3G Lowells and Red making life difficult

[titch123]

I once had a 3G dongle, which persistly crashed and i had many wasted hours having to redo things,

so much so i had to either go out with it, or wait for a passing satelite to be favourable to me.

 

I repeatedly complained to 3G, and I asked what happens if I want to end this.

 

In reply I was told if i dont pay £15 at end of the month it would automatically be switched off.

This was desperate after months battling with it.

 

It was on a plan, sold to me rather hastily in a car phone shop. So 3G was well aware of the problem, and that i intended to end the use of it.

 

All was going well, that was back in 2008.

 

Now in 2014, I get a letter from lowells, saying i owe £239 !!

Following advise I got off reading sites, I asked them to prove it, asking for full statements, contract which they stated I had signed, Notice of assignment etc.

All for something I didnt know i owed!

 

Well they sent me notice of assignment, supposedly sent to me in 2012,

in place of a full statement i have got a bill dated for the following may, for £39, the other £200 being early disconnection fee,

which hadnt made it on to a bill for 3G even though their bill was dated 6 months later.

 

I never received the first bill, much less any notice of anything until 2014.

 

I know i have moved once, but I'm not hard to find.

 

First I knew was actually an ex partner writing to tell me Lowells had discussed with him a bill I had for 3G,

I wasnt impressed as this person is not allowed to contact me under any circumstances.

This week it has been handed to Red.

 

I should add I made classic mistake of phoning them, and giving my date of birth, tel number etc in the first instance.

 

Phone number has now been changed due to their never ending calls

[letsgetitsorted]

i would just ignore all letters from red/lowell until they try court, then when that happens defend the case, lowell will prob discontinue....mine was for an orange dongle, £243 they filed a claim, i submitted a defence, case discontinued...so i would`nt worry to much about

[titch123]

My problem is I do worry, this in turn exasperates my rheumatoid arthritis. Kind of a vicious circle. I thought they had to supply a copy of the agreement which they claimed I signed, but they said not. I also thought they had to provide a copy of accounts, so i could prove that their dates was well off too. A bill for just £39 isnt a statement of accounts, but they insist they have provided all they have to. I also believed they had to send a notice of assignment, this would have tipped me off that something was happening 2 years ago, instead of being blissfully unaware of the existance of said bill. Bit late sending a copy now. But most of all I believed they could not discuss a supposed debt with a 3rd party, and they picked the worst possible person to do this with. Just feel I'm hitting head against a brick wall, and all I believed doesnt seem to be correct?? I dont want a CCJ against me, I cant afford to pay them, even if I thought i owed it, which I dont, and I detest their would may, could letters threatening me. How the hell can I get proper info from them please

[citizenB]

I am not sure there will be an agreement for this type of contract - but they should be able to give you a full history by way of statements.

 

I wonder if it would be worth you sending a Subject Access request to 3G ?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

There is only a service contract for these devices much the same as a mobile.

phone.

No notification such as a default notice is required as this is not a CCA 1974 (as amended) regulated contract.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

There is only a service contract for these devices much the same as a mobile.

phone.

No notification such as a default notice is required as this is not a CCA 1974 (as amended) regulated contract.

 

 

The right to "share" data will have been in the contract and as such would most like state that the account can be passed to a 3rd party (including CRAs and DCAs) without recourse to the account holder.

 

 

A SAR may help but my guess is there will be little data.

[titch123]

It was the DCA who informed me that I signed a contract, and it is so long ago, I certainly dont have a copy (5yrs and 9mths since last contact with 3G). It just strikes me as a tactic to get money before the 6 years is up. It is certainly not what I was told when the dongle repeatedly failed. I object to paying £10, for something I dont believe I owe.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

It was the DCA who informed me that I signed a contract, and it is so long ago, I certainly dont have a copy (5yrs and 9mths since last contact with 3G). It just strikes me as a tactic to get money before the 6 years is up. It is certainly not what I was told when the dongle repeatedly failed. I object to paying £10, for something I dont believe I owe.

Hi Titch,

I can see your point, but this debt seems have grown over the 5 years & nine months.

 

 

Personally I would first write to Lowell rejecting the documents they have supplied and insist (tell don't ask) for a complete break down of how the figure claim has been arrived at.

 

 

You could address this to Ms Sarah de Tute, Director of Legal & Compliance at the Lowell Group, it cuts out " the lower ranks of customer (dis) service.

[fletch70]

Exactly which mobile phone operator are you talking about , I assume it is 3. 3g is a connection type, 3g being better than 2g and 4g being the dogs wotsits (so they say)

 

The Brig is right, mobile phone contracts are service contracts and not covered by the same rules as CCA regulated debts

[titch123]

That may be a worth a try thanks Brigadier. Fletch it was 3. Surely whether or not it is a credit or service agreement, they should have to provide a copy if they are claiming you signed up for something, and if the damn thing is useless, then there should be some way to end this, which I had assumed had happened 6 years ago, especially as i havent heard anything until now. If 3 claim it is well covered in my area, then foolishly I expect that to be the case. As for a £200 early disconnection, you can buy the things for £20, and just use pay as you go, so how can they justify that? I never knew this could happen, and it certainly wasnt brought to my attention by the pushy salesman.

[fletch70]

I am afraid that certainly now there is no guarantee in an agreement that you will get reception. If you signed up for a term then the cancellation fee may well be the rental for the rest of the contract.

It is not a consumer credit agreement so the normal rules of CCA do not apply however should they issue a court claim and mention the agreement then you can get a copy of the document .

Maybe as well you need to remember that the costs of these things have dropped considerably in the last 6 years. You may well be able to blag it until the debt becomes Statute barred

[titch123]

that just seems so wrong, that an item which would cost £20 in the shop, and could have been returned when it refused to function, should be worth £200 as an unuseable item, and that is being polite. I honestly cant see me having signed up for that, unless it was 'hidden'

[2Grumpy]

I think that you should expect to get an invoice for any cancellation charge - from the mobile provider. If Lowell demand more, demand that they provide the invoice showing a full breakdown of the amount from 3. I suspect that they won't supply one. Why would you pay something when you don't know how they arrived at the figure.

[titch123]

I did request a full statement of account. Bearing in mind they had told me on the phone that my last payment was november 2008, I was kind of expecting a full breakdown of all payments made, and how they reached the astronomical bill of £239. What I actually received was an invoice from 3 for £39, dated may following year, and explanation from DCA that at that point the additional charges for early cancellation hadnt been added. What six months later????

[fletch70]

My personal view is to make sure you do not acknowledge the debt and wait it out. The other option is to SAR 3 to get a copy of everything they hold, this should include the signed agreement but make sure you ask for it.

 

Just check ,does anyone disagree?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Unfortunately there is no obligation to supply contracts/agreements with a SAR, not considered " personal" data (mainly because a copy of any agreement will have been provided at the inception of the account, so this may not provide such a document.

 

 

I has been argued that the above does not apply to service contracts but many companies will not provide the agreement.