in this line is Cabot. They, after pushing, sent me a copy of a supposed 'notice of assignment' from Lloyds to Cabot which they say is a copy of a letter Lloyds sent to me. However, it's obviously fake - you can see the lines round the logo where they've cut it out and applied it to the letter! It also has no address on it. It's 'signed' by Craig Ballantine - who is now the head of the department that sells on bad debts. (I found that out via LinkedIn where his details are:Manager, Late Recoveries & Debt Sale at Lloyds Banking Group, Kirkcaldy, United Kingdom ). I think this raises a number of issues. Obviously, there's one of Cabot issuing a suspicious instrument in attempting to obtain money. However, in order to prove that I need to contact Craig Ballantine and ask if such a letter was ever generated and for Lloyds to send me a copy. The problem is - I don't have an actual address for the department within Lloyds. Does anyone? The other issue is that, if I get the proof, who do I take it to? Would it be a police thing? FSA? OFT?

Hi as a relative newcomer (having lurked for some time) we've taken the bull by the horns and ditched CCCS and started to sort our mess out ourselves - thanks to those who have already given advice. We did take one piece of advice and request a CCA from Cabot who are the fourth creditor on one particular debt (citicard then clarity then opus now cabot) They have written back to say "Cabot financial do not currently have this information on file. However, we have requested the relevant information under section 77 and/or 78 of the consumer credit act 1974 from the original lender. We anticipate we will be able to provide this information within 40 days. In the event we are unlikely to obtain this information within this time frame we will write to you accordingly. In the meantime we recommend that you maintain your monthly repayments of £xx.xx towards this account. For your ease of reference the outstanding balance is £xxxx.xx" My query is how to proceed - do we continue to pay the agreed amount as part of our DMP now self managed or do we ride it out hoping that it becomes unenforceable?? Any advice gratefully received

Hello all, Had a debt with a credit card, FIRE (Cabot financial) took over, made a F&F settlement amount with them (got this in writing with dates to pay etc even a letter confirming that when this is paid, my credit files will be updated). Low and behold, last payment took them a month to debit, and no confirmation letter. Default still showing and incorrect amount also showing. 3 months later and no response to letters I have filed at County Court for my monies back, default removed and other costs etc. Check my credit file again yesterday, they have updated, but still with the default, and incorrect balance. Very very angry and frustrated. You do the right thing and they still break a contract. Just looking for some advice. Has anyone else took them to Court? Have they paid up? Do they update Credit reference agencies? Do they actually do whats on the judgement? Will they drag it out or do they right thing and settle? More angry as this is the only blip on a very good credit file. Look forward to any replies.

Hi - I have several issues with various debt collection agencies, none of which are of my own making. There is an individual living in another part of the country with the same name and DOB as me, he keeps running up bad debts and then disappearing. Obviously, when these agencies go looking for him, I am always top of the list and so have lots of hassle trying to convince these people that I'm not this other person. I have been trying to get my credit report cleaned up recently, and am in the process of getting many incorrect address links removed, this is progressing well and when these addresses are removed, the bad debts for these addresses should be removed as part of the process. The problem I have is that Cabot have linked an address to me and placed a default on my credit report, but the entry placed on my report indicates that the default address is my actual address when it was actually at another of these incorrectly linked addresses... so basically when all the corrections have been made and the other incorrect addresses have been removed, this Cabot default will still remain as they've listed it under my address and not the address of the original account. I hope this makes sense. - I have two questions, the first one is "Is there anything I can do to stop these agencies chasing me for this other person debts? The second question is "What do I do about the above issue with Cabot? I have contacted the CRA's and they say I have to contact Cabot. I have contacted Cabot several times and each time I have to try and convince them I'm not this other person, and from the reactions I get I don't think they believe me. Anyway, I've been ringing them on a weekely basis for over a month now and it doesn't seem to be progressing at all. What should I do about this? I have also written a letter to the original lender which was Vanquis which I'm sending tomorrow requesting that they do something about this... I don't hold out much hope though as they were not very helpful on the phone. Any advice would be very gratefully appreciated as I seem to be going around in circles with the Cabot issue. Thanks, Andy. Weird issue when posting, kept saying my subject line has too many tags!

