About Mortimer Clarke Solicitors
Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited is a firm of solicitors in Worthing, established in 2007, and part of the Cabot Credit Management group, which belongs to Encore Capital Group. It is licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 622915) and authorised by the FCA (FRN 912356).
Mortimer Clarke describes itself as a specialist litigation law firm that acts for debt purchasers and lenders. In practice its letters are often about debts owned by Cabot. It sends letters before claim, issues county court claims, and after a judgment it can ask the court for enforcement, such as an attachment of earnings order, a charging order or a warrant of control.
A letter before claim from Mortimer Clarke means court action is being considered, but it is not a court claim. You have 30 days from the date at the top of the letter to reply. Use that time to check the debt, ask for the documents behind it and reply in writing.
Group Structure
Cabot Financial Debt Recovery Services Limited
Cabot group company that owns more than 75% of Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Limited, according to Companies House.
Cabot Credit Management
Debt purchaser whose accounts Mortimer Clarke often acts on. Encore Capital Group lists Mortimer Clarke as its consumer credit litigation business in the UK.
Encore Capital Group
United States parent group of Cabot Credit Management. Mortimer Clarke appears in its list of subsidiaries.
What a Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Letter Typically Looks Like
- A Letter before Claim on Mortimer Clarke Solicitors headed paper, naming the client that owns the debt, often a Cabot company, and the original lender.
- A response pack sent with the letter: an information sheet, a reply form and a financial statement, which the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims requires.
- A deadline of 30 days from the date at the top of the letter, after which a county court claim may be issued if you have not replied.
- Phone numbers 0330 045 0779 and 0333 121 4454, and an online portal where you can make payments or plan a budget.
- If there is no reply, a county court claim for the debt, usually adding court fees and fixed solicitors' costs, and sometimes statutory interest at 8%.
- After a county court judgment, letters about enforcement: an attachment of earnings order, a charging order or a warrant of control.
Your Rights
Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims
Before suing, a creditor must send a Letter of Claim with an information sheet, a reply form and a financial statement. You have 30 days from the date at the top of the letter to reply (paragraph 3.4). Once you reply, the creditor should wait at least 30 days from receiving your reply form, or from sending documents you asked for, before starting court action (paragraph 4.2).
Consumer Credit Act 1974 (sections 77 and 78)
You can ask for a copy of the credit agreement under section 77 (fixed-sum credit) or section 78 (running-account credit). While it is not provided, the agreement cannot be enforced.
Limitation Act 1980 (section 5)
Most consumer debts become statute-barred six years after your last payment or last written acknowledgement. A court claim on a statute-barred debt can be defended on that basis.
Notice of assignment
When a debt is sold, you must be told in writing for the buyer to sue in its own name (section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925). You can ask for a copy of the notice of assignment.
Complaints
Mortimer Clarke acknowledges complaints within 5 working days and aims to give a final response by week 8 (complaints@mortimerclarke.co.uk, or Complaints, PO Box 130, Blyth, NE24 9FA). Some complaints can then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months, and concerns about a solicitor's conduct can go to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Common Mortimer Clarke Solicitors Scenarios
A letter before claim for a debt you do not recognise
Reply within the 30 days using the reply form and say that you dispute the debt. Ask for a copy of the credit agreement, the notice of assignment showing who bought the debt, and a statement of account. Under paragraph 4.2 of the protocol, the creditor should not start court action until at least 30 days after it receives your reply form, or 30 days after it sends the documents you asked for, whichever is later.
A debt that may be statute-barred
Under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980, most consumer debts become statute-barred six years after your last payment or last written acknowledgement, whichever is later. If that applies, say so in writing and do not pay or admit the debt before checking.
You need time to get debt advice
The reply form lets you say that you are getting debt advice. Under paragraph 4.3 of the protocol, the creditor should allow reasonable extra time for you to get it. Free advice is available from StepChange and National Debtline.
You want to offer a payment plan
You can offer affordable instalments in your reply. Under paragraph 4.4 of the protocol, both sides should try to agree an amount based on your income and spending, and a rejected offer should be explained in writing.
A county court claim form has arrived
A claim form is a court document. You normally have 14 days from service to respond, and filing an acknowledgment of service gives you 28 days from service to file a defence. If you ignore it, judgment can be entered by default.
A letter that claims to be from Mortimer Clarke but looks wrong
In July 2025 the Solicitors Regulation Authority published a scam alert about someone falsely using the firm's name to send a client intake form. Check any letter against the details on the firm's own website before you pay or share personal information.
Dispute the Debt by Post
Our debt collection dispute letter is written from your answers in the letter builder. Depending on what you tell us, it can say you do not recognise the debt, dispute the amount, or that it is already paid or statute-barred, and it can ask for the Default Notice and Notice of Assignment. Check the finished letter before you pay, then we print it and post it by Royal Mail.
- Disputes the debt and asks them to prove it
- Cites the law that fits your answers
- Gives them 30 days to reply
- Says you will complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they do not
- Asks for contact in writing only, if you choose
Dispute This Debt
- Guided step by step in the letter builder
- See the finished letter before you pay
- Printed and posted by Royal Mail
- Tracked delivery available
From £2.79, including printing and Royal Mail postage. Nothing to add.