Hi Everyone, I've got a particularly horrible problem on my hands . . . well two of them, but let's start with this. In July 2013 I left the UK to live in America. However, during the move I neglected to settle an accuont with Three for a SIM used in a 3G iPad. Sometime in the last few weeks, I checked my credit report and there is a default. I should not be surprised, but I am upset about it, my UK credit was largely OK, but now it's completely useless, which sort of traps me here in another country. I can't rent or get a mortgage, or probably even get a phone. Ok - I approached Three and asked nicely. I will pay £49.08 if you completely remove the default. They refused. I asked for the original credit agreement, default notice (which i never saw) and the deed of assignment as it ended up with Lowell Portfolio. They responded that a SIM is not governed by the consumer credit act. This seems bleak - the default was added in 2014, I have a VISA until 2018. This is really not good!!!! at all. I have requested the same information - credit agreement, default notice and deed of assignment as a SAR under the DPA. I am still prepared to pay this money, as long as they remove the default - a settled default is no better than an unsettled one, as I understand it. My idea is this - I think for a default to be enforceable, I needed to have seen it? Which I did not. There is one other piece of weirdness in all of this. I use my Mum's address for all my correspondence, however I totally forgot about this Three SIM, so I did not update my address. However, when I spoke to Lowell Portfolio - they had my Mum's address and lo and behold just last week whilst this all blew up - my Mum received a letter from them! - they claim to have contacted me, maybe they did - I don;t know I was in America. Yet, my Mum is very fastidious at opening my mail and emailing me. they had her address but did not send anything prior to the default? How did they get her address? And is this relevant to their claim that 'they tried' Can anyone offer any advice, any suggestions - any argument, or mechanism I could attempt? I'm not even looking to dodge this; I made a mistake and should pay it. But, I feel that a 6 year penalty on an otherwise clean credit report for such a small sum is just unfair. I have made a SAR under the DPA - I'm hoping with this extra information something might arise in my favour? but, i really don;t feel confident. Being trapped in another country - sure isn't as much fun as it sounds. Really hoping someone has some advice, or an idea - or any suggestion that I could try! I have money available, and I have time; I just need to somehow get this default cleared. Thanks a lot in advance.

Hi guys, Going to try keep this short. in November 2014 I started looking at upgrading my phone as it was playing up. O2 couldn't offer me a suitable deal. So I moved to 3 in December 2015. When I got my PAC code and told o2 that I was moving they said any remaining monies would be taken from my account. That's what happened with my broadband account as I moved them both at the same time. Fast forward a year later I get a call from Lowell saying am I aware of a debt that's owed to o2. I told them not because I moved over a year ago and have had not contact from o2 since, only emails entitled, "Your monthly bill" and when I open them it simply states there's nothing to pay this month. Lowell got back to me saying that they contacted o2 and the debt was still outstanding. I then contacted o2 my self to make sure it wasn't a [problem] or anything and was shocked when they told me I still owed. I instantly paid the £154. As I'm sorting out a mortgage I decided to check my credit file and to my amazement there's a default on there from Lowell but no mention of o2. Ive had email contact with o2 referrals team but they are hopeless. They gave me a number to ring to get a refund and said I must pay Lowell directly. I have phoned them yet, I wanted to ask her first for advice. I'd be wary of o2. I've been there for 10 years, if there was money owed, they could've wrote, emailed or phoned. What to do now??

Hello all, I Received a letter from BWlegal dated the 18th of April 2016, on behalf of their clients Lowell Portfolio 1, that they will be commencing legal action and issuing a claim at the county court in respect to a debt. If payment or response is not received before the 5th of May they will issue the claim without further notice. I've done the necessary research before troubling yourselves and just want to confirm that I'm on the right track So a little background on my debt. This debt was originally with JD Williams under one of their mail order catalogues. The amount was under £80 but with charges it rocketed up to £437.93 (county court claim states this will go up to £687.53). With my other debts I managed to contact Barclaycard etc. and reduce the debt, but Lowell have refused any sort agreement similar to the others. I therefore refused to pay and put it on the back-burner. They have sent Annual statements on the 17th March 2016, with the line "...sent to you as required by the CCA 1974. On this statement they state that I have made no payments which is true and that the original agreement was made in 2008. Am I right in saying that this indicates the debt is statute barred? Should my next move be to request a CCA from Lowell, sending a copy to bwlegal of the request? Should I also send a SAR request to Lowell in relation reclaiming or removing charges? I'm finally getting a grip of my responsibilities as a debtor and rebuilding my credit rating, the last thing I want is a CCJ. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks for your time.

