Lowell Financial

[Nostic]

Has anyone had any dealings with this company? I currently owe a debt to sky and this has been passed on to Lowell. They sent me some payment slips out to pay this at a rate of £10 per month. I received these payment slips about 2 weeks ago. They were speaking to me on the phone a short while ago. Now they are claiming I had made no arrangements to pay them. They have also just threatened to sent a collector around. I lost my temper and tore up the payment slips, in retrospect I shouldn't have done this. I am not trying to dodge the debt, it is their methods of recovery I don't agree with.

The company is based in Leeds. I am on incapacity and I also get disabilty allowance. They expect me to pay much more than I can afford. Could I just go to the Citizen Advice Bureau and let them handle this for me?

[falcon185]

Hi,
I would suggest you send them a CCA request first and foremost. Making sure you put at the start of the letter " I do not aknowledge any debt to your company" They have 12 days (+2 for postage ) to respond if they dont the debt then becomes unenforcable, a further calander month and they commit a criminal offence and cannot re-enforce the debt unless they go before a Judge at court. They wont want to do that as they will have to explain why they committed the offence. Good luck.

[Nostic]

I am a newbie here so please pardon my ignorance. What is a CCA request?

[Bigmac versus]

Consumer Credit Act 1974

This is sent to the DCA(debt collection agency) and gives them 12 days to provide full documentation relating to this debt, the above post is the rest that will happen if they go to non-compliance

[falcon185]

Hi,
here is the type of letter you need to send:

DEAR SIR /MADAM,

RE:..REFERENCE NUMBER..

I do not acknowledge ANY debt to your company. I require you to the following documentation before I will correspond further on this matter.

1. You must supply me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) your obligation also extends to providing a statement of account. I enclose a £1 postal order in payment of the statutory fee.

2. A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists.

3. You are notified that you are obliged to supply these documents, whether you are the original creditor or not under S189 of the CCA 1974.
4. Confirmation as to whether you have purchased this debt, including amount and date purchased, or whether you are merely acting on behalf of your client.
5. A detailed schedule of any charges that you have levied on this account.

I understand a copy of our credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days,

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.

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.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely

Hope this helps.

[diskmandave]

Originally Posted by Nostic

I am a newbie here so please pardon my ignorance. What is a CCA request?

It's a legally enforceable request to see the properly executed copy of your Consumer Credit Agreement. Take a little time to familiarise yourself with the site and you'll find the CCA Request in the templates library, if nothing else it will buy you some time to decide a plan of action.

You can also tell Lowell not to contact you by phone again and that they must only correspond with you in writing, and keep a papertrail! This way you don't lose your temper and can't agree to something without having time to think. If they threaten court action on the phone it's a standard tactic, tell them to write to you and put the phone down.

Good luck - Dave.

[Nostic]

Thanks so much for the assistance.

[cookinmama]

I also have a supposed debt owing to Sky! I have been sent a letter from Red debt agency asking me for £158.00. I had Sky tv at my last address which was almost 4 years ago. I cancelled before I moved in the correct way, after the 12 month subsription period with no outstanding balance. For one thing you are always a month in front with Sky because thats how they collect money from you. Anyway I have had 3 letters within the last few months and after finding this site I will be sending a letter NOT acknowledging the debt and asking them to provide proof of it even existing. I have to say this site is fantastic and after reading many threads posted it has given me the confidence to deal with the debts I do actually have in the correct way. I plan on stocking up on envelopes and stamps tomorrow and getting to work on it all. I am a single mum of 4 and on IS for the last few months after losing my job. Is it true that banks cannot claim charges from customers on IS. I recently got charged £22 by HSBC for going over my overdraft by a couple of quid, £22 is a lot to me at the minute and I wondered if it is worth claiming it back. I have an HSBC account which I pay £12.95 a month for so I can have the privelege of a £100 overdraft! Love to hear from anyone who can help xoxoxo

[Dispirited]

Hi cookinmama, it's probably best to start your own thread so that you get the advice you need from the lovely people on this fantastic site.