Good morning, Sorry if I ramble on a bit, this is my first post on this site and I want to explain myself as much as possible. I am looking for some guidance, help or any useful information that may be able to help me. Approx 6-7 years ago, I applied for an Abbey (now Santander) unsecured loan as I was a staff member and was put on one of their staff rates. When I was made redundant by Abbey, I defaulted on my payments and subsequently, the debt was sold to Cabot Financial, this was around 4 years ago. I initially had a payment plan in place via the CCCS, paying £15 per month to my creditors and when I returned to work, my payments went up. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I received a letter from the CCCS were no longer able to assist me and that's when the trouble started with Cabot (my other creditor - Robinson Way - have been paid in full). At this point, I should tell you that my outstanding balance owed to Cabot is £7,680.00. After going through an Income & Expenditure form online, I made an offer of £60.00 per month, which is all I can realistically afford and they seemed happy to accept this for a period of 6 months. (By my reckoning this is just short of 11 years to clear the debt) Just last week, they telphoned me for a review of my circumstances (which haven't changed) and asked if I could make a lump sum payment, offering me a discount in the process, although a discount figure was never mentioned. When I informed them that I was unable to pay any form of lump sum payment, they suggested that they could drop the debt to £5,500 if I paid over the next 3 months. Again, there is no way I can get this sort of money together. The chap then said that if I increased my montly payments to £128.00, the debt would be cleared in 5 years. A great thought, but I am in no position to pay this sort of money each month. Then they dropped the bombshell that if I didn't offer them some sort of increase in my payments, they would be commencing legal action. This completely knocked the wind out of my sails and, in a blind panic, I offered them £61.00 per month (it's an increase, after all). They once again agreed to this request and marked me down for a review in 6 months. I am now literally losing sleep over this "legal action" that they could be taking against me. My ultimate questions are: 1) Are they using scare tactics to try and get more money out of me by threatening legal action, if so. How can I get them to stop as I feel like I'm on the verge of a breakdown. If not, what legal action are they speaking about? I am now terrified that I am going to have bailiffs knocking on my door to take my families possessions away. 2) Do you think it would be beneficial to go down the IVA/Bankruptcy route? I would like to make you guys aware that I do not dispute this acount in any way, shape or form, I know I owe the money, but since taking out the loan, I have been made redundant twice, had 2 children and am now earning approx £5,000 a year less than when I took out the loan. I am trying to pay this off as quickly as possible but my circumstance only allow me to pay this small monthly payment.

Who do I sar for a catalogue debt to get copies of statements the OC or the DCA? Thanks

I have tried to post a link to you and yours BBC radio 4 14/ 06/2012 but the site won't let me, so you will have hunt it down yourselves. I guess I haven't got enough priviledge so perhaps someone else can put the link up. It features an employee of Cabot recorded being very economical with the true while trying to [EDIT] less than £50 for a disputed 15 year old debt. The piece is at the beginning so you don't need to listen all the way through. Note how wishy washy the regulator is, certainly not fit for purpose and not surprising that that debt collectors get away with so much. I think we should all phone up Cabot and play the piece back them down the phone, very little hurt more than contempt. Martin g

Hi all , My wife has an old (2004 ish) Barclaycard debt (£1400) that was bought by Cabot 6 months ago , we have only been paying a token £1 a month on this debt for aslong as I can remember . The wife missed Mays payment , completely slipped her mind blaming the fact that she's 14 weeks pregnant . I know that there are numerous late payment fees and charges + PPI associated with this debt but could anyone confirm that she can still , given that 6 yrs has passed , claim anything back from Barclays ? And what would the first steps letter wise be to get the ball rolling with Cabot ? Many thanks GD

I have been paying cabot for years, and eventually I asked them for proof of everything. I have now recieved a letter telling me they cannot provide me any information and the debt is unenforceable. So far I have paid cabot £500 out of a total £800 debt, I was thinking rather than just not pay them, can I offer them a small payment in full and final settlement of the debt, so that it doesn't get sold on and on and on and on? Would they accept that just to get rid of me? And how much should I offer?