Hello all Today (18/4/2016) my wife received a letter from Lowell Solitors reminding her of a CCJ. Letter states as follows. As you will now be aware, on the 17/09/2014 a CCJ was entered against you. The court has ordered you repay this debt as follows. Installment amount £50 Monthy First payment due 17/10/2014 Amount owed £299.49 The letter goes on to say 'we haven't heard from you' and urge repayment to avoid possible enforcement action. Ive spoken to my wife (of rather attempted too. She is very poorley with a number of conditions and has been for years now) And she has very little recollection of the claimant who is Shop Direct. Ive been opening her post for her for a while as she doesnt have the mental capacity to deal with stuff most days. Im wondering what my first step should be.

I hope this is in the right place, please would any mod kindly move if not. I would appreciate any guidance along the way from pple more versed in the small claims court. Lowell Solicitors have lodged a claim with Northampton, particulars as follows. Issue Date: 18-1-2016 Amount approx: under £600 Claimant: Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD Solicitor: Lowell Solicitors Limited Original Credit: Shopacheck Particulars of Claim: 1) The defendant entered into a Consumer Credit Act 1974 regulated agreement with Shopacheck under account reference ******** ("the agreement"). 2) The defendant failed to maintain the required payments and a default notice was served and not complied with. 3) The agreement was later assigned to the claimant on **/**/2012 and notice given to the defendant. 4) Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of *** remains due and outstanding. And the claimant claims a) The said sum of *** b) Interest pursuant to s69 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue, acrruing at a daily rate of *** but limited to one year, being ***. c) Costs What I have done so far: 1) Acknowledgement of service - Online MCOL Website (20/01/2016) 2) Sent CCA REQUEST - £1 postal order - Signed For Post (21/01/2016) - Lowell Portfolio I Ltd 3) Sent CPR 31.14 - Requesting Default Notice, CCA Agreement and assignment - Signed For Post (21/01/2016) - Lowell Solicitors I Cannot for the life of me remember having shopacheck, but then again in 2012 my head was up my proverbial **** as my mother died that year. I have never received any default notice from Shopacheck or Lowells, I am very good with paperwork/documents/post, everything that comes that is official if filed in ring binder boxes... If I had received any default notice I would have acted. Also, I never received any letter from Shopacheck / Lowells to inform me that the debt has been re-assigned. I am not denying the loan but also am not accepting it as I just do not know, what I do know is I have had 20 + loans from shopacheck in the past since circa 2000 , so do have a financial history with the company I have looked through any/all paper work kept from previous loans but cannot find details of the one they are referring to with the reference number they gave me in the Particulars of Claim. So, as of 15/02/2016, Lowell Portfolio I Ltd have not replied to the CCA, Lowell Solicitors did reply to the CPR stating they are requesting the documents but that is as far as it went, they refused to answer my question asking for an agreement to extend the time for filing defence. Last night I filed my defence in time for the 15/02/2016 defence deadline. the defence was along the lines of this link Thanks to anyone who can help with guidance along the way

Hi all, I will try to be as clear as I can with my story. Took out a shop direct account back in 01/2007. After running up a debt of around £290, I could no longer afford repaying the account and in around 10/2008 they eventually placed a default against my name. This default is obviously due to drop off in the next few months now. In late 2009 I made a couple of £30 payments to bring the debt to around £238 however I could no longer afford to repay them. I actually heard nothing further from Shop Direct / Littlewoods after this. A few months ago (around late 2013) I get a letter from a company called Lowell claiming I now owed them the debt. I (maybe stupidly) decided to ignore them and today I got a letter from a company called Bryan Carters who have told me that they have started a CCJ application against me for around £420 (balance increased due to £100 interest and other associated costs). I've spoken with BC this morning and they have insisted that any action now must go through the courts and they cannot accept any part / full payment against the original balance of £238. I have yet to receive the 'Claim Form' however I'd imagine it will arrive with me any day now (if they for once are telling the truth). I've read around the forums' and most people at this stage are suggesting to raise a defence which I am happy to do. I guess my next stage is to CCA / SAR Lowell? I am just really after a couple of things; a) Obviously I've had this default hanging over my name now for the past 6 years, but now I could get CCJ'd and this will affect me for another 6 years (atleast). I want to know that if I file a defence I can still at a later stage offer to make a payment over this balance to ensure I don't get a CCJ. Will this option still be open for me further down the line? b) If there is anything else I should be doing which will help my case. I obviously don't doubt that I owe this debt, however I just want to make sure the correct process is followed by both them and I, and I don't particularly think I should have to have 12 years worth of ruined credit file for a debt so small. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will further update this thread once/if I get the claim form. Other information to note: - I've lived at the same address since account opening - I can't recall receiving any notice of assignment but this may not be the case - The default is placed by Lowell. I dont recall receiving a notice of default from them but again, this may not be the case - The default amount is for £288 however the current balance is for £238. Thanks!

