Statutory Demand from Bwlegal (lowell) over 6 yr old debt

[toffy]

Hi

I am in need of some advice please

 

I have just been handed a statutory demand from a man at my door, from bwlegal for lowells for a capital one card for the amount of £1243. There is several dates on here. says default date 9 feb 2008 but on appropriate court for setting aside demand form says date of assignment 12 feb 2009.

Also letter has date of 17th jan 2013 and man knocked and handed to me on 27th jan and says i have 18 days is this from date on letter or date handed.

 

Firstly i cannot remember how long ago since i had a capital one card so well over 6 years, so as i am not sure on this i paid to get experian report which has this listed.

as follows

company : LOWELLl PORTFOLIO I LTD Account updated: 25/09/2011

account type : credit card / store card Started: 22/12/2004

Default Date: 09/02/2008 Current balance £1,243

 

I am confused as to where the date 09/02/2008 comes from , as certainly haven't had any dealings with credit card since before 2007 possibly alot longer, i know i moved to my new address in 2007 and haven't paid any capital one here, and in feb 2008 my son was diagnosed with a brain tumour so i was in hospital for months with him on that date, so wouldn't of spoken to anyone.

 

I also printed my credit report out and it had my old address and there was no mention of capital one debt on there, so as far as i am aware this debt had disappeared as older than 6 years.

only above information of debt on report when put in new address.(had a capital one card at old address)

 

I wouldn't have a clue if i owed them any sum of money and what that amount would of been, so how do i find this out, how do i know this information is correct.

And who puts the default date. as this would of been before 2008, can they just put what they want.

 

I would really appreciated some advise on what to do.

I have read your forums and there is some really good advice, but just wondering with my details as what to do.

 

The point it says statutory demand a bankruptcy scares me

if someoone could give best course of action would be much appreciated.

Have tried to ring NDL but waiting on call as busy.

Thanks x

[unclebulgaria67]

You need to find out from CapOne when your last payment was made on the card. If you can get a letter or statement showing this was more than 6 years ago, then you can set aside on the basis the debt is statute barred.

 

Suggest that you get on the phone to CapOne to get hold of the info.

 

The default date Lowell have, may be the date they were given. If you find out from CapOne that it is different, then you can inform BW Legal/Lowell that the information they have is wrong.

[toffy]

Thanks for the quick response.

 

If i phone capital one for this information am i acknowledging the debt ?

so the statute barred date of over 6 years would be from date of last payment not the default date lowell have ?

Thanks

[DonkeyB]

Oh look, another Lowell SD...

 

have you had any correspondence regarding this prior to the issue of the SD? Funny how they manage to find you when they want to serve an SD...

 

Poor 42man’s having a busy week... about to get busier!

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks for the quick response.

 

If i phone capital one for this information am i acknowledging the debt ?

so the statute barred date of over 6 years would be from date of last payment not the default date lowell have ?

Thanks

 

No, you are just seeking information. If CapOne say that they no longer own the account and they cannot provide the info, then ask to speak to a manager. They will still have your data and be responsible for providing it under Data Protection Act. Also they have to comply with FSA rules.

[42man]

You should apply to set this aside at your local court and claim your costs in the process, it is likely Lowells will know the debt is statute barred but are just hoping and praying that you will curl up under a rock and do nothing.

 

I would also suggest sending off for a copy of your agreement to Lowells (CCA request it is called officially here) and maybe a SAR to the original creditor....just make sure you send these off by recorded delivery - The CCA costs £1 and the SAR costs £10 you can find the links in my signature below.

 

You might find this link useful too - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?327997-Statutory-Demand-from-Hamptons-Legal-WON-STAT-DEMAND-DISMISSED/page2&highlight=hamptons

 

The above link also highlights how to get your costs too....

 

If you aren't sure what to do then please do spend some time reading around these forums, just type in Lowells or BWLegal in the search box, it will bring up plenty of threads, and you can find some more in here too - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?190-DCA-Legal-Successes

[toffy]

Lol does seem to be alot of threads of this at the mo from lowell

 

I have had alot of letters from debt collection agencies re a debt of £xxx but never acknowledge any of them to be honest. As one minute one company then another,and also thought it was over 6 years so didn't need to,and also you never know if it was scams or not as so many scams with phoning numbers etc. And more important things to worry about at the time.

 

They took 10 days from letter date to knock on door thou, so what date do i go by for 18 days.

 

Thanks

[42man]

If you aren't sure what to do then please ask. And I URGE you to report this to the OFT too

[unclebulgaria67]

It is 18 days from the date of service to set aside.

