Lowells/Vodafone chasing debt from 1999 but default appears dated 2012

[CreativeLemming]

Hi,

 

 

I have recently been contacted by Lowells on behalf of Vodafone regarding payment for an account that was active from 1997-1999.

 

 

According to Vodafone collections, the last payment made was on the 30th June 1999, the subsequent payment did not clear due to no funds being available.

 

 

I have been informed that 13 years later, on 4th September 2012, another attempt was made to take a payment (I'm not sure why there was no activity in the intervening 13 years), at which point a default was served on my account.

 

 

My issue is this - I have no problem paying a debt that I owe, although dispute the fact that my credit report will be flagged with a non-payment from 2012 (thus affecting my credit score) rather than from 1999 as there has been absolutely no activity on the account in these past 15 years.

 

 

Lowell inform me that the debt does not classify as statute barred due to the 2012 notice - as mentioned, I have no issue with paying a debt that I owe and do not intend to try to avoid payment, other than the issue with the date of the notice which in my eyes seems unreasonable due to the timescales involved and the account being dormant for 15 years.

 

 

After such a long time, I have no records or recollection of this account (and have moved house 4 times since), and Vodafone are unable to explain why the default was served after such a long interval. Their only advice is to write a letter to Vodafone QA, which I suspect will take quite a while to resolve and in the meantime Lowells will be attempting to reclaim their debt.

 

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - is there any way that I can have the date of the default modified such that it doesn't affect my credit rating?

 

 

Thanks!

[dx100uk]

its statute barred

 

 

end of

a period of more that 6yrs existed.

once barred - always barred.

nothing can undo that not even a judge.

 

 

the default should be removed too

and the account wiped from the CRA file

 

 

we have a rep here

 

 

please follow below and post back the number

 

 

We thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves and to assure you all that our presence on CAG is with the very best of intentions.

vodafone UK has recently introduced a dedicated Web Relations Team which is keen to seek out customers who’re having difficulties with their accounts and feel that they have no other place to turn to than CAG and other consumer forums and blogs.

Naturally, it’s not possible for us to help directly with account specific queries on CAG and as such we would encourage those members who feel we can help them to contact us privately at [email protected] quoting ‘WRT135 – CAG Forum’ in the subject line.

When emailing us we would also ask that you either provide us with a link to your post or thread – if you’ve posted in another member’s thread please also provide your CAG username so that we can check what your query is.

Many thanks

 

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi Welcome to CAG.

 

 

As far as I can see Lowell are totally wrong.

 

 

If no payment was actually made the debt is statute barred, But if VF did not default the account in 1999 and left the account dormant until 2012 and the attempted a take a payment and then when it failed defaulted they are correct.

 

 

What I don't understand is why VF waited all that time to try to take the payment.

 

 

Have you actually checked your credit ref. files now?

 

 

Looking closer I think Lowell are working on the theory of the BMW Finance - v- Hart case where it was decided that on Hire Purchase debt the Limitation Period did not start until the debt was defaulted.

 

 

The VF debt is not HP or as secured loan so it is irrelevant.

 

 

May I suggest sending something along the lines of:

 

 

Ms Sara de Tute,

Director of Legal & Compliance

The Lowell Group

Ellington House

9 Savannah Way

Leeds Valley Park

Leeds

LS10 1AB

 

 

Date:

 

 

Lowell Ref:xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

Dear Ms de Tute,

 

 

Statute Barred Debt:

 

 

I refer you recent correspondence from Lowell regarding an alleged debt arising from an account with Vodafone.

 

 

I do not acknowledge any such debt to Lowell or any company it may claim to represent.

This alleged debt is statute barred and I will not make any payment.

 

 

Lowell has stated in a letter dated xx.xx.xxxx that the alleged debt is not statute barred because Vodafone did not default the account from which the alleged debt has arisen until xx.xx.xxxx 2012.

 

 

As you will be well aware the limitation period for a debt arising from a simple contract starts from the date when a contractual payment was due but not made, after which no further payment was ever made, which is the case with this alleged debt.

 

 

For clarification the alleged debt is statute barred and I will not make any payment or offer of payment now or in the future.

 

 

Amend/add/delete as you feel fit if you want to use this.

 

 

Lowell have back down before when this approach has been used.

 

 

Send by signed for post, check delivery date.

[CreativeLemming]

Thank you all for the quick replies! I'll follow up on the link you provided dx100uk.

