moved and getting snowed under with old owners DCA mail.

[Bazooka Boo]

Hello all, i have used this site for reference purposes previously, and i have read how a lot of you are threatened by these so called "debt collection" agencies threatening one thing or another. So now i feel it time to let you in on some of the "smoke & mirrors" tactics these companies use.

 

I have lived in my new property since last September, and of course the first couple of months i was returning to sender the previous occupiers mail. Most companies got the message, however some of them it seemed, the more i returned them the post the more they would send out in return, so now i have taken to opening the mail just to see exactly what it is they are so keen to share.

 

Undoubtedly they were from "debt collection" agencies, and i use that term very very loosely. More like harassment threatening agencies. I was going to ring them up to inform them of the change of occupier, but firstly i was not about to ring them on their 0870 numbers and secondly, after researching a couple of them on the Internet, and reading their "exemplary" ability to "track down debtors and gone aways" using "state of the art technology" i got to thinking just how long will they continue barking up the wrong tree?

 

So since December 2007 i started my unscientific experiment and collected all correspondence they were sending through the door, in the hope that one of their "Local agents" would in fact knock on the door and i would be able to hand the letters to him informing them of their incompetent mistake, and close the door grinning like a Cheshire cat!

To date not a single solitary "agent" "debt collector" or even Bailiff has so much as attempted to confirm who actually lives here!

 

The first letter i have is dated the 3rd September 2007, from a company calling themselves "Red debt collection services!

Then a very comical letter from "Robinson way and company Ltd" Claiming to have sent a "whole series of letters, telephone calls, and local representatives have repeatedly called at your address all with no success"

Well i hope you didn't pay for the representative because i can categorically say that, no-one has ever called at this address, nor rung, and that is the only letter to have been received from "Robinson way & co Ltd", because on the 8th October 2007 "Red debt collection services" sent another letter to say that they acting on behalf of their client "Lowell Portfolio I Ltd"

 

Then on the 5th November 2007"Lowell Financial" sent a letter asking for said debtor to get in touch on this freephone number 0800 0270194 to "confirm" the address details to be correct, if they did not hear anything then they would "assume" that the details were correct!

 

A letter on the 12th November, 21st November, a "Final Notice" on the 13th December, a "Final Demand" on the 20th December, (Merry Christmas) All from "Lowell Financial"

Then on New years Eve! (Happy New year!)"Hampton's Legal" feeling left out decided they ought to get in on the act by sending a letter on "behalf of our client Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd"

 

They then sent another letter on the 11th January 2008 a "Notice to issue a county court claim" on the 22nd January 2008, and followed by another letter this time from "Red debt collection services" on the 7th February who again re-iterated that they "had been appointed as the authorised debt collection agent for Lowell Portfolio"

And finally today i received another letter from "Red debt collection services" threatening that they were going to advise "their client Lowell Portfolio" to issue a claim in the county court! All and i mean ALL of the letters have threatened either court action, some form of legal action, bailiffs, door step collection agents, or "other means of collection?"

 

I know that i am on the outside looking in, and that i am in the fortunate position of not having this debt on my shoulders, and i can certainly see why people would be intimidated by these "malicious letters", but i have come to realise that, these letters are not generated by Human beings, they are simply computer driven printed automated standard letters, at a certain time spewing out the next level of threats in the hope that the recipient or debtor will make contact, if they don't the computer will simply wait an allotted period of time before printing of another malicious threatening letter.

 

That is Three companies chasing one person for the same debt, now either it is the same company just using different names, or they are contravening the Data protection act. I won't say that the left arm doesn't know what the right one is doing, but if you spend 5 or 10 minutes researching these companies who are chasing you for money, you would be mistaken in believing that they would know what you had had for breakfast and if you brushed your teeth today, it simply isn't so, they all talk the talk but very very few actually walk the walk, if there were any professionalism at all in these companies they would, at an instance, be able to tell that the previous occupier at this address has long gone. I for one have no intention of doing their work for them, they apparently have "sophisticated state of the art technology to trace debtors" Pull the other one it's got bell's on!

 

I hope that this may go some way in allaying peoples fears slightly that these bully's are'nt going to turn up kicking your door in in the middle of the night. If i get any further progress i will be sure to add it onto this site, but i won't hold my breath!

Edited December 30, 2009 by Bazooka Boo

[Struggling_Simon]

Well Said Boo, well said!

