A debt sold by barclaycard to Lowell Financial

[sabby1978]

Hi there,

 

I've recieved advice on here before which was excellent and wanted to get advice about another issue.

 

Many years ago i had a credit card with Barclays unfortunately i had a breakdown and was unable to pay. Eventually i came to an arrangement and since 2008 have being paying them each month for this debt without missing a payment. I acknowledge that the amount is nominal but when they made the agreement it was based on my financial situation and they had all the relevant information.

 

My problem is that two weeks ago i recieved a letter from Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd (and several letters since) saying that they have bought the debt from Barclays and demanding that I call them to come to an arrangement to clear the outstaning balance.

 

I will not call them as i know that this will be an acknowledgment of the debt but I am wondering what I should do and whether Barclays can sell the debt in light of the fact that we had come to arrangement some time ago and that this arrangment has not been broken by myself.

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[cerberusalert]

Was there any period of six years (five if you're in Scotland) where you made no payments or written acknowledgement of the debt?

[sabby1978]

There probably nearly was but I enetered into an agreement and have been making payments since 2008 to Barclays (although very small this was the agreed amount), I have not missed any so i cant undertand why the debt has been sold or why Lowells has contacted me in light of the fact i have not broken the agreement agreed with Barclays.

 

Should i cancel the standing order with barclays?

[sabby1978]

And what should i do about Lowells?

[harrassed senior]

If you are sure there was no clear period of 6 years prior to entering into the payment plan, then the first thing I would do would be to send the 'prove it' letter to lowell to ensure they have the right to collect. Have any of the letters from them that you have received contained notification of this, and have Barclays also written and told you this information?

[sabby1978]

Is the 'prove it letter' the the CCA letter?

 

Lowells sent me two letters in the same envelope, one supposedly from barclays saying that they had the sold the debt to Lowells and any contact with regards to the debt should be directed to Lowells, I say supposedly because of the poor quality paper it was printed on and the fact that it was sent in the same envelope as the Lowells letter. The other letter was from Lowells saying i had not cleared the balance or entered into a repayment plan (which is untrue - i have been paying £2.50 a month since 2008 without fail) and prompting me into calling them to set up a repayment plan.

 

I have had no formal notification from Barclays apart from the letter that Lowells sent me which makes me a little dubious.

 

I can get the CCA letter out tomorrow but am wondering what i will do next and whether i should cancel the DD with Barclays.

 

Any help you you could offer would be much appreciated

[sabby1978]

1. Hi there,

 

I've received advice on here before which was excellent and wanted to get advice about another issue.

 

Many years ago i had a credit card with Barclyas unfortunately i had a Breakdown and was unable to pay. Eventually i came to an arrangement with Barclays and since 2008 have being paying them each month for this debt without missing a payment. I acknowledge that the amount is nominal but when they made the agreement it was based on my financial situation and they had all the relevant information.

 

My problem is that two weeks ago i received a letter from Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd (and several letters since) saying that they have bought the debt from Barclays and demanding that I call them to come to an arrangement to clear the outstanding balance.

 

Initially Lowell’s sent me two letters in the same envelope, one supposedly from Barclays saying that they had the sold the debt to Lowell’s and any contact with regards to the debt should be directed to them, I say supposedly because of the poor quality paper it was printed on and the fact that it was sent in the same envelope as the Lowell’s letter. The other letter was from Lowell’s saying i had not cleared the balance or entered into a repayment plan (which is untrue - i have been paying £2.50 a month since 2008 without fail) and prompting me into calling them to set up a repayment plan.

 

I have had no formal notification from Barclays apart from the letter that Lowell’s sent me which makes me a little dubious. I will not call Lowell’s as i know that this will be an acknowledgment of the debt but I am wondering what I should do and whether Barclays can sell the debt in light of the fact that we had come to arrangement some time ago and that this arrangement has not been broken by myself.

 

I can get the CCA letter out today but am wondering what i will do next and whether i should cancel the DD with Barclays and whether Barclays have the right to sell the debt without first notifying me. I am also wondering what Lowell’s position is with regards to the debt and how I can get them off my back

 

Any help you could offer would be much appreciated!

[PGH7447]

leave the DD with Barclays, if they cant be arsed to tell you then Lowells can run and jump

 

Write back to Lowells and state that until a NOA has been recieved from Barclays you are not dealing with them, see what happens then, save the cca request for later

[sabby1978]

Many thanks!

 

To clarify what is a NOA?

[sabby1978]

Hi there,

strike off mylast comment just looked at the debt terminology section.

Will get that in the post today!

