JD Williams and Lowell - advice please?

[cgb1701]

Hi Guys,

I seem to be in quite the similar situation to OP.

 

I received a letter from Lowell around a month ago and called to speak to them.

My account claiming I owe £323.33 for an account opened in 2009.

 

There are regular purchases and pay offs over the next 12 months and then didn't use them for a long time.

In 2012 I then logged into my account to make another purchase and suddenly noticed a huge balance,

not knowing any better I paid of some of the balance, covering the cost of the goods but was arguing about all the charges.

 

IIRC they actually dropped some of the charges at the time as they couldn't provide me with anything that said I agreed to them.

 

Around the middle of 2012 I remember getting a phone call from a debt collection agency who said I owed, at that time, about £200 to Premier Man.

 

I again said I was happy to pay it if someone could show me what or where I had agreed to those charges.

I think I got a generic copy of the T&C but they were dated as 2012 and they couldn't provide me with T&C from when I signed up.

 

I've not used premier man since and I've moved house three times since then but

last month got a letter from Lowells saying I owed £323.

 

I dont have that kind of cash so I called them and spoke to them.

I explained the above, Premier Man couldn't provide me any details,

the other agency couldn't provide me any details

but if Lowell could provide me details I'd gladly pay it.

 

At that point the girl on the phone said if I paid her £150 there and then they would wipe off the debt completely.

Had it been right after payday I might have done it but, again, I dont have that kind of cash laying around.

I told her the same thing, get me a copy of the T&C, something showing I'd agreed to them and what the charges are.

 

Yesterday they've sent me a second letter saying my account is on hold until Premier Man provide my Credit Agreement but have provided a copy of my statement dating back to 2009

if I would like to get in touch to "propose affordable payments".

 

 

T he last transaction where I bought actual goods was in 2013,

more than 30 charges of £12 "admin fee" and some months

- january and february 2013 for example

- I've been charged the admin fee twice.

[dx100uk]

stop talking to fleecing DCA's on the phone

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS

and have

NO SUCH LEGAL POWERS.

[cgb1701]

Hi All,

 

I was just wondering if I could get some advice.

 

in April this year I received a letter from Lowell requesting £323 for debt to JD Williams.

 

Some history

- JD williams (premier man) first contacted me about 3 years ago saying I had out standing debt,

at the time I asked them to send me a statement and a copy of my agreement where I agreed to the £12 administration charges on my account.

They could not provide them and I never heard from them again.

 

About 2 years ago I heard from another debt collection agency with the same thing,

again I asked for a copy of my statement and the agreement - I never heard from them again.

 

Around April this year I heard from Lowell, who had bought the debt from JD Williams and were seeking payment.

I informed them I had had this conversation with JD Williams and the other debt agency several years ago and neither of them could provide me with any proof why I owed this money.

 

Lowell have now provided my account statement but have been told by JD williams that I signed up too long ago and they no longer have a copy of the agreement I would have agreed to.

 

Looking at the actual statement it starts in Sept 2009 but there are already charges on it so I assume my account was older than that.

 

Back when JD Williams first contacted me about the outstanding payments my question to them was what the administration charges were for, some months there are two lots of charges, some months one charge, some month no charges.

For example, between September 2010 and Sept 2011 - there are 12 admin charges despite making 5 payments of over the minimum required.

 

The last goods I bought were in March 2013, the first in over six months, which is when I noticed all the addition charges and interest and got in touch with them.

 

 

At that time, I believe, we agreed to a partial payment to cover goods and interest and I paid £102 in August 2013 and I never heard from them again after that, until the debt collectors started calling.

 

Lowell today acknowledged that the admin charges do look strange and dont make sense and that there are some double charges that they will take off and reduce it to £170.

 

As far as I can work out from the statement:

Opening ballance of -£44 at the start of the statement in 2009

between 2009 and 2014

 

£483.87 worth of goods and postage

£193.45 worth of interest charges

£564 worth of administration charges.

I've paid £859.16 over the years

 

Leaving balance of £338

 

My argument is

I've paid for all the goods, postage and interest and all the pre-2013 late charges (plus a bit more) when I spoke to premier man back in 2013.

 

 

The remaining balance is administration charges and interest on those charges that they can't provide any evidence for me agreeing to or a copy of the T&C I would have agreed.

 

 

I hope all this made sense.

 

 

Any advice for what to tell Lowell when they call back would be appreciated.

 

 

I really dont have £300+ to pay for some shirts I bought 4 years ago!

 

 

Although I'm sure many of us are in the same boat.

 

Thanks!

[dx100uk]

stop talking to fleecing DCA's on the phone !!

 

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS

and have

NO SUCH LEGAL POWERS

 

 

send lowells a CCA request

[martin2006]

And set about reclaiming all these "admin" charges aswell plus interest at the rate you were paying.

You can d/l a CIsheet from here(just click it and read all the posts).