Simmo

I think the only course of action is to send a complaint letter by recorded delivery to Chief Executive, Hutchison 3G head office Star House, 20 Grenfall Road,Maidenhead, SL6 1EH, setting out the history of the account. Advise them that if they cannot resolve the matter, you will be taking the matter up with Trading standards and Otelo. Send a copy of the letter by recorded delivery to Lowell.

Huckster

Hi a letter arrivied today to my son with a demand for £380 for a phone he was talked into back in 2006 ,as 3G had got details that his old contract was due for renewal, god only know's how they managed to find that out but that's not the point .

The phone in question was activated by my son on arrival as requested by 3G the only call ever made,

when i found out how much the tariff was i hit the roof and told him to get in touch with 3G as there is a cooling of period to return the goods, of which he did as i sat there, they said that was ok and they would send out a bag and all he had to do was send it back to them , well day's turned into a week and further call's were made and eventualy the self addressed bag turned up , phone packed inside and sent off, 3 week's later a bill turned up, so a phone call was made i think to an Indian call centre who said they were so sorry and that the account was now closed , bugger me if the next month the same thing happened again, so on the phone to India again and the same story repeated, but this time nothing was heard for 3 year's and now this. how does he stand with this as he's really upset to think after all this time this CRAP hit's the surface

ZOEROBERTS:

Do you think i should send them a letter like the previous people above?

Thanks,

Yes send Lowell a letter by recorded delivery advising them of the position, enclosing any confirmation you have that the account was settled in 2007.

Huckster

I returned from holiday at the weekend to find a letter from Lowell Ltd demanding £308 within 20 days for an accounting error made from my account going back to 2007. I know this account was paid up and i received a final bill, and by the looks of it i'm not the first one to receive a letter like this.

Do you think i should send them a letter like the previous people above?

Thanks,

Hello:

I have just received a demand from 3G UK for non-existing debt that I supposedly owe them since 2 years ago. They supposedly tracked me down and now require the payment within 20 days or they will pass my details to their preffered partner Lowell Ltd. No return address from 3G to write back and make representations. Basically, the only option they give me is to pay.

There have been hundreds of people like me and you affected by Lowell Plc and their subsidiary companies and nobody has got the guts to face them or stop them ruining peoples lives.

I will be putting together a group of affected people contacting everyone one by one, collecting their stories and preparing a group action against this company because as an individual nobody stand a chance.

Note: This post has been moderated. Please ensure you read the moneysupermarket.com Community Standards and Terms of Service before posting. Thanks

Hello Dreamsweep.

absolutely great you r dealing with them. i just got letter from Lowell with amount of £438 !!!!!!!!

wich is nonsence as i stoped using my 3G about 3.5years ago!!!

Id like to get more info about your game with them, cause i really angry to pay such amount for dont even know what.

as i see you r making your own charges for all letters and calls, thats great, but - can you do that??

please send me more info, or even template of you letter to help me out with this.

thaks for your time

Hi, Many months a go i posted many notes here as 3 mobile, RED and Lowell sent me letters asking for money on my 2 closed accounts belonging to 4 years ago. After fighting for about 8 months with all 3 companies on one bill i won the war and 3 said sorry and closed the account. on the second one for about £350, after a bout 10 months still i am fighting with 3. I do not know if i win or i loss but the import part is that this fight costed 3 more than £350. First they have to pay all these people to write and read and respond my letters according to law and secondly they have lost me a customer who was with them more than 7 years and also I am telling everyone i know to leave 3. Please fight with this evil company and remember by leaving it nothing will be sorted.

Heres an update to my post on the 29/6/09 since receiving 2 demands for £1015.78 and £1025.18 from 3 for phones I have never had.

Sent a letter of complaint to 3 for them to sort it out - Had no reply

Now had demands from Lowell Portfolio 1 for these debts which even have an address on them which I have never lived at or within 50 miles of.

