Thank you for all advice received today, I will take all advice in account and hopefully come up with a solution. Thanks again everyone.

As Zeb suggest, the debt could be statute barred. This would be 6 years (5 years in Scotland) passing since the last payment or written acknowledgement by you of the debt.

Suggest that you ask Lowell for a copy of the relevant phone contract, a copy of the phone companies last statement showing the payments made and a copy of the notice of assignment confirming Lowell are able to deal with this.

Send the request by recorded delivery letter. It is your right to have this information. Debt companies are allowed to chase for debts, even those that are statute barred, but per OFT rules they are supposed to send you proof of the debt, A simple extract from an Excel spreadsheet is not adequate.

Once you receive the information back, if 6 years have passed since payment, then send a letter stating that the debt is statute barred. There are many threads on here with a copy of a suitable letter. Once you have sent the letter, per OFT guidelines, the debt companies are not allowed to chase you further. If the debt is not barred, but you dispute owing the money beyond the 12 month contract you had, then send a letter disputing the debt, stating why this is the case,

katmanepal:u have all yr legs to stand on!!! dont worry about them it is the law they THEY HAVE TO PROVE YOU OWE MONEY not the other way round dont bother getting in touch with them anymore and they will give up aftter a while once they know yr not going to pay, get yrself a paper shredder thats my advice they say i still owe £429 from my old 3G bill plus £29 from my old O2 bill from 2006 there crazy. theres hundreds of people they have tried it on with but just forget about them if you want this is the number for the telecommunications ombudsman they will give you advise on what to do 01925 430049 they deal with them everyday but like i said i would put every letter in the shredder bye good look

This is all well and good but if the debt is genuine and still owed then the omdudsman will have no interest in this and the adverse credit marker will stand and affect any potential future credit.

Katmanepal, you may have already got a chequered credit record (you mentioned you had 2 accounts with Lowell) but from what the Hayles82 is saying they have a good credit record and far more to lose.

I would agree that it is up to Lowell to prove the debt due but I would also point out that if this debt was issued in 2005 then it either is or is very close to being Statute Barred which is a legal ruling that no company can chase an individual for any monies owing if that debt is over 6 years old. I do not know the legal process over this but if you google Statute Barred or even use the search funtion at the top of the page there are many regular posters on here who have good knowledge in this area that have written about this and how to go about it and I would be certain that you will even find the information listed in this very thread.

But do understand that if you cannot claim that it is statute barred and if the debt is genuinely yours and if Lowell are chasing you for a debt that should rightfully be paid then it is something you need to address. Choosing to shred documents and ignore communications just so you can bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away until the bailiffs knock on your door is not a wise choice and I would vehemently urge you not to take this action as it will not end well for you if you do indeed owe this debt. You risk county court judgements, baliffs and increased administration fees added to the debt and utterly destroying your credit status.

Check out the statute barred option, I have a feeling this may be your escape route.

Also....so far as contacting the ombudsman. They will only look into a case if it has been through the correct complaints procedure first as the company you will be referring to still has the legal right to evidence and have their case heard first. Once they have done this and you still disagree with them then you can take this to the ombudsman who will give a fair and impartial view to the case. If the ombudsman thinks you do owe the money you will still have to pay. They are not just there to slap companies because they dare to chase up their debts that are owed to them.

Check out the statute barred option and good luck

you can also concerning yr credit rating get in touch with exuifax you can get free online service and they will dispute it for you they wright a note on yr credit file so if any lender looks they will see what is called (notice of dispute where you are disputing the fact that you do not owe this money and they should take this into account when considering lending you money)dont let anyone frighten you! that is there way of doing buisness like all financial institutions FEAR IS THE KEY to there sucess.

HI again, Thanks I will do and yes I have an Iphone. Wish I had that earlier with the rubbish that was coming out of the womans mouth. You have made my day feel a bit easier knowing what you have told me, never even knew there was such a company. Thanks a lot

if you tell the ombudsman they can get it removed, also good thing to do record phonecalls that can be used against them, if you have i phone you can download a dictaphone on it like me, i called 3G they told me i never had and account with 3G and i have that recorded

Thank you for your reply!!

Thanks for the advice which is very tempting, but my only worry is the threat of putting a hold on my credit file...They have said they would do this.

Thanks again and I will give the telecommunications ombudsman a call.

Hayley

u have all yr legs to stand on!!!
dont worry about them it is the law they THEY HAVE TO PROVE YOU OWE MONEY not the other way round dont bother getting in touch with them anymore and they will give up aftter a while once they know yr not going to pay, get yrself a paper shredder thats my advice they say i still owe £429 from my old 3G bill plus £29 from my old O2 bill from 2006 there crazy.
theres hundreds of people they have tried it on with but just forget about them if you want this is the number for the telecommunications ombudsman they will give you advise on what to do 01925 430049 they deal with them everyday but like i said i would put every letter in the shredder bye good look

Hiya

I am absolutely furious right now!!

I have a feeling I know what everyone will be thinking, as I think I already know that I don't have a leg to stand on, but if anyone out there thinks that I have a chance in disputing this then please, I would love to hear from you!!!

