Cabot Financial: Should I repay the money I owe?

If you have received a debt letter or correspondence from Cabot Financial asking you to repay money, you may have some questions around the company, their legitimacy, and whether you should repay the money they say you owe.

In this guide we’ll explore Cabot Financial Europe Limited, including who the company is, whether they’re regulated debt collectors, and how you should deal with Cabot Financial if they get in touch with you.

Who are Cabot Credit Management Group?

Cabot Credit Management Group is an umbrella organisation which owns the company Cabot Financial, a debt collection agency registered in England and Wales.

Like many organisations in the debt collection industry, Cabot Financial purchases ‘accounts’ – i.e. debts – from other creditors and lenders, including banks and credit companies.

Cabot Financial collect those debts as a way of making money, and seeks out thousands of individuals each day to repay loans and unsecured debts using various debt recovery tactics.

If you have been contacted by Cabot Financial over unpaid debt, it’s probably because a lender you borrowed from has subsequently sold that account to Cabot.

Where are Cabot Financial UK based?

Cabot Credit management group is based in Kings Hill, West Malling in Kent. Their full address is below:

1 Kings Hill Avenue

Kings Hill,

West Malling, Kent,

ME19 4UA

While their main contact address is in Kent, according to Companies House they also have a registered address at Marlin House, 16-22 Grafton Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1QP.

Are they a regulated debt collection agency?

Credit Services Association

When a company contacts you asking for money, it’s reasonable to wonder whether they are a legitimate, regulated organisation. In this instance, the answer is yes.

Cabot Financial are members of the Credit Services Association (CSA), the trade organisation for the debt collection and debt purchasing industry. That means they are authorised to collect defaulted accounts as long as they follow CSA guidelines.

The umbrella organisation, the Cabot Credit Management Group, is also authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates around 50,000 financial services firms across the UK.

That doesn’t mean you should automatically hand over your money. In the past, Cabot Financial has been referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service over debt recovery tactics and improper conduct.

What should I do if I owe money to Cabot debt collectors?

Receiving a debt letter from debt collectors or other finance companies can be stressful, especially if you weren’t aware that you owed money in the first place.

It helps to understand why they are contacting you. If Cabot has reached out, it’s because a debt you owed to another lender has been purchased by them. Once this happens, they have the right to recover that debt through various legal means.

They will let you know you owe money by sending you a debt letter known as a Letter Before Action. This will ask you to make arrangements to pay your debt to avoid further action being taken against you.

This can cause people to panic, but it’s important not to rush into anything. You do have a range of options for dealing with a debt collection letter.

How do I deal with money owed to Cabot Financial Europe?

Before you make arrangements to repay Cabot Financial, you should consider the steps below.

Contact Cabot Financial

First thing’s first. If Cabot has been in touch to ask you for money, the first thing you should do is contact them and ask for details of the debt you supposedly owe.

You can contact Cabot Financial in the following ways:

• Phone: 0344 556 0263
• Email: [email protected]
• Post: 1 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4UA
• Other: Customer contact form

Once you get in touch with Cabot financial, you should ask them to provide proof that you do in fact owe them money. That puts the onus on them to show you the evidence of your debt, which can be time-consuming and difficult.

By law, if they don’t get back to you with evidence – in the form of an email, receipt, or other correspondence – then you don’t have to pay.

1. Settle your debt account upfront

If Cabot does provide proof that you owe money, you should consider repaying the debt upfront if you can afford to.

Cabot offer several ways of doing this:

Pay via the Cabot website

The easiest way to repay your debts is via the Cabot website, cabotfinancial.co.uk. When you visit the homepage, you’ll see a prominent blue button on the main navigation bar that reads ‘Make a quick payment’.

When you click this button you will be taken to an online form. Simply fill in your personal details, including your case reference number (which should be listed in any letter received from Cabot) and you can repay your debt there and then.