 

 

>>Have you actually checked your credit ref. files now?

Brigadier, I have just checked Experian and don't see any mention of a default which is confusing (as both Vodafone and Lowells have told me that one was served in December 2012). Unable to check with Noddle as the site seems down, but maybe the Vodafone relations team can help shed some light on the matter.

 

 

Thanks!

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Thank you all for the quick replies! I'll follow up on the link you provided dx100uk.

 

 

>>Have you actually checked your credit ref. files now?

Brigadier, I have just checked Experian and don't see any mention of a default which is confusing (as both Vodafone and Lowells have told me that one was served in December 2012). Unable to check with Noddle as the site seems down, but maybe the Vodafone relations team can help shed some light on the matter.

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

You're most welcome.

 

 

There is something very wrong with this is there no record on the CRAS and Lowell are claiming a default was placed a long time after the payments ceased it seems to me the default has "fallen off" the CRA files as would expected, but someone is attempting to create a new one.

[CreativeLemming]

You're most welcome.

There is something very wrong with this is there no record on the CRAS and Lowell are claiming a default was placed a long time after the payments ceased it seems to me the default has "fallen off" the CRA files as would expected, but someone is attempting to create a new one.

 

 

So I thought I'd try checking with Equifax as when I checked the other day both Noddle and Experian were clean, and I found the following entry (sorry for the bad formatting):

 

Communications Supplier from Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd (I) / XXXXX6066

Name -------------------------

Date of Birth ------------

Terms 0 @ £ 0 (Monthly)

Status Defaulted

Current Balance £ 74

Start Balance £ 0

Credit Limit £ 0

Default / Delinquent Balance £ 74

Start Date 27/09/1998

Date Updated 27/08/2014

Date Last Delinquent

Date Satisfied

Default Date 02/02/2013

Payment History

This table shows how you have kept your account over time, for information about individual months pass your mouse cursor over the coloured block

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2013 D

 

Has this just been created by Lowells, or is this the default that Vodafone apparently created (it's not in the name of Vodafone, and seems to have been modified the day before they replied to my email where I suggested that I believed this to be statute barred) - or maybe I'm just being paranoid. There's no payment history at all in the entry, other than the one default of Feb 2013 (all of my other accounts have years of history, this has just one entry).

 

As I mentioned earlier, the actual date where the last payment was made was in 1999 (and the start date is wrong, apparently this was July 1997).

 

Any insight into what's going on here, and how I can get the information I need to correct the information (or at least find out what on earth is going on with an account that hasn't been touched for 15+ years).

 

I've had little success with Vodafone after speaking with them several times (have emailed the weblink provided above yesterday, although no reply just yet, guess as it's the weekend - although I do see there's an alternative link to the web relations team that maybe I should use instead?).

 

I guess to put this correct (i.e. change the default date to the correct one) I need Vodafone to provide me with full payment history, and they weren't very helpful in this regard (one lady even said that records weren't available because I was transferred from an old billing system to a new one).

 

Would I be right in thinking that the crux of the matter is why Vodafone attempted to take a payment after so many years, and does this mean that the default is legitimate (and Lowells are correct in saying it's not statute barred), or should it in fact be dated as the time of the first missed payment (so homehow I need to contest this and get it corrected to the right date, and the default removed)?

Edited August 30, 2014 by CreativeLemming
...bad formastting (still bad...) + remove paranoia

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

So I thought I'd try checking with Equifax as when I checked the other day both Noddle and Experian were clean, and I found the following entry (sorry for the bad formatting):

 

Communications Supplier from Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd (I) / XXXXX6066

Name -------------------------

Date of Birth ------------

Terms 0 @ £ 0 (Monthly)

Status Defaulted

Current Balance £ 74

Start Balance £ 0

Credit Limit £ 0

Default / Delinquent Balance £ 74

Start Date 27/09/1998

Date Updated 27/08/2014

Date Last Delinquent

Date Satisfied

Default Date 02/02/2013

Payment History

This table shows how you have kept your account over time, for information about individual months pass your mouse cursor over the coloured block

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2013 D

 

Has this just been created by Lowells, or is this the default that Vodafone apparently created (it's not in the name of Vodafone, and seems to have been modified the day before they replied to my email where I suggested that I believed this to be statute barred) - or maybe I'm just being paranoid. There's no payment history at all in the entry, other than the one default of Feb 2013 (all of my other accounts have years of history, this has just one entry).

