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kayleighlou22

I wonder if anyone can help me with this problem. Back in March 2006 a group of people were canvassing our area, going door to door offering cheap contracts and phones with 3 mobile. (Stupidly) I signed up for one of these in the comfort of my home. Part of the process involved the lady phoning and doing a credit check and then she took bank details including photocopying my bank card, statements and other id required. (in retrospect I was very foolish letting this happen but assumed as they had all relevant id etc this would be ok.)

I was then left with a phone and my new contract details etc and the lady continued to her next costumer.

Two weeks later I received a call from a man offering me another contract phone again through 3 mobile. I told him I had recently taken out a contract with someone else. He told me he could offer a better contract and cheaper and that he would advise me how to cancel the previous contract without incurring any charges.

This is when he informed me that should I wish to do this I would not have to go through credit checks or supplying my details as he had them already including my bank account details as the lady who had initially came to the door had ceased working for the other company and was now working for him and had taken all the clients details she had signed up and given them to him.

To cut a long story short I refused the contract, shut my bank account down and then embarked on a very bitter call to 3 mobile about their breach of contract, data protection and privacy. I asked them to cancel my contract as from the end of the billing month and they told me they would look into the matter.

My service was then cut and I heard nothing from them for over 6 months during which I moved to another house in another area and consequently did not think about it again thinking that they had taken action and closed my account with no charges due to the breakdown of the agreement on their side.

Nearly 6 years on I have received 2 letters from Lowells debt collectors with 2 different accounts on. One states I owe 3 over £900 for one contract and the other over £700. When I contacted to ask about this I was told I took out 2 contracts with 3 in March 2006. I know I only ever had one. When questioned further I was told both bills were less than £100 but the rest was for early cancellation of contract. Again I only ever had one and believed that the contract had been ended with no charge.

After demanding to see all contracts, paperwork and bills for the accounts I then received a letter saying as they couldn't provide details for the account I denied having knowledge off they would write it off. Next day I got a threat letter from Hamptoms saying if I did not pay half of the balance or agree to a payment of £40 per month they would seek a ccj against me.

I am more than willing to pay for any phone usage but I will not be forced to pay for a cancelled contract due to their failings.
Could anybody advise me on what I should do?

At the time I also sought advice from CAB and sent an email to the Office of fair trading. Unfortunately due to the amount of years passed and 2 moves I have no paperwork or correspondence as I believed the matter was dead.

JJ_Egan

Looks like nothing to do with 3 .
You signed up through a third party .

jje

robbies_gal

i think this be better in the debt advice section but im sure after a certain amount of years they cant legally chase a debt-i could be wrong

Quentin

gabbyevs wrote: »

i think this be better in the debt advice section but im sure after a certain amount of years they cant legally chase a debt-i could be wrong

They need to start proceedings within 6 years, (which it looks like they are doing).

Buzby

I can sympathise, but your ire was directed at the wrong party - 3UK were the supplier, not the seller. If it helps, this was around the time a lot of cut-throat selling was going on, and shortly after the 'cashback schemes' started and brought the whole thing into disrepute.

The real issue is not what you are being chased for now, but what has been done to your credit file by 3UK. Who justifiably had a customer to did not complete the agreement and defaulted. Check your file as a matter of urgency and see what is there, as this is really the most important element to fix first.

rartherinv

I am very familiar with Lowell Group, they bought a handful of my debts from various companies and I have been duelling with them for 5 years. They buy low doc and no doc defaults from everybody and anybody for virtually nothing (1-10% of the original debt) and then they barrage the target with threats in order to get a small percentage to pay up and make them a handsome profit.

'Hamptons' is just a letterhead they use to scare their customers/targets into paying, as well as 'Red Debt Collection' and 'Buchanan Clark & Wells'. Any comminications from these 'companies' saying they have purchased the debt or been instructed by lowell to pursue legal action is actually just a Lowell Group tactic to scrape the bottom of the jar.

If they said they have no doc and it will no longer be pursued then you should be able to assume that it is done with. The Hamptons threatogram was probably already in the 2nd class post when they made the decision to give up.

Best wishes :T