Lowell sent me Standing Order Mandate for my offer of payment?

[shimmertrap]

Hi, I haven't been on here for a while, been trying to sort my huge debts after reading the advice given here. Would really appreciate some help now!

 

I have three catalogue debts which I started in 2008 so online signature acceptable I've heard. I've been ignoring the letters for months now, but finally decided to make an offer of payment to Lowell for two of the debts. I sent a letter offering £1 per week and asking for their account details so I could set up a standing order if agreed.

 

They have written back accepting the offer and enclosing a standing order mandate for me to complete and return. I know I don't need to do this, I can just set up my own standing order, so what do I do next? Do I just set up my on SO and make the payments and write to tell them I have done this?

 

Also, the third debt, I sent the CCA to, has replied by sending me a statement from the orignal catalogue? That isn't the credit agreement - is it? I have been writing to an S Parcs if that name rings a bell with anyone?

 

I would quite happily ignore the debts forever if I could, but have heard that Lowell have been making people bankrupt without thier knowledge! I don't have any assets to speak of, I don't own my own house, so they wouldnt get the debt back by bankrupting me. Would they really do it?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[huggy41]

first off do not send that form back if you are going to set up a standing order you do it.

a statement is no way a credit agreement.

[shimmertrap]

Thanks, but if I just set up a standing order myself, how do I know they are 'recording' my payments? I have the ref number I can put in, but also on the standing order mandate it wants my signature to say I agree with the arrangement....obv I am not sending it back, it wants my bank details and my signature! I think not!

[citizenB]

All you need do is use the details on their standing order to set up your own.

 

You should probably print off or keep your paper statements from your bank with the payments made until such times as you have finished paying the debt.

 

If it concerns you.. send a letter to the company and say you will not be returning any mandate to them as it has been sent direct to the bank.

 

They are legally obliged to send you statements at least every 3 months showing the payments made so keep an eye on them... if they dont.. you should demand them.

 

Your first payment is acceptance of the arrangement.. it isnt necessary for them to covertly obtain your signature !!

[Bazooka Boo]

Why are you paying lowlifes anyway?

 

Just pay the cat direct..

[shimmertrap]

Well, to be honest, I don't want to pay them at all! I only made the offer of £1 per week because I thought they wouldn't accept it and then if they took me to court, the court would see that I had made an offer!

 

The debt is for over £4000 and thats just one! I have three that size and two are the Lowell ones who have sent me SO mandates accepting a pound a week each. Wondering if I should just ignore them and hope they get fed up,although by making an offer, have I acknowledged the debt? Wouldn't be good as it''s been over a year since my last payment.

 

As for the third, just realised the statement sent wasn't for that, but for something else completely doh! So that means this company (Debt Managers) haven't sent my CCA and I requested it over a month ago. It was an online sig though, so they will be able to get it if they tried hard enough. They have sent a letter in the meantime threatening a doorstep visit. I sent the letter I found on here telling them they weren't to call on me blah blah and not heard from them since.

 

As I said in my first post, I don't own my house, don't have a flash car etc, no assets apart from the telly etc!

[citizenB]

Yes, you have acknowledged liability by offering the £1.00

[Bazooka Boo]

Do you have the bank details of the cats? If so I would pay them direct, £1 a month.

[shimmertrap]

The catalogue sold the debts on months and months ago though? I made them an offer early on when I realised I couldn't meet the payments anymore and they turned it down and the next thing I got was from their own dc which I ignored, then it went through a couple of other dc before Lowell got it and started writing and phoning! I never answer their calls and most of the letters have gone straight in the bin, but I got one recently threatening the statutory demand thing which I looked up on this forum and deciced to make the small offer then, hoping they would turn it down. Also, the catalogue piled on tons of charges before they sold it on, so paying them a pound a month wouldn't have helped

[Bazooka Boo]

Then the charges need to be reclaimed, IMO you should dispute this with lowlifes whilst you are reclaiming the fees/charges plus interest and then when you have a true figure of exactly what you owe, you will enter into a payment agreement.

 

Alternatively if you want to pay lowlifes £1 a month whilst you are reclaiming all these charges then you can do so, just set up your own SO, don't fill in their form.

[shimmertrap]

Thank you for your advice Bazooka, it was much needed! Will get onto the reclaiming the charges bit then. I know it's on here some where!