I first heard from Lowell on Christmas Eve 2011, although the letter was under another company name, who apparently are the same people?? It stated that I owe £100.45 for a debt that I hadn't paid to O2. I had a contract with O2 back in 2005 which lasted for just 12 months. I paid my bills every month without fail, so I knew that I couldn't possibly owe this money! I called the company and was astounded to learn that they knew more information about me than what I even knew, and aswell as this they had had the account since 2009 but only just contacted me regarding it now. (They even knew previous addresses so not knowing where to find me wasn't the issue.) I then asked him what the bill was for and he told me it was because I didn't notify O2 that I wasn't continuing my contract! I had no idea (and maybe I am just naive here) that I had to tell them this, and therefore was charged the above amount. I just thought that the 12 months were up, seeing as this was what I agreed to and that would be the end of it, I would be cut off and that was that.

How wrong could I have been!?? I then asked them to send me proof of my statements and my contract, which they said they would get, but all I received this morning was a ridiculous photocopy of an excel spreadsheet, which just looks totally fake, and this is all they can give me! They told me I cannot do anything more about it as it will be my word against theirs and that I have to pay this money! I have refused because I clearly do not think that it is fair seeing as I was never informed of this rule in the first place, in fact i don't even remember signing a contract for this phone deal as I bought it online, surely i don't have to pay this. I know it isn't a lot of money but I feel on priniciple alone I shouldn't have to pay this? I mentioned getting in touch with CAB but they are adamant that i am wasting my time!

Sorry for the long winded post but I am so stressed out and didn't want to miss anything out. If anyone has any suggestions or pointers to help me out then all will be received gratefully.

Hi ziggyh
i have 2 dealings with lowell the only 2 defaults on my credit score are with them, they are both telecomunication specialists, mine are with 3g hutchinson ans yrs O2, the story is i finished my tariff with O2 after 1 half yrs and went to orange, after 6 months they sent me letters saying i owed O2 £29.00 after several calls they diddnt send anything but its still on my credit score as a default.

also this is a better one after finishing with orange last month after 2 yrs i got on with 3G new contract after 1 week i got a letter from lowell saying i owe £453.00 apparently it was from 2006 and i have never been with 3G before so thats 2 defaults from lowell i know all contracts i had in the last 6 years, like yourself they sent me letter after i joined 3.

so twice i contacted them and twice they said they will investigate, but guess what no letters! so i called equifax and they got in touch with them but lowell said it was correct and that was it but im now in the process of calling the ombudsman to sort it out. im not getting phonecalls or letters i have had only one letter about 3G i dont think they want to investigate it, anyway one way or another i wont pay what i dont owe, and if i did owe 3G money why would they give me a £500 mobile??

I got a bogus e-mail from lowell claiming ~ £500 for an O2 contract. Incidentally, i received the email a few hours after doing a moneysupermarket.com comparison for buildings and contents insurance. Can anyone explain what the connection is? And why is Lowell being discussed on this forum?

If you visit the Community Action group site which is free to join, they have a library of letters and a debt forum where you can obtain advice.

If the debt is not owed, why don't you enter into a complaint with these companies.

This is the email for Lowell complaints. ComplaintsResolution@LowellGroup.co.uk

For Mackenzie Hall, Write to their compliance manager.

I have dealth with these companies in respect of a relatives debt and making a complaint as suggested above was the only way it was resolved. Just sending prove it letters or any letter to customer services is a waste of time.

Hi there

Please can you confirm that all the dates/acts for the letters quoted in this thread still stand considering 3 years has passed since posting? I'm currently having trouble with both Lovell and Mackenzie Hall for debts that simply dont exist and would like to start this process by your "prove it" letters etc.

Thanks so much for your kind assistance.

regards

Natalie

Ive just come by this forum via a link on portfolio 1 and like that site im more informed than i was before on this company

The reason im writing here despite being two yrs late is because like others who have been victim to them and in particuler at the hands of 3g aka hutchison 3g uk ltd, due to suspect arrears from contracts with that mobile company,

there is something, i believe i need to share with my fellow 3g customers as with everyone else and that,is the fact of, 3g informing me after two yrs silence that i havent paid my outstanding balance somehow overlooking a breached contract in favour of my non payment then a few days after informing me by second letter that the debt had now being sold to theyre prefered purchasing partner,,,yep youve guessed right lowell ltd now after, having yahoo`d coz i dont google,, yahood lowell its becoming perfectly clear that the two companys are likeminded in the treatment of consumers so for that reason,anyone recieving email links or viewing this excellent post for the first time i want to let you know that 3gs favrites are under investigation for chasing debts beyond the six yr stat limit in some cases 20yrs old,, . i say ps thanks for the advice and if your chased by them dont acknowledge any debt let them prove it first...again thx for all your advice ...

That's it Simon, any action they take to contact you after that is then at their peril.

This account you can now forget about, it never was enforceable without a valid signed CCA and the tiresome process you have just undertaken rules any further legal action out, even in the unlikely event a CCA was produced too late, a court would see that you have legally and successfully challenged the alleged debt... and that MH have failed to prove their case whilst they were given every full and reasonable opportunity, they would not even hear the case out....end of. !

File all those records / postal receipts and store in a safe secure place. !