Need help with Lowell re EE

[Annonymum]

Hi all,

 

I got some great help here in the past so looking for some more advice.

 

I have an account with Orange and an account with EE which are both up to date and paid on time and have been for several years, these contain all the families numbers and I get the money from everyone and pay by DD.

 

Anyway I called up today to be told that my accounts have been locked by Lowell! Basically I have an old unrelated account from a while ago which was the result of a phones 4 u nightmare, which has been passed to Lowell and they helpfully have barred any activity on my EE and Orange account, so I've been told today, I cannot upgrade, change price plan or even get my PAC code and leave the network until I speak to Lowell!

 

First thing I want to know is can Lowell actually do this on unrelated accounts which are not delinquent and get paid by DD every month?

 

The guy from EE seemed to think that if I phoned up Lowell and offered them £1 per month then all would be fine, but I'm wary at having to phone them as I know they will pressure me into paying more than I can afford.

 

If it wasn't for the fact that my Dads work number was on the account then I would tell them to do one, but EE say their hands are tied and this is all Lowells doing.

 

I have quite a few accounts with Lowell which are due to go SB this year and I fear that by calling them it will restart anything with my name on it! If I have to call them is there anything I can say to stop them reigniting these as they go SB literally in 2 months. I'm in Scotland if that helps any.

 

Thanks a million for any advice.

[unclebulgaria67]

Lowell cannot do this. Under what law or contract term can Lowell block another telephone with a different contract. This is a decision by someone at Orange/EE, so you need to register a complaint with their head office.

[Bazooka Boo]

What you 'won't' be doing is ringing Lowlifes.

 

EE/Orange are as usual completely wrong!

 

Your loyalty is of no importance to them, they're just glad you pay them every month.

 

Start their complaints procedure ASAP, and check your credit file.

 

You don't need a PAC code to vote with your feet. Unless you want to keep the handsets?

 

NO calls, keep everything in writing only, DO NOT ring lowlifes, hammer EE's complaints procedure.

[fkofilee]

BB -Remember PAC Codes are for keeping the numbers, not Handsets ^__^

Wow... This is a new low from EE. They are 2 separate organisations, on which Lowell have no right to bar or change anything on EEs system.

 

You need to complain to the Head Office. -

[email protected]

 

Take it to the top. Also I would leave them and start afresh!

 

How much is outstanding? Can you tell us more about this?

[Annonymum]

I did wonder, as they've given me Lowells number to ring and the account numbers that are in question. I checked Noddle there and one is still showing as being with EE and the other I can't find in my many Lowell entries!

 

I asked that question and the guy from EE says that his hands are tied and all activity in both accounts has been blocked by Lowell and until I call and make a payment plan then I can't upgrade, leave, migrate or do anything. I have a line which is due to end soon and I just wanted to cancel and was told they couldn't accept the notice as all activity was blocked but we can still use our phones and I just pay as normal. Apparently if the accounts were still with EE collections then they could overwrite the desicion but now they are with Lowell its up to them and I have to ask them to unblock it!

 

It sounded a bit pie in the sky to me, but apparently any account I've ever held with EE under them or Orange are linked so Lowell will lock the lot!

 

So what do I need to say to EE as I really want to keep my service as my credit is so bad I can't move to anyone else at the moment?

[fkofilee]

You complain... Simple..! Power to you!

[unclebulgaria67]

A debt collection agency does not lock phones and cannot do this, as they are not a phone company acting under the relevant regulations. Pick up the phone to OFCOM or whatever regulator and they will tell you that EE cannot do this.

[Annonymum]

It's roughly £2.5k that's owed over two lines.

 

 

It's the whole contract that's due because of a cock up with Phones 4 u and a little bit of my own error as well.

 

 

I upgraded 4 numbers on the same day with P4U and upgraded to EE.

They declined to tell me it starts a new contract and I ended up with a huge bill 5 days after I had just paid which was fine,

but only 1 DD set up for Orange and EE which I thought was correct,

but actually it should have been a separate DD per line as it started a new account on EE,

 

 

I just let it go and then the line disconnected

it wasn't being used for a while,

i didn't realise and it was passed to collections and here we are.

 

 

In amongst all this my hubby was made redundant which hasn't helped and we struggled to keep above water and these are way down my list.

 

My Dads work number of 20 years in on the account though and my Mums which a she uses for her business,

so I can't afford to loose these numbers, I can live with losing mine and my hubby's.

 

I'm just at a loss as I'm trying to be sensible and pay all priority debts quickly but I don't feel this is fair as

I've paid these accounts for years with no issue and there are 4 upgrade due in the next few months!

[Annonymum]

It's not the phones which are blocked, it's any activity on the account from EE's end such as upgrades, cancellations ect. Or so they say anyway! It's a new one on me tbh, but I know they can refuse your business for whatever reason so I don't want to push too hard and lose all my lines!

[unclebulgaria67]

If it is not stopping you using the phones, then i see no problem. It is up you whether you deal with Lowell re the other accounts.

