Statutory Demand from Red over EGG card debt

[gd47]

I've just received a SD from Red and I'm wondering what to do (if anything).

It came 2nd class post a couple of days ago.

 

A few points...

The original debt was incurred on an Egg credit card.

 

Creditor is Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd and the sum is £5784.79

 

One of the statements on the first page is "[ The creditor making this demand is a Minister of the Crown or a Government Department, and it is intended to present a bankruptcy petition in the High Court.]"

 

Is this technically correct (are Lowells really a government department!)?

 

Now there is a possibility that it could be statute barred, as I have never previously communicated with Lowells and I'm sure my last payment to Egg was more than six years ago.

 

Anyway, my current situation is fairly bad: Five and a half years ago I was made homeless (because of my debts). Because I was classed as a vulnerable person (various mental health problems) I was rehoused by the local council in emergency accommodation and have subsequently been allocated a council flat, where I have lived for the past five years.

I am in receipt of income support and DLA and am unable to work. There is no immediate prospect of returning to work.

 

The DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) suggested I give a friend or relative power of attorney over my financial affairs, after a lengthy interview with one of their appointed doctors. I haven't done this yet.

 

Quite honestly, I'm just past caring, after all, what can Lowells achieve by making me bankrupt?

I obviously have other debts (from checking my credit report it seems that three smaller ones have also been sold to Lowells, as well as a couple to Thames...a total of six in all).

No further loans/credit cards/store cards have been taken out since.

 

I have no assets, and only a basic bank account (after my current account was closed by Barclays).

 

At present, I'm managing to keep my head above water by very careful budgeting, with the invaluable help of a neighbour, who keeps a very close watch on my finances.

 

There is absolutely no way I can afford any repayment at present.

 

Sorry about the lengthy post, but I felt I had to "get things off my chest" so to speak.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[Boro]

I wouldnt worry about it, by the sounds of it red (who are the same company as lowells) are sending these out like confetti as a threat trying to bring in as many debts as possible to make their company look good as its up for sale, i have had one myself last week (for less than £1100 and it would cost them virtually that to bankrupt me!), if you can spare the cash you could send them a cca request (template on here) which will cost you a £1 fee plus the cost of registered post (so you can prove its been sent) which meens that they have 12 working days from the day following delivery to produce a valid credit agreement signed by you that meets all the prescribed terms, if after 12 working days they have not produced this document they are in default and cannot take any action against you unless they produce it, if a further calender month (30 days or 31 if ending on a sunday) and they continue to press for payment they have then committed a criminal offense and you can then report them (details on that if and when) now you can have the statutory demand set aside if you wish, forms will be available from your local court (forms 6.4 and 6.5) and there is no fee payable for doing this, i realy dont think you have anything to worry about in your circumstances though

[dx100uk]

yep either ignore or cca them

 

dx100uk

[rory32]

Okay the form you seem to have received is form 6.2 Statutory Demand under section 268(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986. Debt for Liquidated Sum Payable Immediately Following a Judgment or Order of the Court. Can you just confirm this is the form you've got please. The form should look like this http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/forms/6-2.doc

 

 

Is this technically correct (are Lowells really a government department!)?

 

No their not. It's just the way the form is phrased because the form is used when they have already been to court and the judge has granted them judgement against you. Have they given details of where the judgement was obtained?

 

Due to your current and ongoing situation bankruptcy isn't going to really effect you financially, there is no point in worrying about it too much.

The DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) suggested I give a friend or relative power of attorney over my financial affairs, after a lengthy interview with one of their appointed doctors. I haven't done this yet.

I really think you need to do this to take away any potential stress from your situation.

There is absolutely no way I can afford any repayment at present.

You would only have to pay what you could afford. If that is nothing (which is clearly the current case) then your creditors would get nothing out of your bankruptcy.

 

Red (who are part of Lowells) have been throwing out statutory demands to all and sundry at the moment. They obviously haven't done their homework in your case as SD's cost nothing to issue. A bankruptcy petition on the other hand can cost them thousands.

[gd47]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I must say I feel much better having "unburdened" myself in this way!

 

rory32...