 

I think the funniest line I have ever seen in the much publicised twaddle was "Valid even if not read by you".

OK-dokey, we'll see how long that stands up in court.

 

I totally concur with your point of view. I recently found out that a certain DCA had sent no less than 6 letters to me regarding the same account over a two year period.....despite being informed by the incumbent occupier that I had ceased to reside at that address, 3 TIMES!!!

 

One such epistle even said 'If this letter is not correctly addressed to you, please call us to let us know that the addressee is incorrect?

Say what?

 

That DCA claimed that I had ignored them. Not quite, as I never knew that they had been sent. Apparently, it was my duty to inform the DCA that I had moved out. Except, I moved out before the DCA was allegedly assigned to collect the debt.

 

Sorry mateys, my crystal ball seems to be malfunctioning, I could not have known that you would be assigned. The original creditor was certainly informed of my movements.

 

Brings me on to another point - I was brought up never to open anyone elses mail. (Not that I am being accusatory Boo, just making the point.)

[loyalbrummie]

these companies are all linked and by linked i mean that nobby sits at 1 table as lowells , behind him sits nobby who is lowell portfolio behind him sits nobby who is red debt and behind him you guessed it sits nobby who is hamptons , all of them couldnt string a sentance together , they are the dullest lowest form of pondlife you will ever come across .

The last time I looked the only people who can arrest you were the police and there too busy catching speeding motorists .

They are nothing but bullies , i would love to meet face to face these imberciles and then let them sprout their drivel about how we have to speak to them because we owe them money (alledgedely), how we are going to prison for owing 200 on a card (yeh right ) DCA are bullies , dont let them win , dont give them what they want , if you are going to pay them only pay what you can afford , if you are not sure if you owe them or if they are legally obliged to collect a debt then read this site , it has all the answers and can really help you.

CAG v DCA CAG EVERYTIME

[ODC]

Lowell Farcical/Lowell Portfolio/Red Debt Collection/Hamptons iLegal are all tentacles of the one company. They pretend to be different people in the hope that they will sound important. All it is is the same threats differently compiled sent out bu the same Sinclair ZX80 computer. The only manual intervention is when the call centre monkey with the braincell replaces Lowell notepaper with Red Debt notepaper. Some of the threats seem to emminate from their state of the ark threat printing facilty in the salubrious Bellshill area near Glasgow.

[Struggling_Simon]

ODC .... Please don't be offensive to monkeys by comparing them to 'Collections Analysts'. Thank you.

 

I have to go feed the paper into the threat-o-matic now, I may be gone for some time.

[Bazooka Boo]

Brings me on to another point - I was brought up never to open anyone elses mail. (Not that I am being accusatory Boo, just making the point.)

 

I also agree Simon, however after returning numerous letters back to them initially, and after they insisted on continuing sending them, i felt that as this is now my property i had every right to open mail addressed here, if only to see what or indeed who i might be expected to encounter on my doorstep. And should the need arise for me to obtain credit, and in the event that it was refused, i would be able to understand why. But as is their lack of Professionalism i wholly expect this to run and run, gives me something to look forward to in the mornings when the postie delivers!

[kev100]

wouldn't it be a great idea for one of the Caggers to get a job in a DCA ... just to take the p**s out of em ..

[sillygirl1]

You can get the post office to redirect them before they are delivered to you, take the letters down and speak to somebody in person and they can go through the process. I think it costs £15 but at least it lets the DCA morons know it is NOT somebody at the address returning mail but a legal entity.

[honey5]

yes you can ask the post office to redirect mail, do they always comprehend? NO, ive lived here 14yr this yr and still get post for the woman that owned the house all of those years ago, i used to put them back in the post for approx the first 18mth, then contacted the PO and explained, but i still receive her mail to this day which i now just bin. My ex husband has been gone 4 yr come oct, same route taken with his mail, only his is either binned or i DO open court papers as im not being dragged down by him again

honey x

[dannyboy660]

Some of the threats seem to emminate from their state of the ark threat printing facilty in the salubrious Bellshill area near Glasgow.

 

The "If undelivered please return to blah blah Bellshill/Motherwell" is a bit of a con, my good man.

 

They use this address for their victims in Scotland, in an attempt to add a bit of credibility to their home visit threat. I mean, an address in Leeds is of no interest to anyone north of the border where the rules of the game are slightly different anyway.