[MRHBK]

see my post regarding lowell titled MRHBK V LOWELL FINANCIAL. Dont pay them a penny.

[Goofer]

Hi all,I'm new to this site but have read through all your problems with this company and I am about to join you.My husband had a loan with TSB about 10 years ago which he was paying but unfortunately we had financial difficulties and he stopped paying well over 6 years ago - we have been in our current house for 7 years and have never had any correspondence.Lowell Financial started writing to us about the debt to which I replied with the standard statute barred letter. They have come back saying that a payment was made in March 2004 which neither of us recall making at all and saying that because of this the Limitation Act does not apply. What response should I make to this? Also, Hamptons Legal (their trading partners) have also now written harking on about CCJ and AOE Orders etc.Await anyone's advice asap please. Thanks for your time

[OnMyWayOut]

Start your own thread to get the best help, otherwise it will be lost on this thread. In the meantime, write to them asking for proof of the alleged payment in 2004 - date, method of payment, amount, etc.

[ODC]

Originally Posted by Goofer

Hi all,I'm new to this site but have read through all your problems with this company and I am about to join you.My husband had a loan with TSB about 10 years ago which he was paying but unfortunately we had financial difficulties and he stopped paying well over 6 years ago - we have been in our current house for 7 years and have never had any correspondence.Lowell Financial started writing to us about the debt to which I replied with the standard statute barred letter. They have come back saying that a payment was made in March 2004 which neither of us recall making at all and saying that because of this the Limitation Act does not apply. What response should I make to this? Also, Hamptons Legal (their trading partners) have also now written harking on about CCJ and AOE Orders etc.Await anyone's advice asap please. Thanks for your time

Goofer the burden of proof that a payment was made in 2004 rests with Lowells. Its not unknown for a DCA to make a token payment when selling on a debt so as to extend the shelf life.

Demand the following

1. Amount paid
2. By whom paid
3. Where paid
4. Method of payment.

This date business is a particular ploy that has been used by these muppets before. In my case they quoted a date when I could conclusively PROVE that it would have been impossible for me to have made the alleged payment.

Make Lowells prove YOU made the payment. Thats not just my opinion thats the law.

[MRHBK]

dont let lowell bully you.tell them you do not acknowledge any debt to them and offer to go to court to settle this dispute.tell them you want to tell the court about their harrassment of you and for breaking the law.Also tell them you are making a complaint about them to the financial ombudsman.Call their bluff.they are idiots.

[chocolate fairy]

does anyone actually know if lowell financial and lowell portfolio are registered as data processors? do they have the right to pass info between each other? would be grateful if anyone knows

[Goofer]

Originally Posted by ODC

Goofer the burden of proof that a payment was made in 2004 rests with Lowells. Its not unknown for a DCA to make a token payment when selling on a debt so as to extend the shelf life.

Demand the following

1. Amount paid
2. By whom paid
3. Where paid
4. Method of payment.

This date business is a particular ploy that has been used by these muppets before. In my case they quoted a date when I could conclusively PROVE that it would have been impossible for me to have made the alleged payment.

Make Lowells prove YOU made the payment. Thats not just my opinion thats the law.

Thanks for the advice - do you know if there is a standard letter as I'm paranoid about landing us in it!

[Goofer]

Originally Posted by ODC

Goofer the burden of proof that a payment was made in 2004 rests with Lowells. Its not unknown for a DCA to make a token payment when selling on a debt so as to extend the shelf life.

Demand the following

1. Amount paid
2. By whom paid
3. Where paid
4. Method of payment.

This date business is a particular ploy that has been used by these muppets before. In my case they quoted a date when I could conclusively PROVE that it would have been impossible for me to have made the alleged payment.

Make Lowells prove YOU made the payment. Thats not just my opinion thats the law.

ONE OTHER THING I FORGOT TO MENTION, CHECKED CREDIT REPORT AND NO MENTION OF THIS DEBT TO TSB OR ANYONE ELSE, ONLY ONES THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY AWARE OF. SO DOES THIS MEAN THAT IT DOESN'T EXIST IF ITS NOT LISTED?