 

The form I have received is not 6.2. It's actually 6.1 (also Rules 6.1).

As far as I can see, no judgement has been obtained against me, though the form has the heading Statutory Demand under section 268(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1968. Debt for Liquidated Sum Payable Immediately.

 

There is definitely no mention of Judgement or Order of the Court anywhere.

 

Hope this helps.

[rory32]

Okay 6.1 means that they haven't got a judgement (both forms are rules 6.1). If you want to get it set aside then it won't really cost you anything and all you need to do is send the statute barred letter and then enter in your application for a set aside that you believe the account is statute barred.

 

On the other hand if you wish to ignore it that may be okay as it's not going to have any effect on your financial situation. Personally though I just like to put these things to bed.

 

The statute barred letter template is template M here Normally I would say that you should send such things recorded delivery, but if you send it by normal post and just ask your post office to give you a proof of posting that will be fine.

 

You may want to ask for a copy of the agreement as well (it's unlikely that they will be able to produce this). You'll need to send them one pound admin fee for this. The copy of the agreement is important as without it they can not enforce an account even if it isn't statute barred.

 

As posted earlier Red seem to be sending out SD's to everyone at the moment. As soon as you contest it and ask for a set aside they withdraw the SD application.

[PI Guy]

in order to set aside you need to act before the statutory time period 18 days from service.

[gd47]

Signed up for a so-called "Credit Expert" report a month ago.

 

Received this today (and I include my reply!)

Without Predjudice

 

Do you seriously expect a telephone response to a junk/spam email?

Well, here is an "urgent" response from me...

 

Oh, I expect you gleaned an email address of mine from a company called Expirian (or rather Creditexpert (sic))

 

They can also xiss off.

 

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

From:

[email protected]

To:

Subject: Urgent: Please call Lowell Group

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:32:39 -0000

 

Dear

This is not a spam e-mail and should not be treated as junk mail!

 

Please contact The Lowell Group regarding an important matter, quoting reference number xxxxx by calling us on 0844 844 4739 Please do not reply by e-mail.

 

Thank you

 

Andrew Bartle

Chief Operations Officer

The Lowell Group

Any other suggestions?

[Ragtaggeorge]

Change your email, they will not stop, block one address they will use another, all automated I think like the phonecalls.

I once described a DCAs actions as 'double *unty' in writing, they went quiet and gave me 3 month free credit!

[hillards]

Sounds good to me ! :D:D

 

We are seeing more and more people getting this type of contact out of the blue, usually because they've taken up a 'free credit report' offer in which they have been asked for their current address, previous addresses, email address (to send the report to of course), info on who else lives there, how long they've been feeding next doors cat and so on.

 

It reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons where Chief Wiggum invites all the known crooks in the town to collect a free boat or something, the criminals are too daft to realise that they are heading for a trap, where they will be arrested.

 

In this case a free credit report is on the same basis as 'no such thing as a free lunch'? I know, too late now...

[rdm2006]

You should have said "My reply can be found in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram". LOL

[zazen.warrior]

Mmmm most here don't need a credit report to know where we are

[Happyfeet24]

I'm not sure if different sites work differently, but the site we use for our email service allows us to block a specific senders address in so much that it doesn't stop the sender sending emails to us but we just don't receive them. So as far as the sender is conserned they are sending their emails and we are receiving them and they don't know any different.

[ODC]

Why oh why do people contact the Credit Reference Agencies. It has been established beyond doubt that as soon as you supply them with ANY personal details they immediatly update the records and these records are picked up by their good buddies in the DCAs who suddenly start with their mailings, sms messages and threatening phone calls. Registering or updating with a CRA is IMHO a crazy thing to do. Not only does it open up the likelyhood of threaatening letters and calls. It also opens your mailbox up to pollution from Credit Card and Loan companies. Do NOT do the DCAs tracing work for them. Keep ALL your identities secret and this includes telephone (both landline and mobile) numbers and email addresses. These Cretins are not to be trusted. There is a definate conflict of interest here and we all know on which side the CRAs will come down. They will always back their paymasters and bedfellows in the DCA industry.