Hi I have several debts that have been passed to Lowell's. I've had the usual letters from them requesting payment etc. Some of the balances though, seem a lot higher than i remember so have written to Lowell's the standard letter requesting CCA. The letter was dated 15th January 2016. I have had a couple of replies which read as follows: "you have requested documentation under sections 77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for this former/B]XXXX account. We have asked XXXX to provide us with the requested documentation and will send this to you as soon as possible. We aim to provide this to you within 12 working days. In the meantime this account is on hold and we will not contact you to request payment. If we have not heard anything from XXXX after 40 days we will send you an update." I received the following letter as a follow up to the above one: "We refer to your recent request under sections 77/78 of the consumer Credit Act 1974 for a copy of the documentation for this former XXXX account. We have requested a copy of the documentation but have not received this yet. Your account will remain on hold while we await the requested information from XXXX." My questions are: 1. In both letters they refer to the account as a "former" account. Does this mean the debt now belongs to Lowell completely or are they simply acting as an Agent? 2. I want to do a follow up letter to Lowell's about all the accounts but am unsure of the time scales within which they have to supply the requested information. I've tried looking this up but keep getting conflicting information. Am I correct in thinking that the first deadline is 12 days plus 2 (is this working days or just continuous days?)? They also mention a further 40 days time limit. From the research I've done I've only come across 30 days but again don't know if this is working days or not. Could someone please clarify the time limits and from which date each time limit should commence? 3. Finally could someone advise on a follow up letter or a template letter that i can use? The original letter I sent made no acknowledgement to the debts. Hope someone can help.

Hi Can anyone point me to a short but sweet letter to use for all 3 CRAs to give them a chance to remove wrongful/incorrect defaults from my reports? Thanks in advance.

I am now in a position to tidy up my finances. I have been making monthly payments to Lowell for 6 accounts. I have sent to a CCA request for all 6 accounts. They have replied for 3 and the other 3 are currently on hold. The 3 that i have have had a response for were all mobile contracts. Lowell stated Three have been unable to supply all the documentation i have requested and because of this Lowell are unable to recover these 3 debts by court action. They also said "never less, we do believe they have supplied enough evidence to demonstrate the accounts are valid and owning as i have been making payments since 2012." They go onto to offer me a 20% discount to close the accounts... I emailed them requesting as they could not pursue i would like to request that you do not contact me regarding these debts and continuation to do so will be classed as harassment and will be reported accordingly. They replied along the lines of "please be aware that the outstanding balances are correct and due" Where do i stand with these account now? Thank you.

Hello, this morning received a Claim Form from Bryan Carter. Claimant: Lowell Portfolio Limited Date of issue – 15/5/2015 What is the claim for – The Claimants claim is for the sum of 2253, being monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant under an Agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 between the Defendant and Lloyds under account reference xxxxxxx and assigned to the Claimant on 30/6/2014, notice of which has been given to the Defendant. The Defendant failed to maintain contractual repayment under the terms of the agreement and a Default Notice has been served which has not been complied with. And the Claimant claims £2253 The Claimant also claims statutory interest pursuant to S.69 of the County Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment of the Agreement to date but limited to a maximum of one year and a maximum of 1000 amounting to 157. What is the value of the claim? £2595 The claim is for a current account/overdraft I entered into the original agreement in 1989. It is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. I did not receive a Notice of Assignment. Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? Not sure. Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year? No. Why did you cease payments? Had to stop work to care for my wife who was seriously ill. What was the date of your last payment? May 2011 There was no dispute with the original creditor. Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor? Yes I explained my situation to Lloyds (where I had banked for over 20 years) and they said they would not pursue. I have printed off a CPR31.14 request to both Lowell and Bryan Carter. I used the template for current accounts. I haven’t posted these yet. I haven’t Acknowledged Service yet either. Will wait for advice on here before I proceed further. My wife became very ill in 2011 and I had to stop work to care for her. I ended up in a lot of debt and the defaults on my credit file amount to about £18k. None are from the original creditors. My wife had lifesaving surgery last year and is now finally on the mend. I’m hoping to get back to work soon (been living on carer’s allowance and her DLA) but I’m worried that all the creditors are now going to jump out of the woodwork and we will be going back to work with huge debts hanging over us. We are both pushing 60 and don’t want our pensions (in 7 years time) to be eaten up by these debts. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. Thanks x