Have now written to Lowell and to Emma Warwick at the 3 Executive office, explaining the situation and await their response.

Hi Finding life hard,

I wrote to red debt agency last October requesting written proof of debt of £858.58 from 3 years ago with 3G, also asked to be replied to in 7 days. I heard from them last week nearly 10 months on, but the best thing of all it said, Thankyou for your recent correspondence!!!! It was last October, I want these people to either take me to court or leave me alone.so sorry to be the bearer of bad news, please be aware that you may be contacted, I even have proof of this so called debt settled with 3G on my experian report.

Hope this nightmare is will go away soon.

I haven't heard anything form these guys since last December they have ignored all my letters, not one response, my last letter is below;

You have failed to produce any proof of debt within the legal 28 days. My last letter was dated 8th December 2008.

Again I do not acknowledge any debt to you or the company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Without any proof of debt you must remove any marks/defaults on my credit rating immediately.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question. 



I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions. I look forward to your reply.




Yours faithfully




.....................................................

This letter was sent February 2009, still no response so I am hoping it has gone away, as this was nearly five months ago, but I'm not completely convinced!

machina

Yes the programme was disapointing as only one firm was subject to undercover investigation. Whether the firm covered is the worst I am note sure. Why have the OFT only named one firm Mackenzie Hall(OFT warning notice online) as breaching their rules, when another 11 have been warned by the OFT but they refuse to name them.

I think anyone who has been wrongly accused of holding a debt or have been subject to non compliant practices by DCA's should make official complaints to the OFT. They will only take any notice and investigate if they receive a huge volume of complaints.

huckster

conmankiller:

The TV progaramme DISPATCHES ...Mon 20th at 20.00 on Channel 4

A reporter goes undercover to expose the practices used and show behind the scene methods of how these debt collection agencies operate.

If you've been affected by any of these companies, try to find the time to watch.

Was anyone else really disappointed that they did not cover what's going on here? No mention of collectors chasing for money not owed or statute barred!

And why the hell are the OFT not acting?

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/episode-guide/series-33/episode-1

The TV progaramme DISPATCHES ...Mon 20th at 20.00 on Channel 4

A reporter goes undercover to expose the practices used and show behind the scene methods of how these debt collection agencies operate.

If you've been affected by any of these companies, try to find the time to watch.

Presented by Jane Moore, Channel 4 said the programme reveals "some of the tactics deployed to get debtors to pay up, and talks to those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of this treatment". Earlier this year, Dispatches reporter Tom Randall got a job as a debt collector inside "one of the UK’s fastest growing agencies".

The programme is understood to also focus on the sale of debt portfolios. "Some of the biggest high street businesses are cutting their losses and selling on their bad debts to agencies for as little as sixteen pence in the pound," it said. "Agencies who buy up these debts are entitled to pursue debtors for the full amount. In this multi billion pound industry the stakes are high, and Dispatches reveals the lengths collectors will go to, to recover their debts."

huckster:

sianyb:

'purely for commercial reasons'

I don't think this has much to do with any letters sent, although the volume of letters overall must have been huge. What commercial reasons are there for writing off any debts which are genuinely due? Obviously if there has been a massive error, people have been wrongly accused of owing money

What about the people who have paid money to Lowells and other DCA's, where the debt was added in error but due to fear , stress, harrassment and problems getting loans, they have paid money which was never due. If this was a massive error by 3G, will Lowell etc, pay back the money to these people and make compensatory payments.

I am sure those people who have received letters will just be glad the matter has been cleared up for them. But does this go far enough? If I was in this position I would be seeking compensation and would approach the regulator to look into this issue. Watchdog may be interested if a massive error has occured which has led to people being chased for debts not owed and if DCA's are keeping money not genuinely due to them.

huckster

You're totally right. Although I am very relieved that my part in the debacle is over, I will be also be contacting Watchdog about the issue. It'll also be interesting to watch the Dispatches expose of debt collection, to be shown on Monday:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/