Many thanks

[nicklea]

leave the DD with Barclays, if they cant be arsed to tell you then Lowells can run and jump

 

Write back to Lowells and state that until a NOA has been recieved from Barclays you are not dealing with them, see what happens then, save the cca request for later

 

The OP has already said that he/she has received written notice of the assignment.

 

To answer your question sabby, yes they can sell the debt at any time.

 

Personally, I would carry on paying Barclays direct - they will passs the payments on to Lowells - and do not communicate with Lowells, especially do not write to them

 

EDIT

 

ps Despite what PGH says, notice of the assignment does not have to come from Barclays - it can come from either party

Edited February 26, 2011 by nicklea

[sabby1978]

Thanks for that advice but how do i get the letters from Lowell's to stop as they are beginning to distress me, especially in light of the fact that i do have a repayment plan in place with Barclays

[nicklea]

Thanks for that advice but how do i get the letters from Lowell's to stop as they are beginning to distress me, especially in light of the fact that i do have a repayment plan in place with Barclays

 

If that is the case then you will need to write to Lowells and start paying them instead

[sabby1978]

I am a little confused now as the advice given is very different.

Can anyone else shed any light on this?

 

Please help!

[bluedogx]

If you want a quiet ( relatively) life then make the payments to Lowell. It has been assigned to them so

they are the legal owners. It's possible they are not aware of the payment arrangement.

 

B

[sabby1978]

Thankyou bluedogX

[bluedogx]

You're welcome.

 

Remember that they will ask you for more every so often. Stay strong and send a statement of affairs showing thats all you can afford if you want as I find that helps

 

B

[vjohn82]

An NOA from Lowells is perfectly acceptable providing that it states the balance correctly. If it doesn't then the assignment is ineffective and Barclaycard still hold the account until the problem is rectified.

 

If the balance is wrong, continue to pay Barclaycard until such a time a proper notice of assignment is offered. I can help you with a letter to send to both lenders.

 

If the balance is correct we move on to the following points.

 

The question arises as to why Barclaycard has sold it? No need to answer that question right now although I suspect I know the reasons why

 

Ok, couple of questions from me:

 

1) Are you able to scan documents? If so, can you please scan everything you have received from Lowell (with your personal details covered up)?

 

2) Can you recall the exact date the initial agreement might have been signed?

 

3) Have you ever received a default notice?

[jimbo45]

You're welcome.

 

Remember that they will ask you for more every so often. Stay strong and send a statement of affairs showing thats all you can afford if you want as I find that helps

 

B

 

Hi there

 

Please NEVER send a statement of affairs to a DCA -- only a Court can demand this.

If Lowells-- Low life's that they are - want to up your payments just tell them to Foxtrot Oscar -- you have an agreement in place which you are carrying on with and if THEY don't like it --Tough --THEY can attempt to get more at Court.

 

They won't usually do this as even their pea sized brains realize that a Court is far more likely to REDUCE payments -- in some cases to as little as a nominal 1GBP a month.

 

In all these situations TAKE CONTROL -- don't be ruled by these low lifes who'se only purpose in life is to squeeze as much money out of you as possible making your life as miserable as possible in the process.

 

I think nearly everybody on these Forums should realize that when debts are SOLD ON the Buyer pays peanuts --10% is often quoted but these days that's way way too much. The real figure is nearer 2 - 5% - especially when the Bank or Original Creditor considers these in Stock Exchange Parlance" as "Non Performing Debts / "assets".

 

Fortunately I'm almost 100% debt free now but I still have a golden rule --if a Debt has been "Bought" by a third party I NEVER pay the full amount -- usually these scumbags will accept a lower Full and Final settlement.

 

If they think you know your rights they will move on to more "hapless victims" who unfortunately have never heard og this excellent site.

 

Lots of people get into debt --often through no fault of their own. It happens --it's not evil or criminal --although the antics of those chasing debts often are.

 

So good motto for 2011

 

"Visit the Cag today

and send a DCA on his merry way."!

 

Cheers

jimbo

[sabby1978]

Hi there Vjohn82,

 

I dont have a scanner but the letter first letter was a NOA and was as follows:

 

Letter 1

 

Dear Mrs (they used my married name, which i have not used for four years as i am now divorced)

 

We hereby give notice of the assignment of the debt due from you in respect of the balance of £377.06 outstanding on your Barclaycard account.

 

On 17/8/2010 your account was sold to Lowell Portfolio1 Ltd.

 

Any further communications and payments must therefore be addressed to Lowell Portfolio1 Ltd.

