Lowells

MattyLloyd

Morning all,

I had a letter from Lowells yesterday regarding an old Halifax CC debt that went in to default 5 years 6 months ago, so only 6 months until it would have been SB'd anyway (which is what I was hoping for!) they've threatened me with debt collector calling, court action, etc.. if I don't call them to arrange paying off in full, a payment plan or make them an offer.....

....my question (hope) is do you think I can ignore it for another 6 months, or as it has been taken on by Lowells does that give them another 6 years to chase me so I should arrange something with them?

They've put it on my credit file but on my old address as that's where the CC was registered and theres no update to the status, i.e. shows the last date as 5 years 6 months ago when it went in to default.

Thanks in advance for your advice/thoughts.

Matty

~Beanie~

It definitely doesn't give them another 6 years so I would go with the ignoring it option.

Or send them the 'prove it' letter, that will waste sometime if nothing else!

Tixy

The default date is almost certainly not the relevant date for statute barred purposes.

Its not SB 6 years from the date of the default, it would be 6 years from the last payment or written acknowledgement. That might be a few months before the default date, or it could be many months afterwards.

As said they don't get an extra 6years (unless you pay or acknowledge the debt).

MattyLloyd

I think I stopped paying approximately 5 months before the default was registered, so potentially it could be SB'd as of next month?

Thanks,

Matty

Tixy

That sounds likely. Its fairly common for a debt to be sold on to a new collector just before it becomes SB or just after.

Have you any way of checking when you last paid towards the CC debt? old statements etc?

If this is the first letter from them then you may just want to ignore it whilst you see if you can work out when you did last pay.

They'll likely write again in a few weeks. And at that point you might decide to send them a prove it letter (only the prove it letter nothing else).

[Deleted User]

you can stall them by putting 'return to sender, not known at this address' every time they write. This should give you the 6 months you need.

MattyLloyd

Thanks for the information guys, much appreciated.

I don't have the old statements to check the last payment date BUT looking on my equifax report, it shows in 2008 - January is blank, February is blank, March is blank and April is a red default notice and it's completely blank up to now after that.

There is no 2007 data shown but my assumption would be that I didn't make any payments in October, November and December of 2007 so is that classed as 'not recognised' as I'd not have answered any letters, calls or made a payment hence the default being registered?

Thanks again.

Matty

Powered_By_Pies

This seems to be an increasing trend in banks these days, combing over old accounts they'd forgotten or ignored to see if they can scare-tactic people into paying for something that's on the verge of being SB'd before it's too late. Makes me wonder if the proverbial's about to hit the fan in the banking industry again, as these kinds of cases are becoming more frequent.

As others have said, send a prove-it and don't acknowledge the debt. Keep stalling them, and laugh as they chase their own tales for the final few months before it's SB'd.

MattyLloyd

Morning All,

A quick update....

I've gone through my credit file (all 3!) to see what the exact date of my last payment or acknowledgment of the debt was and all I can see is a default registered in April 2008 but there was no payments/missed payments in 2007 from me at all so I doubt I would have acknowledged it either, 2007 is blank on my file, unless it just wasn't reported by the bank, although I'm sure they would as they did on other accounts I had with them.

I've had another letter from Lowells them this morning, basically saying that I haven't got in touch with them yet so they will transfer the debt to 'Red Debt Collection' their collection service. Also states that they will;

Asses my account
Asses my credit file
My Financial commitments

Making a recommendation on how best to collect the outstanding balance, this could include taking legal action, issuing a statutory demand which if remains unpaid they will petition for bankruptcy providing the amount I owe is over £750 (Letter states I owe £2,357.70 apparently)

Now my dilemma is;

1. Do I send them a 'Prove It Letter' now or wait till the last possible moment?
2. Go with whats on my credit file and tell them it's over 2191 days old so is SB'd even though default is registered in April 2008

Just for the record the debt was no longer on my credit file in August and September (I have both on file) until it was put back on by Lowells this month so I'm positive it was dropped being over 2191 old and therefor SB'd.

Is it possible in this instance Equifax were on the ball and removed it? (I hope this is the case!)

Thanks,

Matty

sourcrates

The letters you are getting are just "industry standard" scare tactics, send them the prove it letter, they will then have to request all the relevant details from the original creditor, this takes time, and as its nearly 6 yrs, then its unlikely any paperwork etc will still exist, my honest opinion ? you can sent this and probably forget about it, and if or when they get back to you, it will be statute barred anyway !!

MattyLloyd

Thanks for the advice everyone, I've sent the 'Prove It Letter' so lets see what happens.



Matty