If Mortimer Clarke Solicitors are chasing you with texts, phone calls and letters, you can stop them effectively and almost instantly, by writing off your debt with an IVA.
In this complete guide, you’ll learn who Mortimer Clarke Solicitors are, how they operate, what powers they have, and what are the best ways of dealing with these debt collectors when they call you, send you letters, or visit your home.
About Mortimer Clarke Solicitors
Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited are a legitimate debt collection agency, based in the UK. They specialise in consumer credit debt recovery litigation, on behalf of other companies and organisations. This means they collect debts owed to others, and are authorised and regulated to do so, by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
They are part of the Cabot Credit Management Group, and a member of the Credit Services Association. The code of conduct Mortimer Clarke Solicitors adhere to mean that they should operate in a legal, fair and compliant manner.
Mortimer Clarke Solutions Limited are a genuine debt collectors, registered in England. The company number is 06211733 and the registered office address is at 16-22 Grafton Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1QP.
Reasons Why Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Are Chasing You
If you are being pursued by Mortimer Clarke Solicitors, then a debt you owe has been passed onto them to collect. They may be collecting the debt on behalf of the original creditors, in which case the debt will be repaid to them. Alternatively, they may have acquired the debt by purchasing a bulk ‘debt bundle’, in which case they are now the owners of your debt, and have to right to legally pursue customers for repayments.
When debt collectors purchase debts in bulk, they usually pay a very small percentage of the debt to the creditor, and then get you to repay the full amount to them. For the original creditor, it means they have at least reclaimed some of the debt, and do not have to spend time and resources chasing the debt.
Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited collect debt for a wide range of businesses and organisations, such as:
- Banks, such as Natwest, PayPal and Santander
- HMRC, council tax and defaulted court fines
- Gas and electric companies, such as Npower
- O2, EE and other phone service providers
- TV and broadband providers like Virgin Media
- Parking tickets
- Credit card, payday loan and catalogue debts
Write Off Your Debt With Mortimer Clarke Solicitors
You may be able to legally write off up to 90% of your debt with Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited, using an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Scottish Trust Deed.
To be eligible for an IVA, your total combined debts must amount to at least £5,000. The £5,000 doesn’t have to all be owed to Mortimer Clarke Solicitors, it can be spread across any other unsecured debts you may hold. Examples of eligible unsecured debt includes loans, credit cards, store cards and catalogues, overdrafts or council payments, amongst others.
An IVA allows you to pay back as little as £70 a month towards repayments, based on what you can afford. Any remaining debt is completely written off at the end of the agreement.
How Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Operate
Mortimer Clarke Solicitors will contact you via letters and phone calls to chase your for the debt you owe. Due to the way they operate, and the way they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), they must respect and comply with reasonable requests regarding contact preferences. You can ask to only be contacted through post, rather than phone calls, for instance.
Mortimer Clarke Solicitors claim to be flexible with repayments, and considerate of the individual circumstances of the customer.
In addition to the rules the FCA set out for debt collection agencies, Mortimer Clarke Solicitors is also a member of the Credit Services Association, and so, should also operate in adherence to the CSA code of conduct. Therefore, they should not:
- Call you at unreasonable times, or in a way that isn’t aligned with your preferences (if you have informed them of these), and should not call you at your workplace, without your permission.
- Discuss or disclose details of your debts with your family members or employer.
- Take payments without your prior permission.
- Refuse to give you time to explore your debt solution options, as they should give you the opportunity to contact debt advice services.
- Encourage or order you to borrow more money to pay off the debt to them.
- Use legal language or technical jargon to purposely confuse you.
- Demand payment when a debt is statute barred, and therefore considered too old to enforce.
- Continue to chase you or contact you once you enter an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Scottish Trust Deed.
Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited are debt collectors, not bailiffs, which means they can chase you for debt repayments, but cannot harass you or enter your home to remove goods without your permission. They can come to your home, but must leave if you ask them to.
They cannot issue a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against you, or send bailiffs to recover goods, without first taking you to court.
Mortimer Clarke Solicitor Letter Examples
Add 4-5 images here with letters from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors
Things To Do When Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Contact You
If you have received a letter or call from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited, do not ignore it. The debt will not go away, and the situation will likely worsen if simply ignored, as Mortimer Clarke may take further action against you. Even if you do not owe the debt or are unable to pay, you should take some sort of action.
Depending on the situation, there are several things you should do before making any payment to them:
Establish whether you owe the debt
Determine whether or not the debt referred to in the letter is yours. If you do not recognise the debt, or are unsure whether the debt is yours, you can check with a credit check agency, such as Experian. By checking your credit report, you can view the outstanding debts against your name.
Sometimes mistakes do happen, and they may simply have got the wrong person. Such a circumstance is referred to as a ‘mis-trace’. Even if the name on the letter is correct, if you have a common name such as John Smith, this doesn’t necessarily mean you are the correct person. Even if it matches your name and date of birth, this still doesn’t constitute sufficient proof and a more convincing reason would be needed to link you to the debt.
