Lowell and various debts.

[Boohoo1988]

I'm in need of some help.

 

I've just received 4 letters from llowel regarding a few debts from 2014 which was sent to my mum's address (I've never lived with my mum at that address) moved out at 16

 

. One of the debts is a electric company for £100 who knew at the time my forwarding address and I haven't heard anything from them at all no reminders or letters saying I owed them anything. Same for the other 2 gave them my forwarding address and not once did hear anything from the original people who I owed the money to.

 

The last letter is for a credit card which I wrote directly to the company explaining why I couldn't pay sent proof etc and cancelled the DD.

I haven't heard anything back from that company either which was 2years ago.

 

Irrelevant but last year I was made homeless and just getting back on my feet,

I've paid everything on-time and not took any further debt on.

 

how do I approach this as only two of the debt letters state which company the money is owed and from what years.

I live in a completely different county to my mum.

 

Llowel have sent letters threatening to send me to court etc and bailiffs

[AndyOrch]

Hi and Welcome  to CAG

 

Are any of these debts showing on your credit files ?

 

Andy

[Boohoo1988]

No the only thing showing on my credit file is anything from 2017 to present.

 

Previous to 2017 I will admit isn't great my credit rating was very poor and I did default on payments to a bank I was with in 2009 however never heard from them either. 

[AndyOrch]

Can you list all the debts here by name/amount /age/type of debt.....you stated they are all from 2014 so they are approaching 6 years and possibly due to go statute barred...hence the flurry from Lowell before they reach 6 years.

[Boohoo1988]

British gas from 26/12/11 to 15/02/14

however I was with British gas from july 2009 to 2013 at the address they're stating. 

 

Eon from 08/03/2014 to 31/07/2017 at the address I was living at

 

Bt has the amount owed however no address the they supplied and from when

 

same with vanquis 

 

I also gave eon my New address at the time I left my old house and received nothing from them

 

I've not been able to log in to my online account with eon since I informed them I was moving in 2017 never had a final bill

[dx100uk]

I will guess lowells are looking to do their favourite recent trick which is to merge all the debts under one court claimform by the backdoor as they don't know your actual current address as you've not written to them informing them of such... hoping to get a default judgement by using another old address....

 

they are trying to fly these kites because they think old util bills give them some magical superpower when ofcourse they don't.

 

can I just confirm, to date you haven't informed them in writing of your present address then we'll move things on.

[Boohoo1988]

No to be honest i was more concerned about finding somewhere to live

I had my job but was homeless.

 

never dealt with them before until my mum opened my letters as they were sent to her address

I've never even had anything in her address.

thing is she only moved there 5 week's ago

 

I haven't even replied to them yet as I don't know what is best to do.

I've got untill the 27th December to get in touch with them

 

The company's knew my address before I was homeless but never heard back from them ie eon and vanquis .

at the time I offered to pay the debt and asked for expenses form but they never replied.

Eon never sent me a final bill

[dx100uk]

I'm thinking for the minute you might need to act here as a preventative measure, rather than one of a cure, though one could well lead to the other.

you also need to get up to speed on the whole debt industry and how they operate.

 

to that end I've moved your thread to the https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/124-debt-management-and-debt-self-help/ forum.

if you click the above link and scroll down a bit

you'll see various threads from others with their stories and the actions and advice given  

it will help you no end to read as many as you can.

 

I poss would be sending a separate reply to EACH Lowell letter you have gotten.

reference each of lowells ref no's in the title.

 

simply state something like ...

 

thank you for your letter of [date] regarding my historic possible debt to [original creditor] that you have purchased at a pence to pound deal with them.

 

I do not recognise nor acknowledge any possible debt owed to them nor subsequently yourselves .

 

please note my correct address as detailed above.

 

yours 

etc etc

……...

 

that way at lease they'll know where you are

and if they wish to send you a forest of letters etc, you'll be guaranteed to receive them and comeback here.

 

however bar the above idea, i'd sit on your hands, and especially do not respond to any phonecalls/texts/emails/doorsteppers or WHY. writing from now on ONLY bothways.

 

but ofcourse get reading up.

 

dx

 

 

 

[Boohoo1988]

Thanks for the help and advice in the post first thing in the morning

[Peterbard]

Hi DX

I am not nit picking honestly, but the bit about buying the debt is unnecessary IMO.

It is unnecessarily hostile, and un professional . it also confirms that they may have been  debt of yours

 

All you should be asking, is for is an explination of why these odd pieces of paper have been posted through your letter box.

