Thanks again Bazooka, you've cleared that up. So If Natwest claim I owed them 10k, have paid 6k and still owe them 4k. But I claim I only owed them 6k in the first place and have paid it all off, Natwest would have to provide the original credit agreement for 10k or some payment history between me and them on an account of 10k for a judge to agree with them that I still owe them 4k?

Ok thanks Bazooka. So if they have no credit agreement would this proof of financial relationship need to show the amount owed with payments made in the form of statements or such? Otherwise my old milkman could say I owe him ten grand just because I paid him a fiver a week for a couple of years!

Hi there iman, really pleased for you as I'm having problems of my own with these clowns. They should get absolutely battered for wasting time like this and taking the complete p** out of the court system. Not to mention the hassle its caused you.

Hi folks, While I'm waiting for a response to my letter I'd like to ask a question about proof of debt in the mean time please if anyone can help. In court what is accepted as proof that the debt is owed? Also if they do have some form of acceptable proof, what is deemed as proof that the actual amount owed is what the DCA says it is? From reading other threads on here it seems a DCA can issue a SD whether they can prove the debt or not which sounds outrageous to me! Surely a court should hammer a DCA for going down this route when they can't prove the amount owed or even any debt at all! Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read this and help me out.

I know this doesn't help solve the problem but having learned a bit about this outfit it seems they have somehow convinced themselves they are sincere, professional and have the moral high ground. There must have been a few ounces smoked at that team meeting, especially as the management are probably tax dodging, yuppie Alan Sugar wannabe's and the staff are probably people who failed the initial interview at Sports Direct and spend their time dreaming of getting laid while practising on their Mum's dog (probably a Pomeranian as bullies like to impose themselves on smaller creatures!) There's nothing like a good old fashioned generalisation, I wonder how far away I am?!

They have been on my experian file and done 7 searches in total in the last 7 months. 4 of them are on my current address and 3 of them are on my previous address. They are listed as unrecorded enquiries. Its says on Experian that any searches of my credit report should have been made with my consent. Also it says that searches are either related to credit applications I recently made or routine checks by lenders on accounts I already have. None of this applies to Lowell Portfolio 1. Can anything be done?

I've just checked my credit file Bazooka and there's a whole bunch of searches by Lowell Portfolio 1 on there going back a few months. Cheeky b£&@"£)s!

Thanks guys, I was paying by direct debit every month for 4 & 1/2 years but don't have any statements as it was from so long ago (2000-2005) and didn't expect them to try and pull my pants down like this! The original bank can't have any proof I owe this or they would have provided it years ago, they just piled on masses of charges and hoped I would pay but when I challenged them they just disappeared. I wasn't worried about these letters from Lowells at first, I just saw them as a sad attempt by these soulless robot parasites to get something for nothing but when I read about statutory demands and charging orders my bum clenched a bit because it seemed they could attempt these without proof that the debt is even mine! I will get that letter sorted and sent out, thanks again!

Hi, sorry Bazooka, I got a bit paranoid and thought I'd put too much detail in the original post so deleted it. Back in 2000 I lost my job and couldn't continue payments to my bank an for an overdraft, personal loan & credit card. They defaulted and shortly after this I got a new job I agreed over the phone to pay a certain amount per month which would have cleared the debt in 5 years (the total amount payable included significant default and interest charges including numerous £35 fees for sending letters etc. but they agreed to hold the interest from then on). This arrangement was with the banks in-house solicitors / DCA and did not get as far as a CCJ. I continued with these payments for 4 and 1/2 years during which time I never received a statement of balance or any communication whatsoever. At the 4 & 1/2 year mark I realised that I must be getting pretty close to clearing this so requested a balance as I was considering making one final payment to finish it off. However I was told over the phone that the balance was an amount close to 60% of the original amount from back in 2000! I was astounded so took advice and sent them the CCA letter together with fee (recorded & signed for) and received nothing other than a letter showing the balance they had told me over the phone less the fee I had enclosed. I sent them the relevant follow up letter (again recorded and signed for) and have paid them nothing nor heard or received anything from them since. Now after almost 5 years I have had letters from Hamptons (Lowells, thanks Bazooka) threatening me with bankruptcy and a charging order. I suspect they have bought it for pennies and are trying their arm as it won't be statute barred for another year or so with my last payment being in 2005. I totally dispute owing this money as I paid back a hell of a lot more than I borrowed and also they have no proof as far as I know that I owe anything. Do these people have me by the short & curlies? I've heard horror stories about statutory demands & charging orders. I would appreciate it if you could shed any light on this, thanks so much!

xxx