Lowell Portfolio still chasing me, despite not proving the debt is mine.

chrisuren

Basically as the title says, I contested a debt that isn't mine, to do with someone taking a phone out with 02 in my name, I sent a proof of debt letter recorded delievery on the 20th march and about 3 weeks later they returned to me via post saying that they still want payment, nothing was sent that actually proves the debt to me mine.

I recieved a letter today saying if I do not pay them soon (£369, I wish I had that just laying around...) they will send the baliffs, I understand these bully boy tactics but I'm worried about my credit file as I'd like to move out soon.

What is the best course of action?

[Deleted User]

They can't send bailiffs.

Only a court can do that.

Powered_By_Pies

They can't send bailifs at all, as far as I'm aware.

They first need to go to court to apply for and have a CCJ approved against you. To do this they need to prove to the court the debt exists, and you would then be able to explain to the court that you have no idea about this debt and that attempts to retrieve the information for clarity have been rebuffed by the DCA. Any bailiff that isn't court appointed and doesn't have relevant legal documentation has as much right to entry of your property as I do.

Have you contacted 02 to see what information they hold on the bogus phone contract, with a view to report it to their fraud department? And have the DCA noted how long ago the contract was supposedly placed in default?

If they've literally just sent you a letter saying 'You owe us money', you can have a bit of a laugh with this, as it sounds like they're fishing.

Powered_By_Pies

By the way, I was just reading up on this more out of interest, but if you look under section 1; Key Requirements, Point P of the CSA's Code of Practice (Page 8 on the pdf reader), it says:

"Every member shall not place restrictions or time limits on the legitimate querying of unallocated payments"

Not sure if that means any debts that you consider to be in dispute, someone a little more knowledgeable might be a long to help, just thought it worth sharing.

Code can be found here:

http://www.csa-uk.com/media/editor/file/Code_of_practice_final%20110414.pdf

happy_bunny_2

Send them a written complaint about not sending you proof of a reasonably disputed debt but still chasing it. Say if they ignore you, you will refer to FOS.