Hi I have been getting phone calls daily for the last 2 weeks from cabot yesterday they called me 5 times between the space of 4 hours! I have answered once and said writing only but they are continuing to call! I haven't had any letters from them so have no idea what it is concerning! I have checked both call credit and experian but can't see anything from cabot! I don't have a call blocking service on my mobile to block them So I just cut them off!! How can I find out what it is concerning without actually engaging in a conversation with them? Will I just wait on a letter? I have moved a few times in the last 4 years! Thanks

sent request on 15 May to Citicards for an ex-Associates card i used to have. received standard reply dated 24 May that they will look into it and get back to me. passed to FOS on 13 June who said they will allow Citicards 8 weeks. Corrected this as i'd sent my request on 15 May and 8 weeks expired 7 July. received letter from FOS on 17 Aug that it's being allocated. received letter from FOS on 5 Sept that the adjudicator has written to Citicards. received letter dated 13 Sept from Citicards solicitor which basically says : they disagree with the OFT's interpretation of 6 April 2006, that the OFT stated the fees were not unlawful, just unfair, that they were, and are, entitled to levy a default fee, just not one in excess of £12 (they charged me £25 each time). they say i am suggesting their client owes me money, but the account was charged off, that i owed more to their client than i am asking, so to refund me would allow me to profit from my default, if i have paid a third party (debt agency) then i have no claim with their client (i am not claiming that i want charges paid to a third party), that in over 2 dozen cases Citicards has successfully argued the fairness of £12 (forgets that they charged me £25), that the court has endorsed their view that you cannot claim charges from a debt that has been charged off, that they will ask for the case to be heard in Salford (no problem, i drive and can add costs), as a background, the account was sold to Cabot who say they are not the creditor. any advice please as i have not dealt with Citicards before.

Hi, I am wondering if anyone out there can give advice on an issue dealing with Cabot. After reading on here about them they seem anything but legitimate! My mother took out a loan in 1989 with a company called Morely for £5000 plus some dodgy insurance which bumped it up to £7080. She ran into difficulties paying it early on and there was an agreement over the phone that £30 a month would be paid. This continued up until 2002 when suddenly Cabot contacted her say she owed in excess of £52,000 with all the intrerest charges. They obviously had bought the debt and as it was secured on the house decided to go for that. Six months of wrangling saw them reduce it as a 'customer benefit' to £35,000. She was also asked to pay £160 a month which she did. Eventually, struggling as a pensioner, she told me about it in 2007 and after a trip to the CAB it was down to £9,800. This still seemed wrong but the CAB said that the best thing was to keep paying it and not to risk losing the house. On re-examining the paperwork I have realised that Cabot have no real idea about what is owed if anything. They claimed that the only way to refinance the loan was to take the original £7080 and put a 5% interest cahrge on it. This took place in 2007. This means the £3,000 plus paid before 2002 and the £7,000 plus paid between 2002-2007 has just been 'lost'. Not right surely? How can you re-finance the original loan from the original 1989 amount? We should have looked at the paperwork more closely but we took the CAB advice which I now realise was not really good enough. Obviously there is also the last four years of payments so in total Cabot have taken about £15,000 on top of the original monies paid. Does this seem wrong to anyone else? We have stopped paying them altogether now and are awaiting a reply to a letter stating we would not be sending any more money, but I fear that my mother has been taken for a ride by the company and as they will not respond to any contact from our solicitor in the recent months and the fos are being very pedantic about this before accepting we have a case, the chances of getting any money back from them is remote. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated

Hello all(Appreciate you taking the time to read this)I wonder if anyone can try and advise me on the problem I'm having with the Claims Guys. Firstly, they have already managed to reclaim some money for me, so that's fine. So are their charges. I can live with that.The problem comes from this last claim.I had a Capital One credit card, which through me missing payments, went to Cabot Financial. To cut a long story short, Cabot have confirmed that they recieved full and final payment in Feb 2008. I was made redundant and so used the money to clear my debts. This was one of them. And nothing has been heard from either Cabot or Capital One since.Earlier this year, I used the Claims Guys to see if there was anything to be refunded through mis sold ppi or unfiar charges. And they eventually got back to me saying there was! £114 in mis sold ppi and £95 in charges. I was then told that all I had to do was sign the offer letter and Capital One would refund the money. Now, the Claims Guys have called me a few times asking for their fee for this claim. But I have not been refunded the money. The Claims Guys assured me it had, but to the credit card account. This didnt make sense, so I called Capital One. They said that they could see the amounts in question but could not talk to me due about it. Something to do with restrictions on the account. They suggested I call Cabot.Cabot told me that there was no longer an account, or credit card. The money could not be transferred to this account. Full and final payment was recieved in Feb 2008. So I called back Capital One. Again, they could not help. So I called the Claims Guys.They said that they would need to speak to Capital One and I would hear back from them soon.I heard back today, but not to update me, but to ask for their fee, nothing else. I went over this all over again and the person I spoke to said the following (excuse me if I put this down wrong)..." The money has been refunded to you but to the credit card account. Because you defaulted on the card, there was an outstanding balance and so this money has paid that off". I wont drag this on any longer but refused to pay until I had spoken to Cabot, who once again confirmed that they had recieved full and final payment in Feb 08. they sent out a letter to confirm this at the time. there is no recored of any money paid to Cabot with regards to this account. All I would like to know is has anyone had this experience before? Are they correct saying the money has been refunded to the old account (I can't see how, it doesn't exist). If this is unfair charges and mis sold ppi, how can it go back to them? I'm getting quite overwhelmed by all the phone calls and feel like I'm losing my grip on reality. Kind regards