Use a ‘Prove The Debt’ letter to get them to prove the debt is yours
Debt collection agencies, such as Mortimer Clarke Solicitors, have to have proof that the debt is actually yours in order to enforce payment. If they are unable to prove it, then they will have to mark the debt as settled and will no longer be able to pursue you for it. You can send them a ‘Prove The Debt’ letter, to ask for this proof. Do not acknowledge or deny the debt within this letter.
Ensure that you do not sign the ‘prove the debt’ letter. The debt collection company have to provide an original signed copy of your credit agreement, and providing your signature could enable them to reconstruct the agreement to include your signature. It is advised to only print your name.
It is a legal requirement for them to provide proof that you owe the debt. If they respond with something to the effect of ‘We have linked the debt to you and require you to pay by X date’, this is not proof and you can disregard the letter.
It is not always appropriate to send a prove the debt letter; before you do, check if any of the following applies:
- The letter is addressed to someone else but includes your address. In this instance, if you have the new address of the previous occupant, you could inform them, or simply return the letter with a ‘not known at this address’ message. If they continue to send them, just ignore them or you could offer to show them your council task bill to prove you now live there, but this is not required by law.
- It is your debt, but more than six years old. Then you need to talk to a specialist debt advisor, not reply to the the debt collection agency. The time limit for Mortimer Clarke to recover the debt may have run out, so you need to find out more about Statute-Barred Debt.
- If you have received court papers, then you won’t have time to send a prove it letter as there will be time restrictions to prepare your defence. Do not ignore court papers, or you will get a CCJ. Seek advice from a debt advisor on the best way to approach this.
- If the letter says there is already a CCJ, then you the court papers may have been lost in transit, or gone to previous address.. You can see if there has been a CCJ issued against you in the last six years by doing a credit check or searching an online database. If there is a CCJ for a debt that you do not recognise, seek advise on how to have the CCJ set aside.
Once you’ve determined whether you are liable to pay the debt, you have several options on how to proceed.
Arrange a payment plan with Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited
Mortimer Clarke state that they, as a company, seek to understand your circumstances, to work with you to agree upon a repayment plan rate that you can afford, over a reasonable timescale. If you can afford to enter into a payment plan with them, then you can contact them and provide information regarding your personal circumstances. This will allow you to arrange to pay back your debt at a rate that is affordable.
Explore debt management options and seek advice
The code of conduct and conditions by which Mortimer Clarke operate means they should give you sufficient time and opportunity to seek advice on how to handle your debts and explore the debt management options available to you. You may wish to contact them to inform they that you are in the process of, or intend to do this, to put a halt on further contact until you’ve had time to get the advice you need.
You can contact debt advice charities and helplines, or speak to IVA advice, who can advise you on an array of debt management options, from bankruptcy to debt consolidation loans. By discussing your situation with us, the best route to taking control of your debts can be identified and we can give you guidance and information you need, to make an informed decision. Our advisors have much experience in helping people become debt-free by taking control of their finances.
Write off your debts with an IVA
In the UK, there are schemes that allow people to write off the debts they owe to a business or debt collection company, in certain circumstances. Within England, Wales and Ireland, people are able to enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (called a Scottish Trust Deed in Scotland), which enables you to consolidate existing debts into one.
Lower, more affordable payments are paid over a set time period, with any remaining debt written off at the end of the term. On average, an IVA allows people to write off around 60% of their debt, but this could be as much as 90%.
Throughout the IVA, any creditor or debt collection firm that you owe money to will not legally be allowed to contact you any further, as your IVA provider will manage and handle all future contact on your behalf.
If you require advice on debt management methods or would like more information on whether an IVA is suitable for you, contact us.
How To Make a Complaint About Mortimer Clarke Solicitors
If you would like to make a complaint about Mortimer Clarke Solicitors, there are several routes you can take. You can contact them directly to file a complaint. The contact details for the complaints team are as follows:
Post: Complaints, Mortimer Clarke Solicitors, PO Box 130, Blyth, NE24 9FA
Email address: [email protected]
Contact number: 0333 121 4454
Alternatively, you could contact the Director and Principal Solicitor of the company, Sandra Bayne. Her contact details are as follows:
Post: Sandra Bayne, 3rd Floor, 16-22 Grafton Road, Worthing, BN11 1QP
Email: [email protected]
Contact number: 01753 724 760
Website: https://www.mortimerclarke.co.uk/
If you feel that your complaint has not been resolved satisfactorily by Mortimer Clarke Solicitors, and their internal complaints procedure has been exhausted, you can escalate the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service should be raised within 6 months, from the point at which you have received the final response from Mortimer Clarke regarding your complaint. Their contact details are:
Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR
Contact number: 0300 1239 123
Email: [email protected]
Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited are part of the Credit Services Association (CSA), and so you can can also approach them, as they are able to act as a mediator.
Their contact details are:
Credit Services Association Ltd, 2 Esh Plaza, Sir Bobby Robson Way, Great Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE13 9BA
Tel: 0191 21 7 0775