 

How old are the debts that Lowell have i.e when did you last make a payment ?

 

Be careful, if you have debts which can be enforced, as they may apply for a CCJ or threaten bankruptcy.

[Annonymum]

Well it's stopping me in that I can't upgrade, leave or take my number to a new network

I have to pay forever more without ever getting a new phone or even lowering how much we pay.

 

 

They defaulted about 6 months ago I think.

I want to do the right thing and sort it out, but as I say I have about 10 account which are SB in the next couple of months

and I don't want to re-ignite them.

 

 

I know I owe the money, but due to redundancy I can't repay anything substantial

and I wanted to cancel and unwanted line which they won't allow me to do, so they are keeping me in contract against my wishes.

 

I'll try EE again armed with this info and see what they say.

 

Thanks for all the help so far

[fkofilee]

P4U have been gone almost a year?

 

You need to dispute this with EE, ignore Lowell... Or Complain to Lowell to. Tell them the debts are disputed and that you current account is with EE.

[Bazooka Boo]

EE are being economical with the truth then, the clown on the other end of the phone clearly wanted you off the phone, and would say anything to get rid.

 

Start their complaints procedure, email AND a hard copy, send all letters using 'proof of posting' which is free from the PO counter.

Start getting a paper trail of evidence together, just because they ''claim'' that lowlifes need to deal with it does not admonish their responsibility.

The clueless telephone jockey clearly thinks it does.

 

Once they fail to satisfy your complaint, because they're very good at ignoring their customers, then you can escalate it to OTELO to investigate.

[fkofilee]

By the way, EE Cannot deny you a PAC code. OFcom made this clear a while ago.

[dx100uk]

time to write to the EE CEO me think

a dca cannot do this

and neither can EE claim they can.

 

 

you are being had

[Bazooka Boo]

By the way, EE Cannot deny you a PAC code. OFcom made this clear a while ago.

 

Here's the link http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/telephone/refuse_PAC

 

Your provider cannot refuse to issue a PAC if you have any outstanding bills or charges to pay.

 

Told you the clueless telephone jockey was being economical with the truth!

[Annonymum]

That's good to know re the PAC code! Sorry I have gotten my dates wrong, it would have defaulted about 12-15 months ago, I was thinking the upgrade happened last Nov, but it was the year before as the upgrades on the existing ones are due in Nov this year.

 

I will definetely send a complaint in, but I know from previous experience that they are not great with handling them as I had quite a serious data breach issue and it was swept under the carpet, but I know now I should have tried harder to get a resolution.

 

Thank you so much for all the replies they really are appreciated

[fkofilee]

Here's the link http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/telephone/refuse_PAC

Told you the clueless telephone jockey was being economical with the truth!

 

Told you

 

BB just has more time on their hands while Im at work today

Make it clear how you feel in your email. However, if you need help drafting something, let me know. I can help. Im usually quite good drafting complaint letters / emails.

[Bazooka Boo]

BB just has more time on their hands while Im at work today .

 

Get back to work!

[fkofilee]

Get back to work!

 

Now now, its Sunday, its been dead all day, so I must occupy my mind, and what else is there to do?.... CONSUMER ACTION GROUP... Proving these companies wrong eh...

[Bazooka Boo]

[daverules]

"and I wanted to cancel and unwanted line which they won't allow me to do, so they are keeping me in contract against my wishes."

 

I thought contract roll overs were no longer applicable so if it were me and was at end of contract just stop paying

for that line.

 

Regards

[Annonymum]

Fkofilee that would be great if you could give me some pointers in what to write that would be great. I just want to be able to upgrade my contracts and change price plan ect. The more I've thought about it the more angry I'm getting as they guy was on the phone for about 30 mins and kept switching his story. I had initially phoned up to change a price plan which incidentally went through fine with a different advisor. And when I spoke to this advisor about migrating my number from Orange to EE then this story about Lowell having locked my accounts came about. When I pulled him up on the fact they had just changed a price plan he went away for a while, the came back and said it was because that line was originally on EE it was allowed! He then proceeded to tell me about his experiences with owing O2 money and he offered £1 per month and that was fine and he paid it for the next 330 months, but I think he forgot his maths as he would still be paying it as it would take 27 years!

 

I'm hoping that I'll get some sort of resolution from EE, but I think now that I've had all your opinions that I've been led up the garden path somewhat as I did wonder how Lowell had the authority to come in and block an account that has no arrears. Seems like this is a new way from EE to force you to speak to Lowell.

[Bazooka Boo]

Start their complaints procedure today!

 

You're right you were led up the garden path, and everyone else by the sounds of things!

 

You need to make an urgent complaint about the bowlarks this employee was spouting, and impress upon them that you are now looking to move all of your accounts, from them, to another professional mobile phone provider, due in no small part to the incompetent uneducated telephone jockey who was lying to you about lowlifes locking the accounts, absolutely incredible behaviour!

[fkofilee]

Ill prep you something now Youll need to fill out the rest.