Help with stubborn debt collector

MR_Gordon

Hi guys my first post and not sure if it's on the correct place, but seems like a good place to start.

Basically back in October 14 I received a letter from a company called Lowell, they claimed they had purchased an outstanding debt from Orange £1002.

I've never had any dealings with orange so I was confident it was a mistake I knocked up a quick email to them explaining there mistake, and for peace of mind I checked my credit file and nothing was adrift. A few weeks later another letter comes through from Lowell stating I owed them £1002. Threatening collection procedures etc etc.

To keep this short a few more letters emails have been passed back and forth I've asked them to prove the debt and they've sent me a statement showing some random payments made towards the account back in 2010.

They claim that the payments were made by direct debit set up in my wife's name they provided the account number and sort code which do not match any of our accounts past or present.

Suspecting fraud I contacted the police and received an action fraud reference number which I then passed onto Lowell,

They placed "collection on hold" until they carried out an investigation

Then I receive another letter saying investigation completed and they provided me with a date the phone contract was taken out what phone it was and that it was taken out via a third party company called phones 4u.
This supposedly concluded there investigation and I now was under collection procedures again demanding £1002.

Once again I've checked my credit file and Lowell have slapped on a £1002 default on.

I'm furious I don't have time or patience for lengthy complaints procedures and I don't want to wait up to twelve weeks for ombudsmen services to "look into it"

I sent them a letter before action notice 2 weeks ago demanding they remove the entry on my credit file they've ignored me.
So my questions to you experts are.

Would a court actually force them to remove the credit file entry can I claim against them for the amount of time ive wasted ie letters and emails I've sent!? How do I possibly calculate the cost of damage to my credit scoring which has drooped dramatically!?

Any advise or input great fully received.

Thanks
Gordon

Marktheshark

The mistake was not asking here earlier, they have tricked the information needed out of you to mark your credit file.
Fill out this form, explaining that you complained to them it was not your debt and in response to the complaint they basically called you a liar and falsely entered a default on your credit file.
https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help

happy_bunny_2

Your best hope is the FOS. If they uphold your complaint, you should get it removed and likely some compensation.

It's almost impossible to calculate losses based on defaults like this.

You could try legal beagles forums also to see if they have any ideas.

National_Debtline

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regulates the recording of personal information, which includes your credit reference files. You could put in a complaint to the ICO, as well as the FOS as the others have suggested.


James
@natdebtline

rizla_king

Its a mobile phone debt so the FOS cant deal with it even on the debt collection or credit file side.

PaulW922

You can go to the county court asking them to direct Lowells resolve the issue - you can also ask for a reasonable cost for your time etc and any detriment you have suffered. You cannot do this via the court website and will need to make an application on paper via your local county court.

This type of action is not the same as a simple debt claim so make sure you know what you are doing.

However I would not discount the Information Commissioner route. Whereas it take time, the court will not necessarily be any quicker. Additionally Lowells are part of the Credit Services Association and they operate a complaints procedure - many will tell you they have had no success there but given you case appears very straight forward it may be worth a try. The website is at http://www.csa-uk.com

happy_bunny_2

Ok. Also the communications ombudsman route here.

harry457

Your best hope is the FOS. If they uphold your complaint, you should get it removed and likely some compensation.

ampersand

MR Gordon,
I'd also expose this in Guardian Money [or similar]
Consumer investigative column in weekly Money section [EMAIL="consumer.champions@theguardian.com"]consumer.champions@theguardian.com[/EMAIL]
#
They get results.