 

As I mentioned earlier, the actual date where the last payment was made was in 1999 (and the start date is wrong, apparently this was July 1997).

 

Any insight into what's going on here, and how I can get the information I need to correct the information (or at least find out what on earth is going on with an account that hasn't been touched for 15+ years).

 

I've had little success with Vodafone after speaking with them several times (have emailed the weblink provided above yesterday, although no reply just yet, guess as it's the weekend - although I do see there's an alternative link to the web relations team that maybe I should use instead?).

 

I guess to put this correct (i.e. change the default date to the correct one) I need Vodafone to provide me with full payment history, and they weren't very helpful in this regard (one lady even said that records weren't available because I was transferred from an old billing system to a new one).

 

Would I be right in thinking that the crux of the matter is why Vodafone attempted to take a payment after so many years, and does this mean that the default is legitimate (and Lowells are correct in saying it's not statute barred), or should it in fact be dated as the time of the first missed payment (so homehow I need to contest this and get it corrected to the right date, and the default removed)?

 

 

 

I am immediately suspicious of the default date here.

 

 

I think a call to VF (no harm in this now it's owned by Lowell to find out if this very, very late default is genuine.

[CreativeLemming]

I am immediately suspicious of the default date here.

 

 

I think a call to VF (no harm in this now it's owned by Lowell to find out if this very, very late default is genuine.

 

 

 

Well, I have called them 3 times in total - I was told that the last payment was made on 30/06/1999, and they tried to take a payment 13 years later on 04/09/2012 - however, they had no explanation as to why there was such a large delay between the two dates - one advisor said they'd not seen something like this before (then simply transferred me to their billing team who they said should be able to assist me further, but in practice just wanted to take a payment), the other said something about the account being transferred from some very old billing system to a new one. Neither could understand why this payment attempt was made at this time, nor could answer any of my questions about the validity of the default date so I'm kind of stuck in limbo here Nobody I spoke to could answer any questions about any default on my credit file.

 

 

Just re-read your previous post where you say this isn't HP so the 'default date' rule doesn't apply - if the default date is genuine, but the actual missed payment/activity date is 13 years ago, then does your advice to send the letter still apply and the recommended route, or do I need to take some action direct with VF (or dispute the default with the credit report agency), or just accept that this is the date they've decided to mark as the default and live with the consequences?

 

 

I'm convinced that the default date isn't representative of the actual date, but don't know who to turn to to correct/investigate this.

 

 

(btw, thanks for all the invaluable advice, a donation to CAG will certainly be on it's way as way of thanks...)

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Well, I have called them 3 times in total - I was told that the last payment was made on 30/06/1999, and they tried to take a payment 13 years later on 04/09/2012 - however, they had no explanation as to why there was such a large delay between the two dates - one advisor said they'd not seen something like this before (then simply transferred me to their billing team who they said should be able to assist me further, but in practice just wanted to take a payment), the other said something about the account being transferred from some very old billing system to a new one. Neither could understand why this payment attempt was made at this time, nor could answer any of my questions about the validity of the default date so I'm kind of stuck in limbo here Nobody I spoke to could answer any questions about any default on my credit file.

 

 

Just re-read your previous post where you say this isn't HP so the 'default date' rule doesn't apply - if the default date is genuine, but the actual missed payment/activity date is 13 years ago, then does your advice to send the letter still apply and the recommended route, or do I need to take some action direct with VF (or dispute the default with the credit report agency), or just accept that this is the date they've decided to mark as the default and live with the consequences?

 

 

I'm convinced that the default date isn't representative of the actual date, but don't know who to turn to to correct/investigate this.

 

 

(btw, thanks for all the invaluable advice, a donation to CAG will certainly be on it's way as way of thanks...)

 

 

Emm one would have to conclude that either Lowell have recreated the default date and or this has been " managed" between Lowell and VF because of a long forgotten debt,

 

 

Please give me time to re-read everything I'm sure there is a lot more to this than meets the eye.

 

 

I am sure CAG will much appreciate the donation my thanks on CAGs behalf.

[dx100uk]

get lee onboard

he's sort numerous issues like this

 

 

did you follow that link I gave you and get a number back.

 

 

don't assume the rest of VF support are like lee

 

 

they are not

 

 

he'll get it sorted

 

 

dx

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi CreativeLemming,

 

Thanks for making me aware of this.

 

I've got your email and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

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