Red Debt help

[lincsloon]

Definietly ignoring tingy, threatening default now and havent acknowledged the letter you wrote for me. They were very quick before to respond to everything else.

 

Sorry lincsloon, not trying to hijack

 

No carry on, if we can all glean something from the info. bandied about that's a good thing, isn't it?

[lincsloon]

Latest update & letter from Lowells portfolio, signed from a different person who's the Complaint Resolution and Quality Assurance Manager, apparently :-

 

Dear xxx xxxxxx

 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us recently, we have fully noted all the points you have raised.

 

I can confirm that the Complaints Resolution Department now owns your complaint and will be conducting a thorough investigation into your concerns. Upon completion of this investigation we will write to you again, with our resolution.

 

Before we have reached a resolution we may need to contact you again to update you with the progress of the investigation or to request further information, the easiest way to do this is via telephone, if you are happy for us to do so.

 

I would like to reassure you that whilst our investigations are ongoing we will place your account on hold , which means we will not be carrying out any collections activities, until your complaint has been resolved.

 

We have enclosed a copy of our internal Complaint Procedure for your information. Please take the time to read this, as it explains fully the steps we will follow in responding to your complaint.

 

In the meantime, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact my team by calling the free telephone number: 0800 542 0058*, which brings you directly through to the Complaints Resolution Department.

 

Yours Sincerely

*signature*

xxxxx xxxxxxxx

Complaint Resolution and Quality Assurance Manager

 

 

 

Now, firstly the tone since the first letter is decidedly respectful & creeping.

Secondly, they didn't enclose the copy of the Complaint Procedure not that it would've been read by me.

 

What does the board think?

[lincsloon]

Well well well, after all this time Lowells have responded and it appears they think have a case to prove. I will write their letter word for word when i get back from work later tonight and put it on here. However, again with their unprofessionalism, their letter was dated 16th June 2011, my girlfriend only received it on Saturday just gone, the 9th July, and in the last but one paragraph they state they are giving her 14 days to contact them regarding repayment, lol.

I was going to fire off a quick letter stating receipt of their letter, we are considering our options and need to gather more info and point out their little gaffe regarding dates, does the board think i should do this?

 

regards

[lincsloon]

Hi,

 

My apologies for not putting the letter up as stated in the above post straight away, been so busy at work here it is, what do the experts on here think? They did send copies of the original credit agreement, letter from Shop Direct stating they were assigning the account to Lowells and a summary of transactions:-

 

Our reference: xxxxxxxx

Original Creditor: Shop Direct

 

Dear xxx xxxxx

 

I am writing in response to your letter, received 24 March 2011, having now completed my investigation into the issues you have raised. I apologise that it has been necessary for you to contact us regarding your concerns and am grateful for the opportunity to address these. Before i proceed, i would like to apologise for the delay in offering a full response to your concerns and for any inconvenience this has caused.

 

My understanding of your complaint is you are dissatisfied with the content and tone of our letter of 14 March 2011.

 

It is evident the balance of the account has been accumulated by charges and interest between the period of 27th February 2010 to 22nd October 2010, as the minimum required payments as stated in the terms and conditions of the contract were not met. This is why the balance has increaserd and i have included a statement of the account showing a breakdown of the balance.

 

You have mentioned the paragraph in our letter which is headed: 'Our intentions', as you believe this breaches certain sections of The Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR). This statement is intended to make it clear to you that we are legitimately able to view your credit file, which can contain data recorded by the credit reference agencies relating to Credit Applications (CAPS) you may have made. As part of a credit application, the applicant may be asked by the creditor to provide certain information about their employment status. It is this information which this paragraph refers to, however, this does not state we will be in contact with your employer and i can confirm that we do not obtain any employment information in this way. The information obtained from an individual's credit file helps us to make informed decisions about that person's financial circumstances, which in turn informs the approach we may take to attempt to settle an account.

 

Further to your comments in relation to a Debt Collection Agent visiting you at your home to discuss payment, i would respectfully respond this is a valid option that is available to us if previous attempts to reach an agreement with you have failed. We are by no means suggesting, however, that an agent can unilaterally visit your address without making an appointment to do so with you and it is for this reason that we refer to 'arranging any such visit.

 

I would like assure you are we are well aware of our obligations under CPUTR 2008, as this is the case with all industry guidelines and legislation under which the company operates. With regard to your specific reference to Section 7 1b of CPUTR, respectively i cannot agree that our letter constitutes harassment, coercion or undue influence. The purpose of the letter is to indicate that the matter has escalated due to our inability to reach an agreement with you to settle the balance outstanding. These options outlined are legitimate alternative recovery methods available to us in instances where we have previously been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement with our customers.

 

Furthermore, with reference to Section 7, 2a,b, and c of CPUTR, i must advise that our practices are fully in keeping with our responsibilities and obligations as a debt purchasing company abnd cannot agree that our attempts to settle this matter with you constitute harassment, coercion and undue influence through the timing, location, nature and persistence of our actions. I would also advise that our communication with you has not at any point been threatening, abusive or exploitative.

 

In reference to Section 11, again we are well aware of our obligations under this clause and as stated above we do not agree that out commercial practice is in anyway aggressive nor represents a criminal offence.

