Appealing against default.

emmmski

After a long (4 yrs) period of making reduced payments to shop direct, £50 per month, they have sold/passed my account on to Lowell. As soon as they wrote to me introducing themselves, they requested I set up a payment plan,I made them exactly the same offer of £50 ,which they accepted straight away. This has been paid on time since then. However I found on my credit report that they have made an entry on my credit report, defaulting me.
I am hoping to appeal against this . I noticed on my credit file that the default is dated 25/06/13, I have it in writing from Lowell that they took ownership of my account from 28/06/13. Is this a route I can go down when appealing against the default?
Whilst I accept that I have broken the terms, It seems unfair that shop direct can default me for years, then sell the debt on and Lowell default again, just wondered if the fact they've dated the default to before they actually owned the accounts means I get it removed?

Thank you in advance!

matttye

The default is valid, but it should be dated roughly 4 years ago. When a debt collection agency buys a debt, everything in your credit file changes into their name.

Did you actually have a default from shop direct? If so, Lowell are NOT allowed to change the default date and must change it back.

If you didn't have a default with shop direct, what have they reported?

Either way you have a valid complaint! Write to Lowell with a formal complaint asking them to put it right and tell them you'll be going to the FOS after 8 weeks if they don't sort it out.

emmmski

I just checked my equifax, as far back as 2009 is as far as I can view, shop direct gave used a variety of a AP market Q market or a red 3 up until they sold the debt to Lowell . i can prove a regular monthly payment of £50 since 2008.
I stand corrected ,looks like shop direct didn't default me. Guess that's bad news for me then and makes the Lowell default valid?

matttye

emmmski wrote: »

I just checked my equifax, as far back as 2009 is as far as I can view, shop direct gave used a variety of a AP market Q market or a red 3 up until they sold the debt to Lowell . i can prove a regular monthly payment of £50 since 2008.
I stand corrected ,looks like shop direct didn't default me. Guess that's bad news for me then and makes the Lowell default valid?

Nope, you still have a valid complaint.

The ICO's guidance on defaults says that arrangements to pay should last no more than 6 months and are meant to be a short-term repayment arrangement. After that, if you are not back up to your regular payments as set out in the credit agreement, they should default you. So after around 6 months of your reduced payments you should have received a default.

Lenders are not allowed to report late payments, arrangements to pay etc. just to trash your credit file for longer than a default would.

emmmski

Oh there is hope...... Right do I complain to shop direct or Lowell? And do you happen to know of any templates for this kind of complaint?

Thank you

matttye

emmmski wrote: »

Oh there is hope...... Right do I complain to shop direct or Lowell? And do you of my templates for this kind of complaint?

You should complain to Lowell as the entries on your credit file are now in their name and Shop Direct cannot change them.

I don't know of a template letter but should say something like this:

"Dear Sir/Madam

Re: formal complaint
My account - [account number/ref here]

I write further to the placing of a default on my account by yourselves, which is dated 25/06/2013.

I would point out that I have made reduced payments of £50 per month to the original creditor (Shop Direct) since 2008. The ICO's guidance on defaults, section 11, says:

"Accounts should normally be filed as being in default where those payments due have not been received for six months."

I therefore demand that the default you have placed on my file be backdated to [enter date here], which is six months after I first made a reduced payment.

If my complaint is not resolved within eight weeks, I will take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Please note I do not wish to discuss this matter over the phone and will await your response by return.

Yours faithfully


[your name here]"

Change all of the parts in [square brackets]. The [enter date here] part needs to be the month and year which is six months after you started making the reduced payments. So if you started paying £50 per month in March 2008, you should put September 2008.

This is just the body of the letter - let me know if you need help actually putting it into a letter format with your address etc. on it.

emmmski

Great, thanks for taking the time to do that, I shall compose it today and hope they change the default date. Thanks again.:j

emmmski

Please see my reply from Lowell today, stating they would not be removing the default. Any advice on my next move?

Thanks in advance


Dear

Lowell Reference: 130467863
Original Creditor: Shop Direct (Littlewoods)
Original Reference:
Outstanding Balance: £1,903.89

I acknowledge receipt of your email dated 1 September 2013 and note all your comments.

Summary of your complaint

You have made reduced payments to Shop Direct. You quoted the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) Guidance on Defaults. You demanded that the default on your credit file is backdated six months from when the reduced payments were made for a period of six months in 2008.

My findings

The ICO believes there should be general rules for the minimum and maximum period of arrears which should exist before a default can be filed. Accounts should not be routinely filed as being in default where full payments or those due under a rescheduled agreement are fewer than three consecutive months in arrears, also accounts should normally be filed as being in default where those payments due have not been received for six months.

A general rule for applying a default by a company is usually three to six months, however this timescale varies for each company and we are not privy to when Shop Direct choose to apply a default to a customer’s credit file.

Lowell Portfolio I Ltd is a debt purchase company. We purchased the above outstanding balance from Shop Direct (Littlewoods) on 28 June 2013. We purchase accounts that have entered default and upon doing so become the legal owner and assume the rights to collect on any monies owed.

Your default was applied to your credit file on 25 June 2013. Based on the above, we will unfortunately not be backdating your default. I have placed your account on hold for 30 days whilst you forward your payment proposals, after which point collection activities will resume should I not hear from you within that time. To enable us to set up an arrangement, please contact our Collections Department on 0844 844 4716 where they can discuss an affordable payment plan.

I hope that this response concludes the matter to your satisfaction. If you need to discuss this further please do not hesitate to contact me on the telephone number 0800 5420 058 or write to me at the address above.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) provides a dispute resolution service to assist customers who feel their complaint remains unresolved. You have a right to use this service for up to six months from the date of this email. For more information please visit the Financial Ombudsman’s website using the following hyperlink: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/consumer-leaflet.htm. Naturally we hope that you will not feel the need to do so.

Yours sincerely

Michelle Abel
Customer Relations Officer
0800 542 0058 Ext: 7351
Lowell Group
Enterprise House 1 Apex View Leeds LS11 9BH



This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the recipient of this email. If you are not the named recipient you should not disseminate, distribute, copy or alter this email. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and might not represent those of Lowell Financial. Warning: Although Lowell Financial has taken reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are present in this email, the company cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments. Lowell Financial Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number 4558936. Registered office: Enterprise House, 1 Apex View, Leeds LS11 9BH. Lowell Financial also trades under the names of Lowell Group, Hamptons Legal and Red Debt Collection Services.
Lowell Group:
• An Investors in People Champion organisation
• No.1 in an index of all the main credit management and debt collection companies in Europe, prepared by industry consultants OC&C, for five years running 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008
• Credit Today’s Debt Purchaser of the Year 2012, 2010 and 2007 – the only company to win the award three times
• Achieved the highest average score across the industry during 2012 in the Credit Services Association’s Collector Accreditation Initiative (CAI), an online test that examines the knowledge and competencies required to perform the role of a professional collector
• Also in 2012: Finalist for Employer of the Year in the European Centre and Customer Service Awards, winner of a National Training Award for the Yorkshire & Humber region for its Future Leaders programme and received a best in category Silver Award for ‘Freshest Internal Communications’ at the Fresh PR awards.
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imoneyop

They are ignoring what you actually said and just brushing you off - refer them to the FOS. A £500 charge for a FOS referral might make them see sense

McKneff

I think it's even more than £500 now.Go get 'em lol

happy_bunny_2

Yep, refer to FOS