Debt company demanding money that i dont owe.

emerald12

Hello,

I have received a letter today from Lowell Portfolio Ltd who say that they have taken on the debt i have from a halifax account.

They are demanding £633. I do not owe this money.

Firstly, i closed that account years and years ago (about 20yrs) and did not leave any debt.

Secondly, after phoning them up, they state that i made a payment of £30.63 in december 2008. Well this is impossible.

Firstly, i didnt make any deposit, secondly, i relocated to cornwall in 2006 so how could i have deposited that cash!

Please, is there anyone that can help and advise me on this. I am worried sick. How on earth can i go about proving that i do not owe this money?

Thanks in advance.

Trajal

These guys are continual chancers, always trying to chase up on statute barred debts as well as going on fishing expeditions of people with similiar names etc.

Stop talking to them on the phone, send them a 'prove it' letter and your worries will most likely disappear.

Do not stress about these guys, they can't make you pay something you do not owe. Just be sure not to pay them anything and get them to send you everything in writing.

If they do telephone you at any time, say 'I'm sorry but I have requested that all further communications on this matter be made in writing' and hang up. Don't be rude, but don't engage them, just say that sentence and put the phone down on them.

fermi

Combined "prove it" and statute barred letter.

Send by recorded delivery.

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing.

Dear Sir/Madam

Reference number :

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

I would point out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to <creditor>.

We are familiar with the ‘Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance’ which states that it is unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

We would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

We would further note that based on the information you have supplied, this account would also be statute barred under the Limitation Act 1980

Under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 "an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued".

It is clear that there was a period of 6 years where no acknowledgement or payment of this debt was made.

<Give dates if you have them>

Consequently this debt is and remains statute barred under the Limitation Act 1980.

This clearly states:

"a right of action, once barred by this Act, shall not be revived by any subsequent acknowledgment or payment"

I would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that "it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period".

Furthermore that the OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that "continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970".

We would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence of both:

(1) proof of my liability regarding this debt.

and

(2) payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act.

We await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

Otherwise we will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully




Mrs A N Other

emerald12

Thankyou for your replies, but what is also concerning me is that they say 'someone' deposited £30:63p in to this account in December 2008?
Again, i can assure you that wasnt me.

emerald12

fermi wrote: »

Combined "prove it" and statute barred letter.

Send by recorded delivery.

Thankyou fermy , i will use this letter and send it to them.

fermi

emerald12 wrote: »

Thankyou for your replies, but what is also concerning me is that they say 'someone' deposited £30:63p in to this account in December 2008?
Again, i can assure you that wasnt me.

If it wasn't you, then they won't be able to show that it was. So they are stuffed.

Even if it was your debt, AND that payments was made by you, the debt would have been statute barred before that. So it still is.

Lowells seem to have a habit of claiming payments were made. When pressed, they often turn out not to exist after all. Or they are what Lowells paid for the account when they bought the debt.

Lowells are stuffed every which way you look at it.

emerald12

Thankyou fermy, thats reassuring I will use your template and send it on asap.

ceecee31

fermi wrote: »

Lowells have a habit of making up fictitious payments. When pressed, they turn out not to exist. Or they are what Lowells paid for the account when they bought the debt.

This statement more than anything fills me with such rage against these crooks. How on earth do they get away with such outrageous behaviour? People in debt are stressed enough, without this scaremongering and frankly, criminal behaviour.

erdd2

Have Lowells shown any evidence to back their claim? Does sound like the usual scaremongering of debt collection and their failure to follow correct procedures or check they have accurate information. I respect how unsettling this can be, but if you are confident you are not responsible and it is scaremongering, invite them to "bring it on" and if they rise to the challenge stand firm you want evidence of their claim(s).

emerald12

erdd2 wrote: »

Have Lowells shown any evidence to back their claim? Does sound like the usual scaremongering of debt collection and their failure to follow correct procedures or check they have accurate information. I respect how unsettling this can be, but if you are confident you are not responsible and it is scaremongering, invite them to "bring it on" and if they rise to the challenge stand firm you want evidence of their claim(s).

No, i got the letter this morning.

I have telephoned them and now they say the account was opened in 1995? i know for a fact that i did not open an account at this time. I had a previous account but closed that one down.

Im concerned because they are saying that a deposit of £ 30:63 was made in 2008 (i did not deposit anything)

If a deposit was made, will that make me exempt from the Limitation act (1980)?


Or are they lieing about this?

Trajal

Every chance they are lieing, or as was previous stated, they may have placed the fee that they paid to buy the account onto the account as a credit.

Either way, it's not your debt and definitely not your problem. Send the letters that fermi put above, and relax. This is not something you need to worry about.

These guys are very very well known for trying to scare people into paying debts which are either way too old to be enforcable or have nothing to do with the individual. I myself had one of these letters regarding a halifax debt from 1997!

I followed the templates as above and recieved written confirmation that they were not going to pursue the debt any further.

Do not worry! Send those letters and await the response (if they even remember).