 

A letter of assignment was originally sent to you at your current address on the 1 November 2010 and this satisfied our obligations under section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925. I must respectively advise that we have established processes that enable us to commence litigation against an individual who has failed to work with us to settle an outstanding balance, which includes the ability to issue a claim through the County Court. In relation a statutory demand being issued, this is an option that is also available to us if an account meets certain criteria. In this case, after reviewing your file, your account does not meet the necessary requirements for a statutory demand to be issued. Though this is the case, i cannot agree that our reference to this is threatening, as the purpose of the letter is to transparently outline to our customers the avenues we are able to consider if our attempts to work with a customer are not reciprocated.

 

Please be advised that we strongly refute your allegation that we have committed several criminal offences. Though your comments are duly noted, i am satisfied that we have taken all reasonable steps to try and enter into reasonable discourse with you with a view to settling this matter. As these have failed, we are left with no alternative but to outline our further options, though i would like to take the opportunity to reiterate our commitment to working with you should you agree to cooperate with us and remove the need for us to consider the other recovery methods available.

 

I have enclosed a copy of the original credit agreement for your perusal and will keep your account on hold for 14 days to allow you sufficient time to contact us to agree a suitable repayment plan.

 

I would like to assure you that the Lowell Group of Companies is committed to resolving complaints in a fair and consistent manner and i do hope you have found this to be the case. I would also like to confirm that this letter represents our final response on this matter. Should it be the case that you remain dissatisfied, you have the refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You need to do this within six months of the date of this letter. For more information, please see the enclosed guide 'Your Complaint and the Ombudsman'

 

Yours Sincerely

signature

Sahir Fazal

Complaints Resolution Officer

Tel: 0800 542 0058

[lincsloon]

As an aside, they didn't enclose the guide 'Your Complaint and the Ombudsmen', with the letter dated 16th June. However my girlfriend received this along with a letter dated 18th July, today, (after i fired off a letter stating this), she has also been given a further 30 days to evaluate their decision.

[means2anend]

A lovely letter discussing the issues surrounding 'debt collection' only.

 

This amounts to nothing as the ultimate sanction they can use is legal enforcement

 

.However there is nothing in this lengthy speel that addresses the issue as to whether they(as they are now owners of that debt/obligations and hence ironically cannot produce that originally signed executed agreement which they can only hold an originally signed executed agreement if the O/C had produced it for them.It is interesting that all they HAVE given you is a 'copy of the original agreement'which according to Carey v Hsbc can be reconstituted from 'other sources' other than the originally signed executed agreement itself ...I have enclosed a copy of the original credit agreement for your perusal and will keep your account on hold for 14 days to allow you sufficient time to contact us to agree a suitable repayment plan.This can only satisfy information purposes only s78 requirements and is NOT proof of execution pursuant to s61 and is therefore subject to s127(3) for agreements made prior to April 4th 2007 or was it 2006...i am sure someone will correct me.

 

CPUTR 2008 should be used critically in the first instance to put them to the test that they confirm/deny that they hold or could provide at a later stage(court proceedings) the originally signed EXECUTED credit agreement.

 

If thy cannot then they can only use Mguffick v RBS( as the methods mentioned therein did not amount to enforcement but only 'a step' in bringing proceedings) to chase you for payments subject to OFT guidelines...but rely on your goodwill or ability to repay..if you cannot,then you cannot..but this would not end up in proceedings subject to the above.

 

I can see unless I am wrong that you have used CPUTR to that part of debt collection only (as implied from their response) and not to proof of execution as per s189

 

rgds

 

m2ae

[lincsloon]

Thanks for the info m2ae, very kind of you, any idea where i go from here though, the girlfriend's getting jittery and believes Lowells will start adding interest again soon?

[means2anend]

Get to jugular...ask if they have the originally signed EXECUTED credit agreement in their possession get them to confirm/deny using CPUTR 2008 misleading statements to debtors angle.

 

I want to see NATURE of response.

 

Take it step by step..put them on the back foot.As they are now the legal owners of your debt..I assume because of the assignment...their response to your request will show whether they ARE legal or just equitable owners.

 

report their responses on here and we go to next step.If you wish you should put this question strictly on another relevant thread.

 

here is the link

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?307385-CPUTR-2008-questions-and-advice....

 

I know that you are dealing with RED (Lowells) but the question is best put on the above thread

 

rgds

m2ae

Edited July 23, 2011 by means2anend

[lincsloon]

Hello m2ae again, thanks for the info. once more.

So, i write asking to confirm or deny whether they have the legally signed executed CA? Sorry, didn't understand the second bit of the sentence, i assume i can look at some kind of a charter under CPUTR to determine whether they are misleading me from their response? Would i find the misleading statements section in the CPUTR charter? I must let you know that the 2 copies of the credit agreement they sent neither had signatures or dates on them.

Anyhow, i will go to the link you highlight and ask on there, see if i get any more response.

Thank you m2ae for your valuable time.

 

regards

lincs

[means2anend]

They can fulfill their obligations under s78 by sending copies 'reconstituted from other sources that would have existed at time of the 'execution per Carey, and do not have to provide signatures under Copies of Documents and Cancellation Notices Regulations 1983

That does not mean that it is proof of execuition per s61 and Carey

m2ae

[lincsloon]

ok m2ae, i have sent a letter asking them whether they have the executed legally signed credit agreement, not sure what 'execution per Carey' means but i've sent a letter anyhow

 

thanks again

lincs