Hi everyone, Would really appreciate some advice on what to do next... Husband and I applied for a mortgage back in May this year and it was declined, so I checked my credit file and noticed a default had been placed by Cabot Financial (UK) Ltd. Balance was around £1100. Started Nov 2004 Defaulted on April 2007 I was not living at the address at the time they appled the default, so I did not receive anything from Cabot warning me about it. First I knew was when I checked my credit file. Haven't a clue what this debt is. Having no idea what it was for I contacted Experian and their fraud investigations team contacted Cabot on my behalf. Cabots response to Experian was that they had now passed on the debt to 'Scottcall' and that I should ring them. Surely if I'm disputing the default Cabot have placed it is up to Cabot to investigate? I can't believe they have fobbed Experian fraud investigations off so easily. So, I'm not really sure what to do next. I thought they had to notify me in writing before they could place a default on my file for 6 long years? I have been looking at other posts here and considering going down the CCA letter route, but that would then give them my new address and I don't really want these people to have it. We are now stuck paying interest on the deposit we've taken out and having to pay rent until I can get this default removed. Banging head against a brick wall now, not sure where to go with this or how to proceed . Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone, this is quite a simple question: Apex have bought my old debt from Goldfish and have contacted me demanding payment. I have sent them a request for the original CCA. I then received a letter acknowledging my request from Caboot Financial, who are owned by Apex. Caboot however have given me a new reference number and they have a different address. They have also returned my £1 postal order. Should I send my letter to put my account in dispute to Apex or Caboot? It probably does not matter however I was thinking they do this for a reason... Your answers are much appreciated, Anthony

Hi all, I'm writing this on behalf of my partner who is sitting here looking very worried and stressed... I was hoping someone could give me some advice whether good or bad! We received a letter today from Cabot Financials asking us to contact them. My wife phoned them back, they checked her details and then asked if she remembered having a current account with Barclays. She acknowledged that she had one quite a few years ago, when they told her that they had bought the debt of that current account. They've said that the account was opened in 1999, and went into default in 2007, just after which they claim a payment of £135 was made. They are saying that the value of the debt is now £2150, but they will be willing to settle on £1950, but we said no. They are calling back tomorrow to discuss how much they will accept, as we started discussing what payment plans would be possible. We have also asked what the process is to obtair our original agreement - which they will let us know tomorrow. I just know that the majority of this debt will be those horrible £25 charges for being overdrawn every month, but have no statements to prove it. I don't know what our options are, if any, so any and all advice is appreciated, particularly since it has made my wife sick and teary Plus she is pregnant so I'd rather she wasn't stressed!!!! Thanks everyone.

In May 2009 I wrote to Sainsbury’s Bank explaining I was unable to meet the payments on my credit card. In October the account went to DCA who wrote several letters asking for payment (and charging interest) until I got a letter from another DCA in December 09 requesting payment of £6537.07. By February 2010 a third DCA had written to me asking for the payment of the debt. On each occasion I wrote to the agencies asking for a NOTICE UNDER CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES, each time they backed off. On 23 February 2011 I received a Welcome letter from Cabot Financial asking me to pay the debt, enclosing a direct debit form and notice of assignment from Sainsbury’s. The NoA is printed on the same paper as Cabot’s, has the same code down the side, is a different layout to a standard Sainsbury’s letter and uses a different font to Sainsbury’s. I have noticed other articles on CAG and this would appear fishy. I have never received this letter from Sainsbury’s. Since then I received another Welcome letter dates 2 March, another letter 10 March stating my account had ‘escalated’ to the Pre Litigation Department. On 18 March they suggested I ask Sainsbury’s for an SAR as they only purchased the account on 7 February. On 23 May a letter warned of legal action and 21 June Morgan wrote giving me a month before going to court and demanding I contact them ‘by virtue of the Practice Direction to the Pre-Action Protocols within the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. Is Cabot acting legally? Can I stop them taking me to court? Is there anything I can do?