Help! Can I get this default from Lowell Portfolio removed?

cjwilde

Hi everyone,

I'll try to keep this short and sweet! A few months ago, around March, a company called Lowell Portfoilo sent a letter to my parents' address to inform me that they had bought out a debt of £220 I apparently owe Orange from back in 2011. I believed I paid the settlement fee on this account when I closed it as I was out of contract, but apparently they thought otherwise and yet didn't email or call me once in the last 5 years.

I immediately called Lowell Portfolio and it went well; we both explained our side of the situation, and I offered to pay the debt but as they can dispute the claim with Orange on my behalf, they told me not to pay and that I will hear from them when they hear from Orange. I enquired about fearing a default on my account, but they assured me that they cannot do this and that if Orange would open a default, they would have done so already. Four months go by and I hear nothing. Then, I receive a letter from Lowell Portfolio this week, at my new address, this time threatening legal action.

I called again this morning. A very apologetic and helpful woman tells me not to worry and that she will reopen the dispute. I offer to pay once more, but she says that as there is no default on my credit record - according to her, she had full access to my record and it was "squeaky clean" - she tells me not to pay and that once again, I will hear from her. She leaves me her name and extension, which I will be using to call back on Tuesday.

Today, I tried to buy a MacBook Pro for my work on a 10 month finance plan. As I was told my credit history is good and the repayments would be only 15% of my disposable income after all outgoings, I was very surprised when I was declined. The woman on the phone at Lowell Portfolio had recommended using a free website called Noddle to track my credit score, so I signed up to it as soon as I got home.

What do I find? A default. From Lowell Portfolio. Opened in June, and now 3 months overdue.

The earliest I can call back Lowell Portfolio is Tuesday morning, but what do I say? I'm absolutely devastated. I needed the computer for work - I've just been promoted to a more creative intensive position, and the new hardware would help tremendously - but far more important than that, I'm a first-time buyer saving for my first home. I have been lied to twice, and now this may affect my life for the next 6 years. And as I was told not to pay the debt over the phone, I'm worried there will be no proof if and when I make a case against them.

Can anybody offer me advice or experience in this situation? Thank you in advance for your help. I appreciate any and all suggestions.

fermi

What does the default date actually say?

This part in the example below

fermi

Regards disputing it, you will need to do that formally with Lowell, telling them that if they don't remove it you will be reporting them to the Information Commissioner, and may consider legal action against them for damages and removal of the entry.

In the meantime record enter a dispute via Noddle and perhap place a notice of correction.

cjwilde

fermi wrote: »

Regards disputing it, you will need to do that formally with Lowell, telling them that if they don't remove it you will be reporting them to the Information Commissioner, and may consider legal action against them for damages and removal of the entry.

In the meantime record enter a dispute via Noddle and perhap place a notice of correction.

Thank you for your help, Fermi! The account start date is 28/07/2011 as expected, but the date of default is 02/05/2014. This is even more baffling, as I ordered a £2 credit report from Experian in March after my first phone call with Lowell Portfolio - just to be sure that they were honest about not being able to put a default on my account - and there was no default on it. Furthermore, those little red 'D's only appear under June, July and August of this year! What does this mean? :huh:

fermi

Hard to guess exactly what has happened, as there is a lot of inconsistency in how and when mobile providers report defaults, and then what happens when the debt is sold and responsibility for the dealt on the file passes to the collector.

Not uncommon for things not to show for one reason or another then pop up to bite you years later.

3 and Lowells are both incompetent at reporting to credit files, so combining the two often leads to incomprehensible outcomes.

You may have to complain to 3 as well if they decided the original debt and date, which if done properly should be the case. First of all though, Lowells, as they are the ones now with the authority to change or remove it.

cjwilde

fermi wrote: »

Hard to guess exactly what has happened, as there is a lot of inconsistency in how and when mobile providers report defaults, and then what happens when the debt is sold and responsibility for the dealt on the file passes to the collector.

Not uncommon for things not to show for one reason or another then pop up to bite you years later.

3 and Lowells are both incompetent at reporting to credit files, so combining the two often leads to incomprehensible outcomes.

You may have to complain to 3 as well if they decided the original debt and date, which if done properly should be the case. First of all though, Lowells, as they are the ones now with the authority to change or remove it.

Thank you again for your help! By 3, do you mean Orange? Are they now the same company? I can't keep up with mobile providers! I will be sure to call Lowell Portfolio on Tuesday and like you said, threaten to report them to the Information Commissioner. I'll post an update on Tuesday in case other people have the same issue and Google it; it's the first thing I did!

With regards to reporting it to Orange, is it the incorrect date I should be flagging to them?

fermi

Orange, yes. Sorry.

You don't believe the default should be there at all though?

Firstly the fact of the debt and default, if you believe there should be neither.

Failing that, then arguing the date of default should have been 2011 (ish), assuming the 2014 one is what Orange told Lowells, and not a fantasy date made up by them.

How you balance those two together is up to you I suppose, depending on how much you believe the original debt claimed is not valid.

cjwilde

Update: I called Lowell Portfolio first thing this morning. 2014 is the date Orange put the default on my credit report, and apparently the only reason the default is in Lowells' name is because they bought the debt; they claim that they can only now delete it with "permission" from Orange. I have paid now regardless, so the default should show as satisfied in the meantime.

Here's where it gets fishy: the first time I called, they explained that the debt was for a mobile contract back in 2011 that was never cancelled, but today, the woman clarified that it was for a PAYG sim that I had ordered by phone in 2013 to an address I lived at with an ex partner, and never activated. I have never ordered a pay as you go sim to my knowledge, and I had moved out of that address before 2013.

So now, the dispute will apparently take even longer to settle as a fraud agency has to be involved; and Lowell tell me that even if I can't prove that it was fraud, the fact that Orange sent me an email to a long-deleted email address in late 2014 means that they are in the clear if I try to accuse them of putting a default on my account before asking for the money back. Apparently I should have updated my email with them, despite genuinely never believing I had an account with them to begin with.

I'm at my wits end!

rizla_king

cjwilde wrote: »

they claim that they can only now delete it with "permission" from Orange. I have paid now regardless, so the default should show as satisfied in the meantime.

Regular lie that Lowells tell people to avoid doing anything and any taking responsibility. Lowlifes are now the data controller so have full authority to remove it.

rizla_king

cjwilde wrote: »

Lowell tell me that even if I can't prove that it was fraud, the fact that Orange sent me an email to a long-deleted email address in late 2014 means that they are in the clear if I try to accuse them of putting a default on my account before asking for the money back. Apparently I should have updated my email with them, despite genuinely never believing I had an account with them to begin with.

Also a big stinking pile of lies and horse shlt. :mad:

cjwilde

rizla_king wrote: »

Regular lie that Lowells tell people to avoid doing anything and any taking responsibility. Lowlifes are now the data controller so have full authority to remove it.

Thank you for confirming my suspicions! On further investigation, I also found this in the terms and conditions on their website:

Q: Why is the default registered in Lowell Portfolio I Ltd’s name?
A: Once an account is purchased by Lowell Portfolio I Ltd, we become the legal owner. As such, we are legally required to transfer the default into our name and update credit reference agencies accordingly.

I also found another thread at Money Saving Expert (I don't have permission to post links yet, but it is the top link on Google when searching for "lowell portfolio default") detailing some winning strategies at fighting those "lowlifes", so I will try them out immediately. Time for some polite but firm emails!

Thank you again for your help! Do you have any suggestions, rizla king?