Notice of issue of warrant of control

MarrtyGH1369 · 22 December 2017 at 1:07PM

Hi. I just received a letter (days before Christmas) completely out of the blue and I don't know what it means or what to do about it.

It's a Notice of issue of warrant of control.

The creditor is Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd.

I am the debtor according to them.

The letter says that "you have not made payment under the judgement as you were ordered"..... This is the first time I have heard of anything like this!
The letter says that if I don't pay £180 the bailiff will call and remove my goods.
I'm not aware of having any debts. Even if I did, how can they jump to sending bailiffs out?
I don't have the money to pay this, I suffer from Complex regional pain syndrome in my right arm and leg so I can't use my right arm and have trouble walking. I also suffer from extreme depression and possibly schizophrenia (but I can't get in to see the mental health team to secure a diagnosis) so I haven't been able to work for a while.
The DWP also stopped my ESA a while ago (which I am receiving help from Citizens advice with so I can take the DWP to court to get them to over turn their decision) so we are living on my pip and the carers allowance my partner gets....my pip is £220 a month so you can see that we aren't exactly flush with money!

What should/can I do please?
Talk about ruin Christmas!

Any help or advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated as i feel like the world is slipping from under me right now.

Thanks,
Martyn.

National_Debtline · 22 December 2017 at 1:33PM

Hi Martyn and welcome to the forum.

Lowell are a company who purchase a lot of old, defaulted debts, and my guess is that they have acquired something you owed in the distant past - a mobile phone bill or catalogue account, for example - and have then gone to court over it. If you've changed addresses at any point since this debt first arose, then previous letters/court papers may have gone to that old address, hence it taking a while to come to light.

Please note that this letter doesn't mean a bailiff visit is imminent - just that Lowell may be applying to court for permission to instruct one. Any such bailiff will not have any powers to force entry to your home, and must give you at least seven clear days' notice of any visit. In that sense, the letter you've received is a little misleading.

You may wish to contact Lowell to ask for more information about this alleged debt. Your next steps will then depend on whether you recognise the debt as valid and need time to arrange affordable payments, or wish to dispute it. Either way you should get further advice by posting here or contacting one of the free debt charities. You may find the following info on county court bailiffs useful:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/stoppingbailiffaction/countycourtbailiffs.aspx

Dennis
@natdebtline

MarrtyGH1369 · 22 December 2017 at 2:07PM

Thanks for the quick reply Dennis.
I have taken some diazepam so I'm a bit calmer, for now at least.
I thought that one of the worst things I could do is contact them?
Understanding any of this is really difficult for me as I'm on really strong pain killers (fentanyl) so, coupled with my mental health problems, I'm looking at all of this and my brain is failing to take any of it in.
Who do you think I should talk to get the best help?

Thanks again Dennis, I can't tell you how much I appreciate the help.

Martyn.

sourcrates · 22 December 2017 at 2:14PM

I would never ring a debt collector, under normal circumstances, but just to put your mind at rest for the next few days, ring and ask Lowell what this is about.

Normally if you raise a dispute, they will put a hold on things for anywhere up to 28 days, simple call is all it takes, just say you don’t recognise the debt, tell them of your health issues, and that you’ve taken advice from National Debtline.

Once on hold, you can ask for details of the debt, then take it from there.

No need to panic, if it’s your debt you can pay in affordable instalments, don’t let it spoil your Christmas.

MarrtyGH1369 · 22 December 2017 at 2:33PM

Thank you for taking the time to reply.
What sort of thing should I say to them? What kind of questions should I be asking?
I these are probably things I should know but I haven't dealt with anything like this before and I have a habit of losing the ability to concentrate on a topic for much time due to my health problems.

Thank you for your time and help.

National_Debtline · 22 December 2017 at 2:33PM

Hi again Martyn

Like Sourcrates I'm not normally a big advocate of calling debt collectors, but if you know what you are asking for then you can treat any phone call as a fact-finding mission and nothing else. If they start badgering you for payment there and then, just hang up if that's what you need to do, it's no big deal.

You may also be able to find out more about the court judgment and the debt that led to it by checking your own credit file and the official court registers:

https://www.trustonline.org.uk/search-yourself
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/credit-referencing/credit-reports.aspx

If it is easier to speak to someone then by all means give us a call, we are open until 8pm tonight and 9.30am-1pm tomorrow before closing for the Xmas week.

Dennis
@natdebtline

MarrtyGH1369 · 22 December 2017 at 3:03PM

Thanks again for the help Dennis.
Unfortunately I don't have the money to pay for the file in that link, silly I know but we are skint. All the money we had went to buying what little presents we could for our children.

When I phone Lowell what sort of questions should I be asking? What's shouldn't I say?

I can't get my head around This, I feel pathetic because I can't make my brain work the way I want it to.

Thanks Dennis.

sourcrates · 22 December 2017 at 3:25PM

Martyn_James wrote: »

When I phone Lowell what sort of questions should I be asking? What's shouldn't I say?
.

When you ring Lowell its important to remember you will just be speaking to a call handler who will, most likely, be following some kind of script laid out in-front of them, so that's what i suggest you do.

Just jot down on a piece of paper the questions you would like answering, so, start by giving them your name, and the Lowell reference number which will be on the letter they sent you.

This will identify you to them.

All creditors and debt collectors have procedures and policies for when customers have mental health issues but they can’t use these unless you tell them about your problems.

Also if you don’t tell them about your situation then they may decide you are a “won’t pay” rather than “can’t pay”.

So tell them about your health issues first.

Then you want to know what this debt relates to, and when the CCJ was awarded, then ask them to send you this in writing as well.

Next tell them to hold action whilst you take advice from a debt charity (Stepchange or National Debtline).

That`s it, say thank you, and hang up.

Job done.

National_Debtline · 22 December 2017 at 5:12PM

Hi Martyn

Useful suggestions from sourcrates above. Let us stress, though, that if you're not totally comfortable calling them, then don't. Emailing [EMAIL="support@lowellgroup.co.uk"]support@lowellgroup.co.uk[/EMAIL] to request these details might be easier in these circumstances. Typically at this time of year, applications to the court progress more slowly so I'd be surprised if you received any seven-day enforcement notice before 2017 is out.

Dennis
@natdebtline

MarrtyGH1369 · 22 December 2017 at 7:20PM

Thank you both so much for your time and help.

I think I will go with email because I tend to fall apart when I have to speak to someone I don't know, as I've said, my medication makes me think very slowly and I gets quite jittery if someone tries to pressurise me. An email would eliminate this so that is a good suggestion.

I will email Lowell tomorrow and see what they say, I will post back to this comment when I hear back from them.

Thanks again to both of you. I hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy New year.

Martyn.

ThisIsMe · 23 December 2017 at 10:25AM

I had 3 debts with Lowell Portfolio. Capital One, Very, and JD Williams.

I phoned Lowell Portfolio and told them about my mental health problems, they passed my account onto a special team from within Lowell, i offered £1 per month and they refused, They said i need to look after myself first.

A few weeks later i had a letter from them. They looked into my accounts and my mental health and closed the 3 accounts. As Lowell Portfolio owned the debts i have never heard from them since.

They did say if i wanted to pay them off when i get better i could. I would just need to call them and they would open the account, take payment, then close again. But they admitted that is more for people who worry about credit files.

Lowell Portfolio are one of the best i have dealt with. Quick phone call was all that was needed for me.

Notice of issue of warrant of control

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