Hi GMM,

Quick question for you based on post above -

Do you have any evidence of the payment you made to the original debt collectors? If so, surely you can show this to the latest lot?

On another tack, it's well worth googling "consumer action group" - some good advice on there in terms of things you can do, request and ask to potentially scupper most debt collecion agencies :)

Best

Jim

Hi Jimboban,

The lack of documentation regarding the clearing of the debt is the root of the problem.I had a payment book which I used to pay a monthly amount,however,after the final payment I didn't recieve a confirmation letter or any further correspondence regarding the debt for approx 2 years.

Send them the following first class signed for and keep the slip so you can prove they have recieved it

Dear Sir/Madam

Account no:

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

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

I/we 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/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully



(Your Name) Do not sign

Hi GMM.If you no longer have any form of written proof regarding the debt settlement you could get a copy of your credit file,which will not only show any existing financial commitments but also any that have been settled in the last six years.Try www.checkmyfile.com.

Alternatively,as I did with these parasites at Lowell,contact Trading Standards Agency.I understand the West Yorkshire office of TSA are very familiar with them.

Do not enter into any form of communication with them,if you are positive that you are debt free from the said creditor,other than the above posted cover letters stating their legal requirements and your rights.They use intimidating tactics!

You will also find more of these helpful letters on the Consumer Action Group website.

Lowells also use another company for collections called RED.Call me a cynic but they are probably the same people in the same office in the same building as Lowells.

Hi, I wonder if anyone can advise me? About 5 months ago, I received a debt letter from Lowell about a T mobile debt for £85. After some investigation, I discovered that a family member had used my identity back in 2001 to set up the phone contract and had defaulted sometime in 2004-2006. Lowell clearly did an electoral roll search to find my current address and wrote to me about it. I explained that I had been defrauded but they said they didn't care- as far as they were concerned, the debt was in my name and I had to pay. I arranged for payment, and then discovered they had entered the default on my credit report and also linked me to the fraudster's address. After many arguments, they removed that information. However, today, I have received a credit alert and when I checked my credit report, I see that Lowell have entered a default again. I don't know if it's in relation to the same matter or whether its a new thing- its a different amount- all I know is that (a) I have no debts at all and (b) there has been no communication from them about this alleged new debt. Can anyone advise me on how best to proceed?

Many thanks,

Allegra

Hi there, I have recently had a letter from Lowell Portfolio 1. It was sent to my mums address in the UK. I now live in New Zealand, and have done for a few years. The letter was requesting payment for a HSBC account for the sum of £483.62. I called them to try and get some info as I don't know what this could be for. I had an account with HSBC approx 11 yrs ago. When I called they asked me for my date of birth, which I refused to give. I have now emailed them as writing a letter will take forever as I am posting it from NZ.

I have got my experian credit file several times in the past few years to get a mortgage and the like, and there has never been anything on there for HSBC, also, the letter is in my maiden name, and I have been married for 5 years.

I have asked them for a copy of the credit agreement and advised them that this alleged debt is obviously old and therefore statute barred as I have not EVER recieved any correspodance regarding a debt for this amount from anyone, let alone HSBC- does anyone think I'll get a response by email. ??

I am just concerned that they will harrass my mum & dad as they have their address.

I am at a loss as what to do.

Just had a letter from this lot phone gave some details then they mention a old address where I know i never took out any credit agreements so put the phone down return their letter, they seem very hostile on the phone so will not be reply in any form from now on. BIGE 63

Send them the following:

To: ______________
__________________

Dear Sir/Madam

Account no:

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

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

I/we 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/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully



(Your Name) Do not sign

I had a letter off them in the last few days and rather stupidly rang them as I was concerned about the debt. He said it was from 10 years ago and that he would give me a discount on the debt if I paid up there and then. Alarm bells started ringing and luckily I did a quick search on line of them and came to this forum. I had my debit card in my hand ready to pay! I didnt acknowledge the debt but as I have spoken to them is there anything that I need to do differently to ensure that this is the end of the matter?

Phone calls mean nothing, if it isn't in writing then it didn't happen. Just send them the statute barred letter and ignore them.

hi everyone

im new to this site, i was simply looking for further details on this company and came across this discussion.

I must say i find it very interesting that so many people share similar problems with this company.

i hope someone can help me, my problem is as below

i received a letter from lowell portfolio today to say that a debt from t mobile was sold to them on 15/09/06, i find it strange they have taken this long to write to me.

