What Happened Here Then (Orange PCS/Lowell)

[9000Parts]

Dont post here often but I do browse a bit so have an idea on how to confront issues as they occur.

 

A bit of background:

 

I was an Orange customer for many years (10+) and had been on contract for most of that.

However, I knew I was going to be leaving the UK for a while so bought a cheap £10 pre-pay phone

and converted by contract number to pre-pay a few months before leaving the UK.

As far as I was concerned everything was in order, and all our bills were paid up and cleared before we left.

 

Coming back to the UK:

 

We spent a couple of years living and working in a non-EU country but came back to the UK in order to start a family

and re-establish a dormant business I used to own and run.

 

On coming back to the UK I suddenly got deluged with all manner of letters from search companies, DCAs,

even the DVLA for money they thought I owed them.

To be fair, I did bump a sizable overdraft on Natwest but dont hear from them too often.

 

The one that was really bothering me was Lowell Portfolio I who insisted I owed them £110+ for an outstanding account with Orange PCS.

Several letters passed between us and they insisted on calling and texting me threatening to make me pay.

 

I got a bit fed up with them so one day I retaliated with this letter:

 

Sir or Madam,

 

I note with some disappointment that you have failed to adequately address points I raised in a previous correspondence.

In fact, reading your letter dated 25th October it appears you have no evidence that there is in fact any debt owed at all.

 

With this fact in mind I propose you should follow one of the courses of action listed below:

 

1, Admit you have no proof of any debt owed and therefore confirm in writing that no further action will be taken.

I will expect all details added to my credit files to be removed and written confirmation given.

 

2, Actually supply all the relevant information in regard to this debt as I am not satisfied I owe any money.

Having read lots of information on the website operated by Equifax, they suggest that a company pursuing a debt

should supply information as requested in order to support their claim.

They do state that they will remove information laid by a company if it fails to provide reasonable information on request

and I will pursue this option if you fail to provide the information by return of post.

 

3, Start litigation.

I note in your last letter that you claim costs will increase if this happens.

However, even if you were to obtain a judgement on your favour,

by failing to fulfil my reasonable requests in good time to prove there is a debt owed,

you would not be awarded any costs at all,

you would only be awarded the amount claimed and only if you could provide clear evidence of a debt being owed.

 

In your most recent letter dated 25th November you threaten to send a doorstep collector to attempt collection.

Take this as notice that any implied rights of access to any of the properties I am party to are hereby revoked.

Therefore any attempt by an agent of yours or anybody contracted by you will be deemed to be trespassing

and will be told to leave immediately.

Failure to leave will result in a report being made to the Police with a request that they remove the visitor

and charge them with trespass.

A copy of this letter revoking your rights of access and the Proof of Delivery receipt will be available for their records. F

urther, a charge of £100 will become payable if a doorstep collector attempts to call at any time.

It will be deemed that you accept this charge if you send a collector (either your own or a contracted party)

and the payment will be payable within 14 days. Failure to pay WILL result in litigation.

 

Contacting me.

Do not contact me by any methods other than written correspondence delivered through the postal system.

For every SMS you send me there will be a charge of £10 payable within 14 days.

There will also be a charge of £10 made for every telephone call attempted and a further £10 charge will apply if I answer the call.

By telephoning me or sending me SMS messages you will be deemed to accept these charges.

If you do not wish to incur these costs then do not contact me this way.

 

Any telephone calls you do make to me and that I answer will also be recorded and I reserve the right to retain the recording

and publish it however I see fit and distribute it to any party I deem to have an interest in it.

This could include but would not be limited to various press agencies, internet forums, video streaming websites, etc.

 

I will begin charging the above costs from the date this letter is received.

As the letter is sent Recorded Delivery I will have a permanent record of the date of receipt.

 

I have got a regular subscription to a couple of CRAs (including Noddle which is totally free to use!)

and a couple of weeks after sending this letter I get an email alert saying my Credit Report had changed.

Logged on and checked only to find the Default lodged against me by Lowell had totally vanished.

 

Question is,

what are they up to?

Have they taken Option 1 and bailed out

or am I to expect a totally new entry being made

and to then be harrassed by another DCA further down the food chain?

[renegadeimp]

Never get into game of letter tennis with a dca. The only thing you need to send is a prove it letter.

[9000Parts]

I know thats the usual advice but I dont like to play 'Template Tennis'.

[renegadeimp]

So you played regular letter tennis, with one of the worst DCA's too. The template letter is there for a reason. Once its sent, then you do not enter into any more correspondance unless they prove the debt is yours or a court claim is issued.

[9000Parts]

So why have they removed all trace of their activities from my CRA then? It doesnt even show as a Correction or Settled, it has totally vanished. Are they in the habit of deleting an account and then magicing up a brand new one a but later on?

[renegadeimp]

They could be in the process of selling it on, or other things. One thing is for sure, NEVER trust lowell with ANYTHING. If you dont hace it down in writing that they have closed the account AND wont pass it on to a third party, then you need to be in the mindset of they still have the debt and will sell it on. They are also known for changing dates/amounts on CRA files.

[9000Parts]

Surely that would be an abuse of the system though? Maybe a pre-emptive strike with their watchdog and CRAs to ensure if a 'new entry' appears its dealt with.

[dx100uk]

not a great fan of sending those letters that imply

you will charges them etc etc.

 

if the debt has vanished

either the default, that ORANGE placed on the account had reached 6yrs

so thus the whole account goes too.

[9000Parts]

The default was added in 2010, about a year after I left the UK so its not disappeared because its 6 years old.

 

Im not a fan of sending threatening letters either but there have been some successes with Private Parking Companies being charged £250 and it being awarded at Small Claims. For the sake of their £110 its more of a gamble for them to lose than from me issuing and not winning.

[citizenB]

Well it actually looks like your letter worked If it has well done. I would suggest you keep an eye on your Credit files for a while to ensure that they dont attempt to sneak something back at a later date.

 

IMHO, your letter although it didnt appear to be headed as such, was in the nature of a formal complaint and I find it quite disppointing that you have not received a written response to it.

[9000Parts]

Cant see them wanting to admit that though, better that it just quietly dies and hope im not the sort of person to stir the hornets nest up a bit.

 

We have also had Christmas so there may be a nice Template Letter waiting to find its way to me shortly.

 

I will say though that I was getting SMS and phone calls most days from this crown but not had anything since they received my letter so somebody must have at least read what I had written and paid attention to it. Make no mistake, I would have issued an monthly Invoice for my services and followed it up with LBA and claim if they wanted to test me.