 

Enterprise House

1 Apex View

Leeds

LS11 9BH

 

Yours sincerely

(a signature that cant be read and no printed name)

For and behalf of Barclays Bank PLC

 

Letter 2 (in the same envelope)

 

(almost looks like a credit card statement)

 

Dear, (again uses my married name)

 

Introducing Lowell.

 

We are Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd. Your outstanding account ith Barclaycard was sold to us on the 17/8/2010 and we will now be recovering what you owe. We have set out your details on the right (here it lists my old barclay card account no and the new lowelll's acct no).

 

Our aim is to help you bring your outstanding account upto date and we have many paymentoptions to suit you. Repaying your debts may help you to obtain credit in the future as it will have an impact on your credit rating.

 

Settling Up.

 

You now need to pay us £377.06. The easiest way to pay is to phone us and pay the full outstanding balance by card, or, you'll find some other ways to pay over the page.

 

If you have a query about your account or you need to talk to us about your current financial situation, please phone.

 

Lowell Financial Ltd

If we don't hear from you or recieve your payment shortly, we will instruct Lowell Financial Ltd, our recovery speacialists, to contact you about paying.

 

Yours sincerely

Andrew Bartle.

Chief Operations Manager.

 

Letter 3

(also like a credit card statement)

 

We're here to help you get your account up to date.

 

Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd wrote recently to let you know that they have bought the outstanding balance you have with Barclaycard. You have not yet cleared the outstanding balance or enteredinto a repayment plan, so they have asked us to get in touch.

 

We can help you clearthis outstanding balance and repaying your debt may improve your credit rating.

 

What you need to do now

It's very important that you do one of the following things as soon as possible:

1. Pay us in full

2. Contact us to talk about a convenient way for you to pay. Based on your current financial circumstances, we will be able to offer a repayment plan that works for you.

 

Phone us now to clear yourbalance.

 

Yours sincerely

Andrew Bartle.

 

As I have said i have already entered into a repayment plan with Barclays and have been paying since 2008, i also have another debt with Barclays that i have also been paying, I have two separate standing orders for each of the debts that go out on the same day of each month. I am now worried that they are going to start harrassing me about this as well.

 

Is there a way that i can contact them in writing to let them know i am paying barclay card via a standing order.

Would it be worth sending a SAR request to Barclays?

And a CCA to Lowells?

 

Please help!

[sabby1978]

Sorry Vjohn82,

 

In response to your other questions: I cannot remember the exact date but i remember it was the summer of 2001 i had nearly finished my teacher training.

 

I probably was issued a default notice but shortly afterwards i had a breakdown and cant remember much in detail, I've also moved around a lot, so i cant be 100% certain of this.

I have been relatively stable for three years now and am begining to sort my life out and dont need this people harrassing me especially in light of the fact ive been repaying. The funny thing is if i hadnt entered into the repayment plan it would be statute barred by now.

 

Many thanks

[sabby1978]

Does anyone know how i shouldcontact lowell's to let them know an arrangement is in place.

Also should i send a CCA to Lowells and a SAR request to Barclays?

[bluedogx]

Why don't you read sequencis blog? You have to choose a path through this that suits you and the blog will help.

 

Best wishes

[vjohn82]

Sorry Vjohn82,

 

In response to your other questions: I cannot remember the exact date but i remember it was the summer of 2001 i had nearly finished my teacher training.

 

I probably was issued a default notice but shortly afterwards i had a breakdown and cant remember much in detail, I've also moved around a lot, so i cant be 100% certain of this.

I have been relatively stable for three years now and am begining to sort my life out and dont need this people harrassing me especially in light of the fact ive been repaying. The funny thing is if i hadnt entered into the repayment plan it would be statute barred by now.

 

Many thanks

 

Similar situation to me then... except I had my breakdown first and applied for teaching training this year haha.

 

As per my PM, try to keep as much on here as possible because there are some great members on CAG who will have their own opinions on how to progress. The first thing, as I said, is to simply establish why Barclaycard has sold this account and then take it from there. I suspect there is something flawed with their archiving of the original contract (perhaps lost) but it's not unusual for Barclaycard to write off a batch of accounts regardless of whether they are being paid or not.

 

Is the figure stated on the NOA accurate?

[Tingy]

Might as well throw in my opinion. You have been paying this debt for a long time to Barclays and have an excellent repayment level BECAUSE it is set at a sensible level that is both affordable and sustainable.

 

I would ask Lowells for their bank details so you can transfer the Standing Order into their name and continuing paying as per your long standing arrangement with Barclays.

 

Just assume they are going to accept it, and leave them to come back to you if they're not happy.