However i rang them and straight away disputed the debt and asked for proof, they informed me they would send it out but it would take 6-8 weeks so already after reading this it seems they will breach the timescale to provide proof. they inform me that the last payment on the account was on 22nd october 2002 so as you can work out its very close to being statute barred.

my main questions are as follows

1 - do i write now requesting a copy of the consumer credit agreement or wait till after the 6 years is up which will be on 22nd october 2008

2 - can i still claim statute barred as they have contacted me before the date, even though its by just less than a month.

3 - what is the best way of dealing with the situation.

any advice will be much appreciated.

thanks

I would just let the clock tick down until it is statute barred. The only way you can reset the clock is by making a payment or acknowledging the debt so if they call or write to you it means nothing....it's waht you do!

You could send them a CCA request as long as you put 'I do not acknowledge any debt to your company' in big letter at the top and do not admit the debt. This would put the account in dispute and help the clock tick down with a bit more safety.

Hello all. First time poster. Looking for some advice. I had a phone call (my wife took the call) from a guy claiming to be from a debt collecting agency he left his number and a ref number for me. He did not tell my wife which company he worked for.

I phoned him (did not have a clue what it was about). He then told me I owed 3 mobile £12.68 from 2004. I said no I don't. He said you do and you have to pay within 2 days or you could get a CCJ. I laughed and told him I would not pay anything with out proof of the debt. He told me to contact 3. I said no your asking me for money you show me the proof I owe. He then went of on one about CCj's and court orders and the fact that 3 had been trying to contact me for months, to which I laughed again. He then said "your taking the p**s out of me your in for it, i'm ending this call" and the little bugger hung up on me.

I tried to contact 3 on the phone (joke) over an hour on hold to a 0844 number to be cut off. So I emailed them.

Below is the mail I sent to them and the respone I got back.
(this is the mail I got back from 3. I have removed all names)

Dear Mr L

We’ve received your email about receiving a call from Lowell Portfolio Ltd.

I’m afraid that I’ll be unable to discuss any account related information with you as Lowell Portfolio Ltd. now handles the account. You can contact them at the following contact details.

Telephone number: 08448 444720
Address:
Lowell Portfolio Ltd
Lowell Group PO Box 172
Leeds
LS11 9WS


Thanks for getting in touch.


Regards

3 Customer Services


TRACKING NUMBER:

-----Original Message-----


From: welcome AT three.co.uk
Sent: 25 Sep 08 21:48:22
To:
Cc:
Subject: Feedback from Hutchison 3G web site - Category: Email-me-Account related - 00000000000



Forename: Carl
Feedback:
Hello. I have had a debt collector contact me today telling me I own you money from 2004 ? He was very rude on the phone. I have phoned your customer services and the person I spoke to could not help. She gave me a 0844 number that I was on hold
for 30mins before being cut off and then again for 25mins. I did have a 3 mobile which I paid via direct debit. I have no knowledge of the debt. I did have issues with 3 when I closed my account but I was assured at that time the problem had been solved. The debt collector told me that you had tried to contact me at my old address in Nov Dec Jan and Feb 04 / 05. I did not move until late 05 and did not have any contact from you about any debt.. My old account number is *************. Please make contact with me as I can not make contact with you.

My question is what should I do ?? I have no idea if I owe them the money or not. I had an account with them which was paid via DD and my statements show 12 payments (1 a month) of around £30.00 I have never missed a payment for anything in my life.

Any help would be welcome

Hi CL76

What a coinsident. I have received very similar letter from Lowell Portfolio last Friday. It says that my account with 3G has been sold to them on 30/6/2008 and Mackenzie Hall Ltd is authorised collection agencies. In the case the outstanding amount of £13 is not settled by a week time, then Mackenzie Hall will start collection activity to recover the outstanding.

Thing is that I do not recognise any outstandings with Three. I had an account with them in the past but yes I was paying by DD so no issue with them. Nowadays none of mobile company sell you contaract without DD.

I called Three asking explanation. They said that my contract with them was ended Jun 2006 but they can not tell me any more information as it was sold to Lowell. Three could not even tell me how much I owed !

Untill now, I never heard from Three since my contract was terminated so how could straight away it went to Lowell ? I believe if there was outstanding I am sure Three would contact me straight away untill it was resolved.

Initially, I thought I shoud settle as still small amount to avoid any nuisonce but became not sure after reading those comments posted here.

Anyone can give us an advice ?

Hi - Send the debt collection agency a copy template letter as a CCA request asking them for proof of the original credit agreement by recorded delivery, enclosing a £1 postal order.

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

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 (?????????)

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 (Print your name not usual signature)

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

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.