Lowell Financial/Lowell Portfolio/Capital One

[ims21]

Hi All

 

I wonder of I might get some help please.

 

I had a credit card with Capital One and a S87(1) CCA 1974 was issued in March 2008. I have the letter here. I paid a couple of ad hoc payments around that time so I am not suggesting that the debt is time barred at all. I am not trying to get out of what I owe....I just want to make sure I am paying the right amount.

 

Anyhow, I got a letter from Lowell Portfolio in February this year saying that they had purchased my debt from Capital One and in the same envelope was the letter from Cap One saying that they had sold to Lowell.

 

Then I get some letters from Lowell Financil, the last one in Mid March saying that I could pay 75% in F & F if I did it in one go OR I could pay 85% in F & F if I did 3 paymentsOR I could do a monthly direct debit of a fairly small amount until the debt is cleared.

 

I haven't responded to any of these letters by the way.

 

I was wondering why they should make an offer like this if they are sure of the debt. Are they just being kind? (think not). Would they not chase for the whole amount?

 

Anyway, I have gone back through the Cap One statements that I have and there are charges on there which I feel I may be able to claim back. Particularly they are described as "Overlimit fees" of £12 each and "Late Payment Fees" also of £12 each.

 

If, as I have read, I might claim these type of fees back, then my balance will reduce and I can then sort out paying the balance.

 

I was hoping for some advice as to whether these charges qualify to be the subject of a claim. If they are, do I get in touch with the new owner of the debt (Lowell) or do I go back to Capital One?

 

As I say, I don't want to try and evade the debt, I just want to make sure I am paying the right amount.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[dx100uk]

thatds prob why cap1 sold it to the fleecers

 

they know its all charges and thats why lowlife have offered you a discount

 

if you look in the cap1 forum

 

you will see you can reclaim ALL those unlawful fees + the interest they have charged you PCM AT THEIR PURCHASE RATE!!

 

do some reading in the cap1 forum and ignore lowlife.

 

they know they have a lemon.

 

what about PPI?

 

dx

[ims21]

Hi dx

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

I didn't see the Cap1 forum but I'll have a look there now.

 

Apologies if this thread is in the wrong place....maybe a Mod can move it to the correct place if need be.

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

poss if that helps

 

i'll do it now for you

 

dx

[ims21]

Hi dx

 

Thanks for that.

 

There was no PPI charged.

 

In the last couple of mins I had a brainwave as to where all the old statements were and I've found them!!!!

 

Going back to the start.....October 2000!

 

I'm going to have an intersting evening going through them on a spreadsheet to get all the charges listed and Compund Interest at their purchase rate.

 

Do I calculate the interest up to the date of default notice? since then no further charges have been added or do I calculate the interst up to now (say 31st March 2011)?

 

As my claim may go back further than 6 years, will I certainly have to put this through court or might they settle prior to court action?

 

Can't wait to get going on this!

 

Thanks

[ims21]

Hi again

 

I've had an interesting evening going through the old statements and have found a total of £895 between 3/1/01 and 2/4/08. They are described respectively as "Overlimit Fees" and "Late Payment Fees".

 

I'd like to go for the compund interest route and then the 8%.

 

I just hope I've got the compund interest correct with the spreadsheet. the total compund interest comes out to £3,893. The simple interest comes out to £428.

 

The way I worked the compund interest is to take the average of the purchase rate (which comes out to 1.9% per month) and apply that using a formula taken from Microsoft's website to calculate the compund interest to date.

 

I don't know if there is a maths guru here but by way of example, the first charge was on 3/1/01 for £18. 122 months have elapsed and the monthly average rate is 1.9%. I get the answer that the compund interest on that £18 is £178. This would be the interest for some 10 years. Is anyone willing just to check this for me please?

 

So, if it is confirmed that my compound interest calculation is correct then my total claim could be £895 + £3,893 compound + £428 Simple = £5216.

 

This is, I believe, above the limit for small claims. If this is the case, do I just put it to Capital One for the charges plus compound which total to £4,788 and if necessary take action on that sum with an application to the court that if I get judgement I want the simple added on as well.