Just A suggestion. If any of it is any use please feel free

 

Dear Si,

 RE: your correspondence dated.           your ref   xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

By this correspondence, you seem to imply that the matters therein enclosed, have some connection with me.

I would like to state, that I have no immediate recollection of any of these dealings.

 

However memory being what it is ,and the events being so long ago, I welcome further information, in order to deal or disregard them as warranted.

 

Please feel free to contact me by mail at this address. I would ask that you to refrain from any other form of contact in this regard, and remind you of the requirements under DATA principles and GDPR when handling my personal data.

 

regards

[AndyOrch]

Quote

I live in a completely different county to my mum./ I've never lived with my mum at that address

 

 

Could you expand on the above...you are still in the UK ?

[Boohoo1988]

Yes still in the UK the last time I lived at my mum's was 2007 and that was abroad

[AndyOrch]

And now your Mum resides here in the UK ?

[Boohoo1988]

Yes since 2009 she moved to a part of the UK near other family and I stayed in the same area until last year when I was homeless (no fault of my own) was renting private then I moved further north she lives Midlands way

[AndyOrch]

Okay that clarifies the position...so the only mystery now is how they have managed to link her and address to you......you probably think whats with all the questions but this is an important point and determining how they made the connection. I dont suppose your Mum inadvertently answered a phone call from them and confirmed that you was her son ?

 

 

[Boohoo1988]

No she only answers calls she knows she doesn't even have a contract phone nothing on credit she's very old fashioned like that

[AndyOrch]

Strange...very strange...oh well they currently dont have an address for you or a previous address and therefore would be unable to serve a court claim on you until they get your current address.Therefore I would avoid sending any letters...which you would have to state your address for a response...and let them continue to send phishing letters to your mum....they are trying to establish a connection....and for you to acknowledge that connection.

 

Andy

[comebackjimmy]

I will contribute here if that is all right as I have successfully fought off Lowell with a Vanquis card and have some knowledge of how they work.

 

So first things first, what is the nature of each of these letters?  If they are all introductory letters with a Lowell letter head then that is a good sign.    They can safely be ignored.

 

However, can we be clear that none of the letters are County Court Claim forms or Letters before Action.   A letter before action would say that or something similar on the letter.   Make sure none of them are from a solicitor.

 

Presuming these letters are all intro letters I would go dark!   That is to say I would not reply.  No emails,  no snail mail and definitely no phone calls.

 

Let them keep sending their various automated letters for as long as they like.

 

If you receive any phone calls from them (though currently it does not seem likely as how would they get your number) then DO NOT GO THROUGH SECURITY, just hang up without speaking to them.    Then create a contact in your phone called DCA Lowell and add the number they called from.

 

They call from various numbers.  Here is a list of numbers they have previously called from though in actual fact all the calls come from one automated threatomatic machine in an office somewhere:

 

07900742239
01133086169
08448150652
0844444716
01133086000
01133086035
07900742242
0333 556 5500
0333 556 5501
0333 556 5835
0333 556 5560
0333 556 5561
0333 556 5520

 

Of course there will be more!

 

With all due respect to Dx100UK (for whom I do have the highest respect as I have seen and followed his many posts over the years) but I would not send a letter along the lines he suggests.  For a start he refers to "my possible historic debt" this to me could be interpreted as taking ownership of the debt.

 

It might be worth writing a letter to them if your current address is stable but if they continue to write to your mother's address then you will receive them.  Have her open and photograph them and send you the pictures by whattsapp.

 

If you do write to them I would keep it as simple as possible as follows:

 

Dear Sirs

 

REF:  (ACCOUNT NO.)

 

Please be advised that should you wish to write to me then the address for correspondence in this matter is as follows:

 

YOUR ADDRESS.

 

Yours sincerely

 

(Absolutely do not send phone number or email address)

 

Next:

 

Join checkmyfile or similar credit reference service  for free and you will get regular updates to your credit report and will see any changes immediately  just in case Lowell slip a sneaky CCJ through.

 

Your current position seems to be that they are trying to collect on the debts.

 

They do not know for sure who you are.

 

They have not established that a debt exists.

 

They have not established  their right over the debt or ownership of the debt.

 

They have not provided any paperwork to establish the debt.

 

They have not proved they bought the debt and/or declared they are acting for either the original creditor or anyone else that bought the debt.