Hi all, i have just received a court claim letter requesting payment for what appears to be an old overdraft for just over 500.00 pounds. As far as aware i requested the account to be closed approx 6 to 7 years ago. Do not recall having letters from lloyds bank, only letters and phone calls from dcas. Can overdrafts be statue barred??? If so how can i find out?? No payment has been made to account for years. Also got letter from carters saying court letter will come and to call them to discuss? Are they bluffing? Any help advise please. many thanks

i have submitted a Acknowledgment of Service via MCOL Can anybody please advice on how to defend my claim and what steps i should take please? Thank you In order for us to help you we require the following information:- Name of the Claimant ? Lowell Portfolio l LTD Date of issue Date of issue 11/1/16 What is the claim for Particulars of Claim 1) The Defendant entered into an agreement with Vodafone under account reference ('the Agreement'). 2) The Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and a default notice was served and not complied with. 3) The Agreement was later assigned to the Claimant on 10/10/2011 and notice given to the Defendant. 4) Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £490.08 remains due and outstanding. And the Claimant claims a) The said sum of £490.08 b) Interest pursuant to 569 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue. accruing at a daily rate of £0,107, but limited to one year, being £39.21 c) Costs What is the value of the claim? 659.29 Is the claim for a current account (Overdraft) or credit/loan account or mobile phone account? Mobile phone When did you enter into the original agreement before or after 2007? I have no knowledge of the contract Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. - Debt purchaser Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? No notice was received too my knowledge Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? No Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ? No Why did you cease payments? No knowledge of the account What was the date of your last payment? ? No knowledge of the account Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? No Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan?

Hi, I have not been on here for quite some time. My daughter has just received a letter from the county court business centre saying that it is a Judgement for Claimant (in default) The debt was with O2 and the last payment was over 6 years ago (this is why my daughter did not reply to the claim form, she thought it was a [problem]). Any advice on how to handle this would be much appreciated. Kind Regards Bigandy

Hello All Firstly thank for help in my other posts. Just to make things worst came back home and found claim form from bryan carter regarding lowell related to Lloyds. quick info: name of the claimant: lowell portfolio i ltd date of issue: 9th october 2015 particulars of claim: "the claimants claim is for the sum of xxx, being monies due from the defendant to the claimant under an agreement regulated by the consumer credit act 1974 between the defendant and Lloyds under account reference xxxxxxxxxxxxxx and assigned to the claimant on xxxxxxxxxxx notice of which has been given to the defendant. the defendant failed to maintain contractual repayment under the terms of the agreement and default notice has been served which has not been complied with. and the claimant claims xxxxx the claimant also claims statutory interest persuant to s.69 of the country act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment of the agreement to date but limited to maximum of one year a maximum of..." value of the claim : 1300 - current account/overdraft i did not received notice of assignment, notice of default sums, anything except demand of payment from time to time from different dca. before i came back home i posted letter to bryan carted with information that debt is staturatory barred under limitation act 1980. i checked my files and last payment was made back in 2009 and payment demand from Lloyds was also in 2009 besides if oryginal entry regarding this account vanished from credit report it must be over 6 years am i correct? well cant check it atm because Lloyds account just vanished from my credit score and i got some document at work so will confirm that. what i should do next? acknowledge and fill out defence based on SB or proceed with defend in full like other people ? im bit confused...? thanks for help guys lowell claiming that account was defaulted in 2010.