MyCabot app

Cabot also has an ios/android app that you can download to your phone. You can find the app here.

According to the app store description, the MyCabot app allows you to access your online account from anywhere, and gives you the ability to repay your debts in a few taps.

Other ways to repay

Other ways of repaying Cabot Financial include:

• Cheque posted to their main business address
• BACS transfer
• Direct payments by phone

2. Come up with a payment plan

If you would like to get Cabot Financial off your back but you can’t afford to repay what you owe, it may be possible to set up a gradual repayment plan.

There are a couple of ways to go about this. First, you could offer to repay your debts in full over a fixed period of time, i.e. a series of monthly payments over the course of a year. As long as you reassure them they will get the full amount within a reasonable amount of time, Cabot might be happy to accept.

Another option is to make a settlement offer; agree to repay a portion of what you owe in one go. Because debt collectors like Cabot often purchase debts at a fraction of the cost, they may be open to your offer, although it’s important to note that a settlement offer will stay on your credit file.

Can Cabot Credit Management take legal action against me?

Yes, if you ignore phone calls or letters from Cabot Financial, they may seek to force you to repay using a County Court Judgement.

County Court Judgement

A County Court Judgement (CCJ) is a court order which creditors can apply for in order to force you to repay money you owe.

If Cabot Financial successfully applies for a CCJ against you, you will be ordered by the court to repay your debt within a particular period of time or else you could face further legal action.

Further court action

Ignoring a CCJ doesn’t make it go away. A CCJ will be noted on your credit file for a period of six years, and can make it harder for you to access credit during that time.

Failure to repay a CCJ also leaves you open to further court action. If Cabot Financial are determined to recover the money you owe, they could go as far as to ask the court to arrest your wages – in other words, to have money taken directly from your pay slip, or place a charging order on your home.

Can debt collection companies like Cabot Financial send bailiffs to recover my property?

If you refuse to repay a debt collector like Cabot Financial, they may instruct bailiffs (or debt collectors) to visit your home.

It’s important to know your rights if a debt collector comes to your home. First of all, make sure they provide proof of which debt collection agency they’re representing, and evidence of the debt in question.

Next, you should know what they can and can’t do. Debt collectors are not allowed to enter your home unless you expressly give them permission. If a debt collector tries to force entry to your property, you should report this to Cabot Financial and file a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can find out more about how to do so here.

What if I can’t afford to repay my credit commitments?

If you owe money to a company like Cabot Financial and you can afford to repay, you could be at risk of making your financial situation worse.

It’s important to make use of the help available to you.

Seek professional debt advice

The first thing to do if you’re being pressured by debt collectors is to seek professional debt advice.

Debt charities like StepChange, or debt management companies like Creditfix, have an extensive knowledge of the debt collection industry and can help you find a solution, whether that’s arranging a payment plan on your behalf, or exploring formal debt solutions.

Consider a formal debt solution

There are various debt solutions in the UK that allow people to deal with unaffordable debts and protect themselves from harassment by creditors and debt collectors.

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement, for example, is the most popular debt solution available in the UK. IVAs are set up and managed by an Insolvency Practitioner, a debt professional who will represent you in discussions with creditors like Cabot Financial.

With an IVA, you can transform all of your unsecured debts into a single monthly payment that’s based on your affordability. At the end of your payment term (usually 5 or 6 years) any remaining debt will be written off by your creditors and you’ll be able to begin rebuilding your financial profile.

You can visit our IVA page to find out more.

Where can I get advice on how to deal with bad debts?

Being pressured by debt collectors can leave you scared to answer the phone, open your mail, or even leave your home. Nobody should be forced to live like this. Luckily, you don’t have to.

Creditfix is one of the UK’s biggest debt management companies. Our team has decades of experience dealing with debt collectors, and will use all of their expertise to help you regain control of your finances and your life.

To get more information on how to deal with your debts and make debt collectors a thing of the past, talk to one of our debt experts today on 0800 0431 431.