Lowell Group chasing O2 debt

pilihp

Hi guys, I'm home at my parents over Christmas and have just received a call to their landline from the Lowell Group. They were extremely rude and wouldn't tell me what the call was concerning until I gave them specific details about myself. Not wanting to give out random details to a company I've never heard of I managed to get out of them what they wanted. They said they were collecting a debt for an old O2 mobile contract I had and that I had to pay over the phone immediately. I said I'd pull out the paperwork and call them back - to buy myself some time. Been searching the forums and been reading a lot of bad things about them and could do with some advice myself.

I had an O2 mobile contract in 2005-2006. At the end of the 12month contract I called to cancel it as I was due to work out in the States for a year. Because the phone wasn't going to be used for the year I was in the States instead of the free phone upgrade they offered to give me enough contract credit that would pay for the contract while I was away so could pick it up when I returned. I decided to cancel the direct debits for the contract so that they wouldn't unnecessarily extract any money from my account while I was away (as it would pay for itself from the credit offered). Unfortunately it seems like I must have cancelled the DD at the end of the 12months but before the last payment had been taken out.

When I returned from the States and called O2 to continue the contract they said I now owed about £180 in fees because I'd missed the last payment (£30 contract) and they'd cancelled my account. I offered to pay the £30 I missed but they wouldn't accept it. Being a poor student I ignored it and changed to PAYG. A year later I opened another contract with O2 so assumed the debt must have been written off.

Now the Lowell Group are on to me, claiming they've been contacting me via letter and not heard from me - they've been sending mail to my old student address. I'm happy to pay the £30 owed for the contract, but can't afford to pay the full fees of nearly £200 now.

What can I do? Thanks in advance.

samsss

pilihp, my dad also has just had a letter through, to his old address, so obviously they are fishing for an easy catch and there database isn't up to date so there are obviously on the scam and i haven't opened it because its not my letter but i know my dad has an O2 contract which he always pays which is why this thread was brought to my attention. But i Googled the return to on the back of the letter and led me to numerous forums and sites complaining about these !!!!!! (mind my language) but i found a really helpful site for you if you want to take a look, an easy way to shut them out, but i am going to say now be very wary about what you say to them, and wait for them to come to you, dont go to them. but make sure you check out the site, just type in complaints against lowell group into google and is the one directly beneath the sponsored link but please make sure you read the entire page to fill your brain with ammunition