Firstly, I know many will say "You had the loan, You owe the money so pay it" and Yes there won't be an argument from me in regards to that. I just wasn't in a financial position to pay it back at the time it was due and subsequently sent/bought by Lowell. My point here is about the unethical practises and tactics 3rd party debt agencies employ. Debt Collecting Companies will never tell You how much they purchased your debt for because there's no legal obligation to do so which, for Me, is simply wrong. I've read that it can be anywhere between 4 and 20% of the original debt's total value. But, the [removed] states that debts where no payment has been made at all can and often do get sold for a fraction of the original face value and says, quote: 'One or Two pence of every Pound' so a £300 debt such as mine would have been bought, potentially, for £3.00. It is no mystery how and why Lowell have offered a 50% reduction settlement offer of a one off payment in full of £150! Absolute Con!

I took out a £300 Loan with Provident a while back and, due to non repayment, My debt has been sold on to Lowell. Lowell contacted Me by phone to inform Me they were a collection agency and my Debt with Provident had been passed to them and stated over the phone that I owed them over £500. I immediately asked how this was considering My original loan was £300 and the agent said that it was 'fees' when I asked what fee's He claimed an agent had called at My Home (Never happened) and this extra debt was call out fee's for the bailiff. I asked the rep. for a full and complete itemized breakdown showing what every penny over and above the original £300 was added for and how the debt had grown. He responded by telling Me "We do not send out information like that I'm afraid, Sir" and I said "Well I am afraid I am not paying it then." He then tried to use the 'Data Protection Act' as His reason why they could not do this and I stopped Him mid sentence to let Him know that as an employee of SKY TV selling products (Boxes, package upgrades, Broadband and Sky Talk etc) I myself am extremely familiar with the Data Protection Act as I have to work within it's guidelines and rules on a daily basis. He put Me on Hold to speak with His Manager and came back to say "Sir, MY Manager tells me You are correct in that it isn't Data Protection that bars this being done, it's simply not company policy to send itemized bills on request." I then said "Well I could ring anyone and claim they owe me 4 Million pounds and tell them when they natural ask how and why, 'I'm sorry, I'm not obligated to tell you that. Now are We paying by Visa or Mastercard?" Put on Hold a second time and came back to say "Sir, We will post the itemized bill showing what the extra charges are for and when then incurred. Have a nice day." One week later I received My 'Itemized' Debt. "Dear Mr _____ Account Balance Outstanding: £300" They tried it on because they simply assume if they tell You 'We are not obliged to send you itemized bill showing how and where extra charges incurred' that I, the debtor, won't know any better. I just wonder how many people have simply complied and paid who may not have known any better.