Lowell chasing old O2 debt

Mart34

Hi guys.
Having a bit of an issue with Lowell at the moment I am currently paying a debt with them. But they are stating I owe money on an old O2 account. They say belongs to me. I requested proof of ownership as I only ever had a payg 02 sim. They have responded with the following email.

---

Hi Martyn,

Thank you for getting back to me.

Please note that the balance requested for payment is a service agreement and not a credit agreement as defined by the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Our client has no obligation to provide a signed agreement under the provisions of the Act.

In the case of mobile contracts, inserting the SIM card and usage of the equipment is taken as acceptance of the terms and conditions of the contract. Telecommunications accounts can be obtained by telephone, over the internet and by mail order and therefore, we are not obliged to provide you with a copy of any such agreement. The Terms and Conditions of telecommunications contracts are considered binding upon insertion of the SIM card.

In regards to your concerns, I will look into this further and contact you within 14 days.

Kind regards,

Emily

---

As I said I don't know anything about this debt, nor have I ever had a monthly contract with O2

The debt is £28, they have no proof I took out this contract, for the simple reason I didn't!! A previous email also stated the following in regards to the 02 debt

---

You should be aware that the period for recovering your debt by court action has expired on this account 95418611, so we will not be issuing court proceedings to enforce payment. However, your debt still exists and legally we are within our rights to continue to ask you for repayment.

---

Should I just ignore any further correspondence regarding this debt considering the email clearly states they can't do much about it.

rizla_king

Mart34 wrote: »

Should I just ignore any further correspondence regarding this debt considering the email clearly states they can't do much about it.

Yes. Ignore the lowell-lifes.

fatbelly

They are correct, of course, that a mobile phone debt is not covered by the Consumer Credit Act, though this is irrelevant.

They are also (partially) correct that they can continue to pursue a statute barred debt. However they cannot continue to pursue it if you state that you will not be paying it because it is statute barred.

"A firm must not continue to demand payment from a customer after the customer has stated that he will not be paying the debt because it is statute barred." CONC 7.15.8

If Emily's next letter does not say that they are backing off completely then you need a version of our hybrid letter:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=34906257&postcount=5

You may wish to highlight the phrase based on the information you have supplied

Mart34

Thank you I will await Emily's next correspondence and should it not say they are no longer chasing it I will use the letter you recommend

Thank you

carl_hunter

Hi there i have been paying off a debt with Lowell for an old 02 contract, i have just phoned to pay it off and i was told there was 2 debts owed to 02.Regarding the other debt i was told the last payment was on the 4th of june 2014 , i have not had any contact from 02 or lowell regarding this debt,since june 2014 any advice please many thanks

National_Debtline

carl_hunter wrote: »

Hi there i have been paying off a debt with Lowell for an old 02 contract, i have just phoned to pay it off and i was told there was 2 debts owed to 02.Regarding the other debt i was told the last payment was on the 4th of june 2014 , i have not had any contact from 02 or lowell regarding this debt,since june 2014 any advice please many thanks

Hi Carl

It will depend on when you last made a payment or acknowledged this debt in writing as there would need to be at least 6 years for the debt to become statute barred if you live in England or Wales. The date O2 or Lowell last contacted you isn’t really relevant.

James
@natdebtline

carl_hunter

The last payment was in June 2014 i will wait for them to supply me with the details thanks James