 

What court route do I take if I have to claim the £5k odd right from the off?

 

Thanks in advance

[dx100uk]

http://www.consumerwiki.co.uk/index....erest_Tutorial

[ims21]

Yep, got that dx. Thank you.

 

Formula works in Excel so I guess it is all OK. Just seemed a big figure to me.

 

Has anyone got thoughts on how to go to court with a claim over £5k please?

 

Cap 1 claim to have sold the debt and Lowell claim to have bought it. Which one should I send my refund request letter to and do I go straight in for the charges plus compound + 8% or just go for the charges plus compound at this stage?

 

Many thanks

[Still_surviving]

I used the calculator here http://www.egalegal.com/compoundWindow.html which is linked to from the site, however in your example the resulting figures are pretty close, so the method you have employed seems it would stand up to scrutiny.

 

When you first request your charges back, you cannot claim the 8% but by all means draw their attention to what the figure is should they not play ball. From the many threads I have followed on cap one, it is pretty clear that they will employ standard tactics when dealing with your request. They will blank you on anything over six years old, and probably end up offering the difference between the charge and £12 on anything else, plus 8%.

 

In order to get anywhere on a claim such as this, you will undoubtedly have to file at court, as I have done (for my g/f).

 

If the claim is over £5k it will get allocated to the fast-track channel at court, at which point costs are possible. However the idea is to get this settled before having to enter a courtroom. You might consider reducing the interest rate a little to get the claim under £5k, but there is always the possibility that your case could get fast-tracked anyway.

 

Hope this helps, im sure others will have opinions too.

[ims21]

Thank you Still_surviving.

 

I think what I shall do is play with the CI rate to get to just under the £5k mark which would show that I am not being unreasonable in my requests. This would stand me in good stead should court action be the route I have to go.

 

I have read a goddly amount about Cap1 and agree that they will almost certainly baulk at every turn but I'm ready for that.

 

Never Give Up is frame of mind to have I think.

 

I'm off to get my request letter done and will keep the forum posted as to progress.

 

Regards

 

ims

[ims21]

Hi

 

I think I'm about ready to send off my initial request letter. However, there is just one question before I do.

 

The account was defaulted in March 2008 and since then there haven't been any further charges or interest added to the account. For my compund interest, do I stop calculation at the date it was defaulted or do I run the compund interest right up to now. I understand that the 8% simple interest will run until the date of settlement if appropriate but what about the restitutional compound interest please?

 

Thank you

[dx100uk]

they have benefitted from having your money

 

to date of claim CI

 

dx

[ims21]

Excellent....thank you dx

[ims21]

Hi

 

Preliminary Letter ready to go...here is the text. I propose sending this recorded delivery. Is this wording correct for a preliminary request? Thank you

Oh, and do I send my SOC with a preliminary letter?

 

Capital One Bank (Europe) plc

Trent House

Station Street

Nottingham

NG2 3HX

 

4 April 2011

 

 

 

Dear Sirs,

 

CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

I consider that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to late fees and over limit charges, are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations.

 

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

 

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

 

 

I calculate that you have taken £895.00 plus £3,919.74 which you have charged me in interest for the sums which you have taken. Total £4,814.74.

 

Additionally, you have entered a default notice against my credit record. This default occurred merely in respect of unlawful charges levied by you, or was the result of impecuniosity caused directly by the taking by you of penalty charges which you had applied unlawfully to my account.

 

In addition to full payment of the sum mentioned above, I require that you remove the default entry from the register. Please note that mere correction or amendment to the entry will not be acceptable.

 

I give you 14 days to comply, or else provide me with a full breakdown of your costs in addressing any breach on my behalf, which demonstrate clearly that your charges are in proportion to your actual costs.

 

Failure to do so will result in me issuing a county court claim for recovery of the charges plus interest and costs.

 

Yours faithfully,

Edited April 4, 2011 by ims21

[ims21]

Hi again

 

While waiting for some advice on my previous post, another thought crossed my mind.