Hi everyone I'm trying to sort out my credit file so i can apply for a mortgage. In the past I was careless with money but for the past couple of years I have been responsible. I have 4 defaults on my file, one is for a capital one card. The account was opened in 2009 and since 2010 the card was not used and I was paying off the minimum payment each month (by automatic payment) My bank card had to be changed when i got married and I didn't update the payment method and I had arrears letters which I stupidly ignored. I did not hear anything for a good while and the debt got sold to Lowell in 2014 The default date is 14/6/2014 and the debt is fully satisfied. I paid it off in full recently Is there any way i can get this removed from my credit file? This is my most recent default and I don't want to wait until 2020 to apply for a mortgage (I will be nearly 40 at that time) Recently for the past 12 months I have accounts with vanquis, aqua, jd william, very, littlewoods, ee, vodaphone, o2 that are all upto date with no late payments. I am rebuilding my credit file but I will find it difficult to get a mortgage with these defaults on here. Thanks

Hi, I wondered if anyone can help. I searched my credit file today & in the closed account section, there is 2 accounts with Lowell. I had problems with them in the past, but these were sorted out many years ago. From what I can tell, on one account they show payments of £11 a month finishing in 2011 & £10 a month finishing in 2015. My issues are 1. I didn't make these payments & have bank statements to prove. 2. By Lowell showing these payments, accounts on my credit file which should have been removed by now, are still there effecting my report & score. ((It says on my report that the only 2 negatives are that I have a serious default with Lowell & that I don't have a credit card) 3. When the accounts were closed it still shows a balance of £11 on one account & £10 on the other What can I do? Any help or advice gratefully received.

Well That was an interesting experience. Was wanting to get a partial settlement and he initially said he could offer a 5% discount and then he said the maximum was 10% so I wasn't interested. He then wanted to go over my income to try and get me to pay more but obviously I wasn't interested in that. Probably the least professional and useful debt collector i've ever spoke to. Might be helpful for people who want a significant discount to know you're wasting your time. Phoned capital one and they were willing to give me 30% but that's not as much as i'd want. Maybe I'm expecting too much!

Hi all I have an old Grattan debt that has now been taken over by Grattan's. With Grattan's bizzare accounting system they had divided the account into two: Up until a month ago there were two Grattan accounts on my credit file, one was a default and the other showed as settled and dated 2011. - Neither show on my credit file now??? I had CCa'd Grattan and got this response: Dear.... Your email has been passed for my attention with regard to the above numbered account. With regard to your request for a copy of the agreement unfortunately your request for information under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 does not comply with the requirements for such under the act, and therefore we are under no obligation to furnish you with the information requested. I trust this resolves your enquiry, if I can be of any further assistance please contact me. Yours sincerely I know this is bogus (well I hope so) and the fact that they did not supply an agreement puts the account into dispute. Lowell however are ringing and sending their letters. They have just sent me a statment of account for both accounts. I am worried that they will now place a default on my file. Do I send them a prove it letter and if so which one?

hi, I was given a bulk load of mail from a previous address at the weekend (moved September 2015) After going thru the letters, I found letter after letter from Lowell portfolio debt company saying about putting a CCJ against me for £300 (now £407 with court costs) and then I found a letter from Northampton county court issuing a CCJ for £50 per month and the first payment was for the 19th of this month (I opened the letter on 20th). I am not sure what to do as this is the first time i've had a CCJ. I have proof of when I moved last year but shouldn't they be able to find my correct address instead of just sending important letters to an old address? either way I am unsure what to do. thanks

