Anybody have experience of these people.I received a letter from them on 04/01/2008 asking if I had previously lived at a certain address ( I moved from there 7 years ago having lived there for Thirty years) and if so would I contact them so that they could update my details.I called them and was put through to someone who said that they ( Lowells ) had purchased a debt from Barclaycard of around £1,500:00 dating back to 1996 and what was I going to do about it.I have no default on my Barclaycard account and in fact very rarely use it.I told them that I had no idea what they were talking about and if such a debt existed they should send details which I would investigate,I have now received a letter from them saying that they had appointed Red Debt collection services as appointed agents( but still no details of the alleged debt),and that all payments and communications should be addressed to them.As no debt exists what can I communicate to Red Debt and do I have anything to be concerned about,do I have to wait to see what further communications I receive or can I nip this in the bud somehow.It is all very disconcerting,I am not a young man and have never been in debt ever in my life.Anyone able to help?.Gratefull thanks for the use of the forum. Philco.

Hi - my son has just had the same thing happen to him. Statute is six years, have it on authority from a solicitor and another online - so no you do not owe them anything at all. Do not get into conversation or communication with any of these people. Dulsiemae

Hi philco, I received exactly the same letter last week, and when i rang they said they had bought a Barclaycard debt I owed from an address i lived at 15 years ago. Luckily for me, my best friends hubbie is a financial advisor. He told me to write to them clearly stating I did not acknowledge the debt, and if such debt ever existed it would now be "statute barred". This occurs when, if a creditor has not contacted you, nor you them, regarding this alleged debt within the last 6 years, it is statute barred, and is no longer legally recoverable. Once you have plainly disputed the debt, and advised you will be giving them NO MONEY, the Office of Fair Trading considred it unfair practice for them to continue chasing the alleged debt. I wrote to them stating these facts, and giving them 14 days to write to me confirming the case was closed, and no further action would be taken (posted it recorded delivery). From what i can gather from this and other forums, they are simply chancers, hoping people will be sufficiently worried to just pay up. I will let you know what happens as soon as I recieve a reply.

Thanks,would be interested if they respond to you,hope it all goes well,will take the same action regards philco

Sounds as though someone has got hold of some old address/ card details /paperwork, and they are trying it on. I guess they must have a proportion of successes. If I receive such correspondence I will totally ignore it so as not to confirm new address/identity/phone No etc BB

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Circumstances alters cases!!

Apparently, Lowell Portfolio specialise in bulk buying old or statute barred debts that they have very little chance of recovering. They pay the big companies peanuts for them. It seems they recently bought a load from Barclaycard, T-mobile, Sky, and HSBC. I wrote to Barclaycard to complain about who they were selling alleged debts onto, and this morning I've received a letter from them saying they can't even find my account!- they are currently looking into my case. My advice to anyone receiving letters from this company is not to contact them. if they keep pestering you,do not call the telephone number listed, but send them a recorded delivery letter disputing the debt (if its more than 6 years old and there's been no prior contact) and clearly stating you do not wish to be contacted again.

Dont send them a penny. after 6 years from last payment debt becomes statute barred which means it cant be enforced.If Lowells continue to pester you for this debt they are in breach of there licence.

Remember do not contact them via phone only via post,and do not hand sign any letters you send.

You need to send them a CCA (consumer credit agreement)Letter,and see if they have the original signed agreement from BarclayCard,if not then they cant collect the debt.

Check out The Consumer Action Group,they have loads of info on how to deal with DCA's

Hope this helps

Nova

Working for one of the CRA's I get to deal with these guys every now and again. I'll say the advice given to you is spot on. Don't pay them a penny. They can't add anything to your credit report regarding this debt as it is over 6 years old and like a previous poster stated it is up to them to prove you owe them.

Thanks for response,have now had letter from debt collector Red Debt but no details of debt or date of debt etc,think l should ignore or respond? regards Philco

Ignore them,they cant do a thing...

my parner received one, they will be very annoyed when no-one pays them!! if you receive a letter from a debt collection agency chasing you for a debt of more than 6 years old, always deny it and claim harrassment under the limitation act. dont let them get your phone numbers, make sure you are exdirectory and if they have your number, change it. if you do correspond with them, do it by letter only. if they are to provide proof of the debt, they only have 12 days to do so. then its too late.