 

So for now, go dark and stay dark other than possibly directing any correspondence to you instead of poor old mum, unless she is willing to be your gatekeeper. 

 

Also, worth trying to find out when these debts were last acknowledged by you.  By that I mean when did you last pay or write something saying or implying you owed the money?

 

This is because no legal action can take place after six years (five in Scotland) so it is worth while working out how long they have got to run.

 

When you first defaulted then the original creditor would at some point have recorded the default with a credit reference agency.  If Lowell bought the debt then they have (or had) a habit of illegally re-defaulting.   In my case they tried to say the debt was still within the six years but I was able to refute that with a copy of the original default notice.

 

In the case of the Vanquis card your clock starts ten days after the date of the Default Notice VANQUIS issued.  The default date on your Credit file may be different but it is the DN notice that is the important one.

 

In the case of the utilities then either the last time you paid or if they did issue a default notice then the same as for the Vanquis card.

 

That is enough to be going on with.

 

As ever I welcome other CAG'ers suggestions, comments and criticisms. I might have got some things wrong. 

Edited December 20, 2019 by comebackjimmy
spelling

[Peterbard]

Hi DX

I am not nit picking honestly, but the bit about buying the debt is unnecessary IMO.

It is unnecessarily hostile, and un professional . it also confirms that they may have been  debt of yours

 

All you should be asking, is for is an explination of why these odd pieces of paper have been posted through your letter box.

Just A suggestion. If any of it is any use please feel free

 

Dear Si,

 RE: your correspondence dated.           your ref   xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

By this correspondence, you seem to imply that the matters therein enclosed, have some connection with me.

I would like to state, that I have no immediate recollection of any of these dealings.

 

However memory being what it is ,and the events being so long ago, I welcome further information, in order to deal or disregard them as warranted.

 

Please feel free to contact me by mail at this address. I would ask that you to refrain from any other form of contact in this regard, and remind you of the requirements under DATA principles and GDPR when handling my personal data.

 

regards

 

 

This is all they require in the first instance. Dont go giving them hints or asking for individual items.

 

You must make them show their hand, then you can examine your options.

[Boohoo1988]

The letters say we wrote to you previously to let you know that my bg account has been sold to llowel ( they haven't sent anything before now) that's the same with eon 

 

The vanquis and BT letter say as the New owner of your vanquis/BT account we are contacting you to arrange payment. 

 

The last time I paid British gas was 2014

Eon July 2017 . 

 

BT struggling with that one as my broadband was with talk talk until I cancelled it was over my 2year contract. And vanquis was 2017 when I sent them an letter to say I would be cancelling the DD as I was off work Sick due to ill health even sent with that a photocopy of my Sick note to prove the gp had signed me off. And they never replied. so vanquis actually had my address details until 2018 end of when I moved. 

 

My mum's quite happy too send them return to sender like I said previously I've never had anything at my mum's address and if they wanted proof I don't live there not a proplem as she's in care and housing 21

 

The only thing that is currently on my credit file is vanquis and two other previous credit cards and my car as it's on hp this was all gone through at the time I took out my car as they asked me why I didn't pay my credit cards explained why and they was happy enough.and a agreed overdraft with Santander. 

[comebackjimmy]

OK

 

So right now they allege they own the debt and want you to pay.

 

I would stay dark.

 

Get your mum to open the letters and whattsapp the contents to you.

 

As long is it is the standard chasing letters of one sort or another then it is safe to ignore.   They have not got you to the doors of the court yet!!

 

Get your mum to KEEP all the letters and whenever you visit just collect them and file them properly.

 

The object of the exercise is never to give them any feedback.

 

I would never send the letters back as Return to Sender.  Right now they don't know anything so the threatomatic machine is just pumping them out, let it continue to do so.  If you get the letters sent back as Return to Sender they may not believe it but if they do then you lose control of what they are doing.  As long as they are sending correspondence to you it is possible to read what they are saying and see if they are trying anything on.   They might just try a backdoor CCJ but if they do not use your mums address they might use some other previous address and you have lost control.

 

This is a long game where they keep hitting balls over the net and you keep not hitting them back, and they don't know if there is anyone on your side of the court!

 

The only time you have to do anything else is when they start to get legal.

[Boohoo1988]

Thanks guys for all the sound advice really appreciate it. I had a sleepness night over what was best to do

[comebackjimmy]

Do nothing, sleep well!

[dx100uk]

10/10 cbj!

 

dx