[rdm2006]

I'm not sure if different sites work differently, but the site we use for our email service allows us to block a specific senders address in so much that it doesn't stop the sender sending emails to us but we just don't receive them. So as far as the sender is conserned they are sending their emails and we are receiving them and they don't know any different.

 

They should get an email to say that it was undeliverable or rejected

[ScarletPimpernel]

As a Mac user, I can set up a 'rule' in Mac Mail which allows any email from an address to be returned to sender with a message. Macs have been able do this for years, so I imagine Windoze must have the ability by now

 

I used it successfully with MBNA - any email from any address with 'mbna' in it was bounced straight back to the sender with a message that told them that their message had been automatically returned unread.

 

On the subject of obtaining credit reference files, it seems to me that the CRAs are cynically exploiting the legal right of an individual to obtain a copy of the file. As far as I'm aware, a CRA cannot legally impose a condition or restriction on a file request - such as insisting that an application is an automatic consent for them to use or share any data supplied. Perhaps we need a carefully-worded application letter that specifically withholds consent for them to use the application data for anything other than meeting the request.

[hillards]

...As far as I'm aware, a CRA cannot legally impose a condition or restriction on a file request - such as insisting that an application is an automatic consent for them to use or share any data supplied. Perhaps we need a carefully-worded application letter that specifically withholds consent for them to use the application data for anything other than meeting the request.

 

The way they get round this is to ensure they have the right person to supply the report to, in getting that person to go through a lot of questions. In effect, it updates their credit reference file with 'verified' data, as supplied by the subject. You can't really dispute that being 100% correct then. So, you give them detaiuls of current and previous addresses, jobs, partners, socks and so on - they update their file, send your 'free' report and don't even thank you for saving them hours of tracing that data! Yes, you've just done part of their job for them...

 

As the file is now flagged as 'updated' it will show up when the DCA's next do a run through the CRA system, which they have access to of course. They run a 'spot the difference' check on a file, and if they then find a new phone number ore address for someone they hold an outstanding account for, they add that to their system...

 

As pointed out, getting a credit report is little more than telling the DCA's to come and get you... You could not insist that the CRA's keep the information you've supplied a secret as that goes against their very business model, to hold current and accurate data.

 

George Orwell has a lot to answer for.

[fiftypence]

For those that enjoy baiting DCA's though what better way to poke a stick at a hornets nest?

[alfwithhair]

I have onine account with Call Credit who have my email address, but have had never had anything from a DCA sent to it. I have also sent bog off emails to various DCA's but have never had one reply to my email box ever. I receive no phone calls from any of them either/

 

I don't think they like me very much. All I ever get it letters.

[bazaar]

As a Mac user, I can set up a 'rule' in Mac Mail which allows any email from an address to be returned to sender with a message. Macs have been able do this for years, so I imagine Windoze must have the ability by now

 

I used it successfully with MBNA - any email from any address with 'mbna' in it was bounced straight back to the sender with a message that told them that their message had been automatically returned unread.

 

On the subject of obtaining credit reference files, it seems to me that the CRAs are cynically exploiting the legal right of an individual to obtain a copy of the file. As far as I'm aware, a CRA cannot legally impose a condition or restriction on a file request - such as insisting that an application is an automatic consent for them to use or share any data supplied. Perhaps we need a carefully-worded application letter that specifically withholds consent for them to use the application data for anything other than meeting the request.

 

, I'm a Suse Linux person myself, If I want to send em back 5000 e-mails (by mistake of course:D,) its just a rule set up. but agree the spams can be stopped with a windoze system by now (sortof,lol).

These CRA's have operated by selling your details on in America for years.

You apply for your credit report because of some scary advert on tv, then get bombarded with offers of loans etc. When will people learn, eh?

Most people know what state their finances are in without having some git at a cra selling it on

[fiftypence]

I have onine account with Call Credit who have my email address, but have had never had anything from a DCA sent to it. I have also sent bog off emails to various DCA's but have never had one reply to my email box ever. I receive no phone calls from any of them either/

 

I don't think they like me very much. All I ever get it letters.

 

I have had replies to emails, but no phone calls, as they don't have my number and am ex-d