To Whom It May Concern:

Your Reference: xxxx

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY

With reference to the above account, I request that you send me a true copy of this credit agreement before I will correspond further on this matter.

This is my right under the legislation contained within section 77 (1) and section 78 (1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and I am entitled to receive a copy of my credit agreement on request.

Your obligation also extends to providing me with a statement of account. I enclose a £1

postal order, which represents payment of the statutory fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act. I understand that a copy of my credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days from the date of this letter.

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act, creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

Also, since you are a Debt Collection Agency, I would also ask that you supply a signed true copy of the executed deed of assignment for the above referenced agreement. This is an obligation, whether you are the original creditor or not, under section 189 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Non-compliance with my request is a criminal offence under the above Act and will result in a report being submitted to the relevant statutory authorities.

In summary, I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THIS DEBT AND THEREFORE REQUIRE YOU TO SUBSTANTIATE THIS BY PROVIDING THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION BEFORE I CORRESPOND FURTHER :

1.True copy of original credit agreement

2.Statement of account

3.Copy of the executed deed of assignment from (Argos) and (Moorcroft)

4.Fair Processing Notice.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is totally unenforceable under the CCA and therefore is a complete defence to any court claim that is issued.

Take note at this stage, that any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested.

Further to the above, please ensure that any contact by yourselves is made in writing only to the above address. Telephone calls and personal visits will not be accepted and viewed as harassment.

As this account is now in dispute, I would also draw your attention to The Banking Code section 13.6:-

We may give information to the Credit Reference Agencies about personal debts you owe us if:

·The Amount Owed is Not in Dispute.

·The Office of Fair Trading provided a Code of Guidance that is in relation to Debt Collection: OFT 664 Response to consultation paper and final guidance on unfair business practices dated July 2003

Deceptive and/or Unfair Methods-

2.8 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:-

k. Not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt.

If you continue in your pursuance of this account I will have no other alternative than to report you to both, The Information Commissioner and The Office of Fair Trading.

Furthermore, I shall submit a Consumer Credit Act 1974 complaint to the OFT upon the basis that you have failed to comply with the OFT's direction of 5 April 2006 and are therefore not a 'fit and proper person' to hold a consumer credit licence under the 1974 Act. If you do not understand what this means then seek advice from your legal department.

I look forward to hearing from you within the statutory time limit.

Yours faithfully

If its over 6 years ago then its statue barred anyway,so they cant collect on the debt.

As Big Jasey said they have 12 + 2 days(postage time) to provide proof of debt then 30 days to fully comply with your request.

If they dont provide the info they are in breach,and can be reported to OFT and TS,if they continue to hassle you.

Hi everyone, just an update. Received 2 letters this morning - one from Lowells, advising my comments had been noted and they are investigating the matter.

The second - from my local council Trading Standards department (I copied them in on what was happening). The letter advises me that my council has been in touch with West Yorkshire Trading Standards, and a person from that office, who is "advising" this company, has raised my case with them. The expectation is that they will refrain from contacting me about this matter any further.Hooray!! Hope to get a letter from Lowells within the next few days stating this is indeed the case.

The very fact this company has an "advisor" from the local trading standards monitoring them speaks volumes. Would advise anyone being hassled by them to write to their local council, as it seems West Yorkshire Trading Standards are almost on standby, ready to deal with complaints about Lowell Portfolio.

Crikey !! ( Now found out,the alleged debt is dated 1994) so seems no probs really,regards Philco

No, you'll be fine Philco. They haven't got a leg to stand on and they know it. A strongly worded letter to them, disputing the debt and advising if it ever existed it is now statute barred should really be enough. If they persist, get on to Trading Standards at your local council and let them take up the case. Keep a record of all documentation (never phone these people, I send everything recorded delivery), and hopefully this matter should be closed very soon. Will keep you up to date with any more letters I get from Lowell (am only due one more, to confirm case is closed!)