 

Up until now I have ignored the Lowell letters but as the debt has been sold to them, would it be wise for me to CCA Lowell? I ask this because if an enforceable credit agreement cannot be produced then i assume the account should just be closed and no claim for refund of charges etc. by me would be effective. If, however, they have an enforceable agreement, then my claim can be put in.

 

Maybe I'm thinking about this too hard but I'd really like some help with the route to take bearing in mind the debt has been sold to Lowell.

 

Thank you

[dx100uk]

i would leave out the last 3 line for now.

 

that int seems very high whet were the majority of the charges? 1999

 

and it matters not if the cca is en or un-en

 

wait for cap1 to suddenly take the debt back

 

you mention no figures so's i cant really comment on if yo'll have outstanding still

 

but as sure as eggs is eggs, if the dca offered a discount - the three rules apply...

 

either its un-en

all unlawful charges or ppi

or its near sb date.

 

dx

[ims21]

Hi dx

 

Thanks so much for coming back to me.

 

OK, I will remove the "I am shocked" line. Thanks

 

I have calculated the compound interest using an average of their rate per their statements which comes out at 1.89% per month. For example, the earliest charge was for £18 in March 2001. The compound interest calculates out at £180 to date. The second one is for £18 in April 2001 and the CI calculates out at £170. One of the last ones was for £12 in April 2008 and the CI on that one to date is £23. So I have claculated the compound interest for each individual charge and then just added them together.

 

There are 57 charges on the account between March 2001 and April 2008. Started off at £18, then went up to £20 each and then went down to £12 each.

 

So we are talking CI from some of these charges going back 10 years or so.

 

Lowells want about the £2,300 mark which can easily be cleared with the claim I am intending to put in. Having read other threads, it seems that it is Cap 1 who must refund me, not Lowell (despite the sale of the debt). I can then sort out the payment of what I legitimately owe them. It is this "Sold" bit that confuses me. If Cap 1 have sold the debt will it be the new owner (Lowell) who deal with collection or will they somehow get it back to Cap 1?

 

Thanks for your help dx...really appreciate it

 

ims

[ims21]

Hi dx

 

Sorry, misunderstood. You didn't mean the "Shocked" line did you. You said last three lines which is the bit about default in the credit file, the bit about full breakdown and the bit about court action. Just leave it that they have 14 days to comply?

 

have I got this right please.

 

ims

[dx100uk]

i meant to say the last 3 lines! sri....

 

the oc charges you - the oc refund you!

 

this will be quite a nice earner for you you should see quite a bit to your pocket!

 

incidently, there ia nice nice thread in the barclaycard forum [infact i think two now] of recent

whereby the refund went to the op's bank a/c!

they have no legal write to 'give' it to the dca as the a/c is sold and no agreement exists anylonger.

 

have a poke around.

 

dx

[dx100uk]

delete from i give you 14days

 

save that for their wriggling that they'll do

 

dx

[ims21]

Hi dx

 

Thank you for your advice. I have amended the wording and the letter has now gone recorded delivery. And so the games begin!

 

Just noticed some of your other posts....Wow, you do stay up late trying to help people.

 

When I win this there will certainly be a donation made to the site. I'll keep the thread updated as to progress.

 

Thanks again

[ims21]

Letter has been delivered today according to Post Office Track & Trace.

 

We wait

[ims21]

Just got in from work to a telephone message from Lowell stating that they need to talk to me urgently today. I'm going to ignore this now that I have served correspondence on Cap1 for a reclaim.

 

Is this the right thing to do please?

 

ims

[dx100uk]

hehe

you're learning....

 

dx

[ims21]

Hi dx

 

Had another Lowell letter saying this is the last letter before passing to Red Debt Collection. Carry on ignoring?

 

The only thing I am unsure of is that Cap 1 and Lowell say that the debt from Cap1 has been sold to Lowell rather than just passed to Lowell for collection.

 

Does this not have an impact even though I am after Cap1 for repayment of unfair charges?

 

Incidentally, I sent Cap1 the preliminary letter requesting refund of charges etc on 5 April. Sent recorded. They signed for it. Haven't had a reply yet. Is it time to send lba or shall I give them a bit more time to respiond?

 

Thanks in advance

 

ims