Hello - I'm new to the forum. I come across the site after searching for ways to sort my defaulted account so thought I'd post up a summary of my situation to see what advise you can give me. It has been around 3 years since this started so fees and owings may be a couple of pound out. Everything started after being a couple of days late with car repayments. I was charged £40 each late payment by the car finance company and then circa £60 by Lloyds because it went over my overdraft. When I eventually went over my £100 overdraft after paying the car payments, to approx £125, I had a phone call from Lloyds offering a monthly payment agreement which consisted of £10 per month (£4 was fees). I paid the £10 for the month and then got another £60 charge from Lloyds. I immediately phoned up to which they said that this is for the month before making the agreement. So I agreed and carried on paying the £10 a month. The month after, I got another £60 fee. I definitely did not owe this. I rang up and discussed this to which they said I owe them this for whatever reasons they gave. I had already paid the £10 that month but told them I will not be paying the next month. What is the point in paying £10, which is actually £6 off my outstanding balance and £4 fees when I will only have to pay £60 more fees. 1 step forward 2 steps back. This obviously then entailed more fees to which Lloyds offered another agreement. I agreed another £10 per month agreement as it was the only way I would ever pay off what I owed. I paid the £10 and then got another £60 fee for after the agreement was made! Back to square one. I didn't pay the month after, more fees were applied, we then agreed a third agreement for £10 a month. In my head it was the only way I was going to get out of this situation. My frustration was huge but what could I do?. I spoke to a different person every day who has no clues or notes about what has been going on the past months. Wires kept getting crossed. Admin errors kept getting made and I basically kept getting shafted. Guess what happened next? Same again! I then went to the bank manager of my local branch who said she couldn't deal with the people on the phone but did anyway. After her being on the phone for over 2 hours she said there are wires being crossed due to dealing with people in India and England and their databases don't seem to be synced up. After more time of me saying I don't want another agreement and would prefer to be took to court......... another £10 per month agreement was made . Yep the same thing happened 2 months after. Since then I have sent letter to an address in Birmingham I was given but have had no reply. The debt has been passed to numerous debt collecting agencies but when I explain what has happened it always gets passed back and then sold to someone else. What can I do? The account has defaulted at £518 which I only noticed when I signed up to Experian 2 months ago. I was hoping to get a mortgage next year but that is obviously not a possibility now. I was also never sent a letter telling me I have that default against me. I was thinking sending a letter to the highest person possible but what use would that do me? I've been fighting this for years but keep going round in circles. Sorry for the long post which doesn't give a lot of details. I have copies of my agreements but have no proof of any of the phone calls. I would really appreciate some advice... anything to keep my sanity. Thank you.

Not sure where to start with this one. After a period of terrible financial decisions (or more aptly completely ignoring financial issues) after the breakdown of my marriage, I am now trying to tackle my financial situation head on and trying to fix my credit record. I have 3 defaults showing on my account, all to Lowell Group. One is for a debt of £1900 for JD Williams catalogue in 2008. I opened and account and my ex-husband bought a ton of stuff on my account, and like many of his debts to me, didn’t pay it. I had contacted JD Williams back in 2008/9 to explain and try and arrange a repayment plan, however they were unhelpful and it was passed to various DCA’s who I have ignored for years (not wise I know) and it’s been sat with Lowell for some years. From time to time they send fishing letters to my current address in my previous name, telling me how understanding they are and asking me to pay a reduced rate. I have so far ignored these too. They recorded a default on my credit record in Jan 2012 (not sure why so long later). The other 2 are for a mobile phone with Orange, where I cancelled my contract but they disputed I was out of the repayment term and charged me a whacking great amount. I went back and forth for a while then gave up and avoided the DCA letters ever since (2009). The last was for a credit card with Capital One, which I defaulted on – all my own stupid fault. I know I can’t ignore them forever as I really want these defaults off my accounts and to be in a position to apply for a mortgage in 3/4 years. Please can you give me some advice on how best to approach Lowell. I’m aware I’ll have to pay the money back, but do you think there is a way to come to a settlement with them where they’d remove the defaults if I can arrange to pay? Or is there any way to question if the defaults have been added correctly? Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone. I have found myself to be in a predicament and urgently need your advice. Situation: I have 3 debts with Lowell totalling £410. I recently got an experian credit check to see what my score was. At this moment in time it is 640. After speaking to StepChange about sorting out my debt they advised me that I could either talk to them individually and make token payments till my situation changes (I am on JSA and receive £146 every fortnight/£293 a month) or apply for a debt relief order (My total debts including other creditors = £1100). The DRO was mentioned as the final last result since it stays on your credit file for 6 years (Would be there until 2021!). StepChange advised me to inform my creditors that I was in the process of talking to them, so that I would have 30 days without any action being taken against me. I spoke to Lowell about my situation and that I was talking advice from StepChange. The agent I spoke to mentioned that they had more than one debt in my name and that they had recently taken on another one. After mentioning that I was speaking to StepChange the agent told me my account would be placed on hold for 30 days (I called them on the 13th August). I received two letters from them dated the 14th August each for different bills, but I did not receive one for my £211 debt. Yesterday (21st August) I received a Claimform (Dated the 20th August) from Lowell and Bryan Carter Solicitors. The original debt was £211 and based on interest has risen to £218. Additionally, £25 court fee and £50 solicitor fee has been added making the total £293. What would you recommend? Firstly if I was to pay the Claimform within 30 days (So that it doesn't stay on record for 6 years) would I have to pay the "Amount Claimed" which is £218 or would I have to pay the total cost of £293? This solution would leave me in an extremely bad position as I can barely afford things as it is. Furthermore, what is my position in that Lowell knew I was talking to StepChange and only put 2 out of 3 accounts on hold thus leading to the claimform being taken against me? They have put two accounts on hold which total £199 which they know I am struggling to pay, yet send a Claimform for the one that costs even more! (£218). I don't get why they wouldn't apply this hold on to all of my accounts that they hold for me