[42man]

18 days from when the demand came into your hands to apply for a set aside - please read this thread - especially post #22 - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?379550-Help-!!!!!-I-have-been-served-a-statutory-demand/page2&highlight=lowells

[toffy]

Thank you for your advise and quick response

I will give cap one a ring and see what i can find out,

and also apply for a cca and sar in the meantime

sorry to be thick what is a SAR lol

Thanks

[42man]

SAR is a Subject Access Reqeust

[FitForPurpose]

Just a thought - obviously a key point here is when the last payment was made to Cap One. It is very likely they will say they can't (won't) help because they sold the debt, although they are duty bound under the Data Protection Act to respond to your SAR inside 40 days. But it would be helpful to get an answer sooner, wouldn't it? So I was thinking, do you still have the same bank account? Is so, your bank might be able to tell you more quickly when the last payment to Cap One was.

 

If your debt is statute barred, then it's game over. If not, then there are other possible routes.

 

FFP

[toffy]

I Have just phoned capital one, got a very helpful manager

who said i last made a payment on 8 oct 2007 for £x.xx

then then issued a default in jan 2008 and was defauted in feb 2008

 

Now what i do as not over 6 years as thought so not statute barred

 

Thanks

[FitForPurpose]

Do you know how the claimed amount of £1243 is made up? For example, what charges, payment protection insurance fees etc make up that figure over and above the actual "debt"?

[DonkeyB]

Are you convinced that payment in October 2007 is genuine? Just want to be sure...

[toffy]

I did ask but they said couldn't get figures, unless i sent a letter and £10 for a statement,

but possibly Lowell will have all the information

 

Do i phone lowell for this or not

Do i just see if i can get a settlement figure and pay lowells as its now not statute barred

If i do go for settlement what would be a reasonable offer from the £1243 debt

Thanks

[FitForPurpose]

It depends whether a large chunk of that debt is made up of unlawful charges like PPI, which is why I asked about a break down of the debt. I think you need to see the statements of account in order to know what the true debt is. If this is less than £750, they can't use the bankruptcy process anyway.

FFP

[DonkeyB]

For all you know, you may have been quoted any old transaction – even an interest charge. Make absolutely sure you made a payment.

 

As FFP kindly suggested, do you have your corresponding bank statements to see if you did make a payment at that time? Always worth a check.

 

Have you received annual statements for this account, showing interest charged, etc? You should receive these by law.

[toffy]

The account is now archived with capital one she said so couldnt give me any more info

i am just going by what she told me the last payment was,

I Honestly cannot recall paying it, but the years do seem to fly by so i possibly did.

[FitForPurpose]

As per DonkeyB's question, do you recall being provided with any statements of account over the last few years? You mentioned that you ignored some letters because you obviously had other more substantial concerns, but do you recall any statements as such?

[toffy]

I Haven't received any statements from debt companys, and cannot remember the last time i got one from capital one, deffo not since lived at new address which is 5yr 9 months.

 

Just got a call from NDL and they say its weird that capital one won't give me info of payments without sending them a letter and £10, they should be able to send statement of account.

 

Also still not sure to as why the debt did not show on the experian report for previous address, but shows up on new address, which make me think it had disappeared due to being statute barred. then they logged a default in 2008 for ir to show up again.

If the did a default in jan 2008 due to last payment in oct 2007. then why didnt they do a default before the 2007 as there would of been a long period of no payment till then.

She also said do not send a cca form as that is admitting the debt

 

 

Brain is so frazzled as what to do.

[Asbestross]

Hi Toffy,

 

As previously mentioned, you need to clarify if the payment they're quoting for 2007 is genuinely a payment from yourself. Can you check bank statements etc for the date they say to verify it?

 

She also said do not send a cca form as that is admitting the debt

 

Also to clarify, a Section 77/78 request under CCA does not admit liability for the debt; that is unless you specifically write in the letter 'My account / My debt' etc.

[citizenB]

Is the payment that Capone have mentioned was made on DATE one that looks familiar to you ?

 

For example if you were making payments of £X amount and then suddenly it became £x amount.

 

Statements around that period would be good as it would identify this.

 

Do you recall if there was a period before the date when you hadnt been making payments - it would then seem rather odd that you would make just one payment and stop paying againg.

 

Sometimes Capone made adjustments to accounts - could it be their own payment ?

 

Is it possible you could submit an affidavit that suggests that you believe the account is statute barred - but the original creditor is being obstructive and you need extra time for the Subject Access Request to be fulfilled ?

[citizenB]

Have you requested CRA data from the other two Credit ref agencies ? They might show something that Experian doesnt ?