 

How do I know there's nothing really there?? Because at one time I was resident astonshingly close to the place from whence these threats supposedly came. This was long before I had any dealings with them, but a work colleague went there with every intention of "kicking his @rse so hard he'll be wearing it for a hat" only to suffer the extreme disappointment of finding he'd been denied his chance of justice and conned...yet again.

 

If someone wants to jog my memory of the address, it might be possible for my little spy network to have a gander, but I'm already more than a little confident you'll find it's part of the smoke and mirrors trick.

[sillygirl1]

I'm doing the same with HFO Services in Wimbledon, I have 20 minutes between trains if I miss one and will take my digital camera and find out if their offices are as 'glossy' as they portray. In fact I am pretty certain they are somewhere different and the address is just a 'postal service' place.... might do that tomorrow as I should have my camera with me.

[tioatun]

Hello all.

Could anyone please post the address of Hampton that is stated on the letters you have received. thank you.

[ODC]

Hamptons are just Lowells by another name.

 

Send to this address

 

Lowell Group

Enterprise House

1 Apex View

Leeds

LS11 9BH

[tioatun]

Hello ODC,

 

thanks a really lot for that. You wouldn't know whether they have an address in London please? thanks

[ODC]

Not as far as I am aware. They are based in Leeds but have been known to pretend they are based in Scotland

[tioatun]

I see. Ok then, will use the Leeds address. Thanks again.

[ODC]

Thats their registered office. Are you possibly getting confused with Red Knight??

[tupty]

Ive reported Lowell To the Serious Fraud Office as I suggest you all do.

 

Having asked for them to show the deed of assignment in wirting and discussing it with them on the phone asking them why they haven't replied and failed to legally follow my complaint they duly closed my "account"

 

Writing off the debt I supposedly owed.

 

 

This company has made 10 million from basically bullying and threatening people into submission when in fact they have got a legal leg to stand on.

 

It has become more apprarent day by day that many of us here have seen them not turning up at court or not responding to legal letters simple because in FACT they DO NOT have the deed of assingment and therefore cannot prove they own the debt.

 

So they are obtaining money by deception and furthermore demanding money by menace.

 

THE SFO are very interested indeed.

 

And especially seen as a winding up order has been served on RED debt collections

 

MY Advice

 

Ignore their letters ignore their calls , record eveything times dates, phone calls and report to

 

Trading standards

FSA

OFT

SFO

 

Everyone should report them.

[coldav]

Does anybody know if they also have a branch at PO Box 8743, bellshill, ML4 3WU. They are a pest!

[ODC]

Does anybody know if they also have a branch at PO Box 8743, bellshill, ML4 3WU. They are a pest!

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland they sometimes use envelopes with this return address on them to make you think they are have a Sottish branch. Just another of their childish games. This Bellshill address is used by several DCAs. The address in fact refers to a rather run down industrial estate

[sillygirl1]

I have just posted a letter back to that very branch in Bellshill, they keep chasing somebody who doesn't live where I work - it's offices - I'm just waiting for their promised 'we will call' person. I'd seriously give them some grief.

 

Letter had clearly showing on the envelope 24866FANDF and then 4900 as another code against the barcode.

 

Stupid idiots.....

[funky funky frog]

I found these forums by googling Hamptons legal.

 

I received two letters today, one from Hamptons and one from Lowell Portfolio 1

 

Hamptons reads on the reverse of the envelope:

 

PO BOX 204

Leeds

LS11 1BH

 

Interestingly (I am based in Bristol) the one from Lowell Portfolio 1 reads:

 

PO Box 511

Bradley Stoke

Bristol

BS34 9BH

 

They traced me to my new address, to be honest i wasnt hiding from them anyways, we reached a stalemate the last time i dealt with them (2001/2002) as they were unable to provide a copy of my original credit agreement or what the debt was actually for.

 

It Starts.

[silverfox1961]

Hi,

 

No it doesn't start

 

If the last time they contacted you or you made any payment to this debt was 2001/2 then it is Statute Barred and they can politely sod off

 

fox

[funky funky frog]

Hi,

 

No it doesn't start

 

If the last time they contacted you or you made any payment to this debt was 2001/2 then it is Statute Barred and they can politely sod off

 

fox

 

AHHH! Thank you

[mr.ton]

7th October 2003 or before to be precise....