Hi guys. Started getting texts, emails and letters from Lowell for an old Additions account. I had already SAR'd Barclays and have the paperwork. It seems the last credit to the account was around 2004. Should be statute barred except I've been making token payments until 2014. There is nothing on my credit files. I know that Lowells have a tendency to add defaults well after the fact so I'm keeping an eye out and will act to get it removed if they do. Reading other posts I know that the clock kept running due to the token payments so not SB. However I'm not sure if Lowells have that info and are just chancing their arm. I'm tempted to send a prove it letter to get them off my back. Not sure whether to do that or just ignore them. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi All Sorry to worry you but ignoring it may not be enough with this ****. I had the same issues with Lowlife and decided to ignore it until they stuck a default on my credit file. I have been trying for the last two years to get it removed and to get redress. In Jan 2014 they finally admitted it was not my debt. I expected they would do the decent thing and just remove the default. NOPE in June 2015 I received a CCJ for it from Bryants solicitors acting on behalf of lowlife. My defence was obviously the letter from lowlife stating the debt was not mine. I heard nothing from them even though the case was apparently dropped. I involved the FOS and they have been next to useless. I am still fighting to get the default removed still to this day. I have now advised the ICO and they have opened a case. The letters keep coming from other debt collectors still and the nightmare never ends. The FOS stated the following. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- my findings Lowell has confirmed that they accept that the account that they were contacting you about, is not yours. As per my email dated 19 August 2015, Lowell has told me that they have taken the necessary actions to prevent further contact being made to you by telephone/ text. Lowell has also confirmed that they have no debts that they are holding you responsible for. After Lowell received a letter from our service dated 23 July 2015, they wrote to your directly – the letter was dated 29 July 2015. Within their letter, they have said that the account that they had been contacting you about had been passed to ‘ Fredrickson International Ltd’ in March 2015. It would appear that it was this company who were pursuing a court claim. Lowell contacted Frederickson International Ltd, who has confirmed that the court claim was discontinued on 17 June 2015. You have told me that you have been in contact with the credit reference agencies for some time, in regards to clearing up your credit file. You have told me that you made the necessary actions to remove the information associated with another xxx xxxx. Unfortunately there is no permanent way to prevent lenders or debt collection agencies tracing your details, in the place of someone with the same name. All you can do is contact any company that you receive letters from to advise them of the situation. The credit reference agencies will be able to ensure that the information recorded on your credit file is accurate and may be able to offer you further advice in regards to what you can do. I appreciate that being linked to someone with the same name and bring contacted about their debt is inconvenient. However, as Lowell has taken the necessary actions to prevent further contact regarding this debt, I do not feel that there is anything further that I can ask Lowell to do. However, if when you check your credit file, there is anything relating to this debt (registered by Lowell) please let me know. Lowell accepts that they may have caused you distress and inconvenience when contacting you. Therefore, in their final response letter dated 29 July 2015 – they have offered you £250 compensation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SO with this details I tried to get the default of my Credit file. to which the response was ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm writing in relation to your recent query with: *Lowell Portfolio I Ltd (Account Started 22/09/2008) They have provided following details, "Our Complaints team are investigating this account and are in communication with the Financial Ombudsman. The case summary was forwarded to to the, on the 12/08/15 and we are awaiting their response. Once an outcome is known, if an amendment is needed we will action this in due course." They've confirmed that this information is accurate, so I'm afraid I can't make any changes to it. I understand that this may not be the outcome you were hoping for. If you'd like to discuss their decision, you should contact them directly.

Hello everyone, Just looking for a little guidance after I received a letter from Lowell. The letter relates to a debt I have with GE Money for which a CCJ was issued against me back in 2010. Lowell now own that debt and are seeking payment or they will enforce the CCJ and instruct bailiffs to visit my property. I have looked at my credit report on both Experian and Equifax and there is no CCJ on there and this debt is no longer on them either which i'm guessing is because six years has passed. Just wondering where I should go from here? I definitely do not want them enforcing the CCJ but I am unemployed at the moment and cannot afford to pay this debt. Also, it's took them six years to get in touch again, so are they really gonna go any further than this threatening letter? Kind regards, Shane