Lowell debt collection - at what point will legal action follow?

Mahsroh

Hi all,

A couple of years ago my girlfriend rather foolishly agreed to get credit in her name to allow her ex (wasn't her ex at the time!) to buy electronic goods on 'store credit' after he was declined. I believe it was the sort of deal where you can make flexible payments up to a certain date, when the total amount needs to be paid.

Fast forward a couple of years and shock horror - he didn't pay it off and now my other half is effectively stuck with the debt that has been passed onto Lowell for recovery. For the last 3 month or so she's been getting reminders from Lowell and she's been pushing her ex to sort it. He's set up direct debits but conveniently got the DD details wrong, then successfully set up a DD but failed to have sufficient fund on the payment date. He did make one manual payment which has reduced the debt slightly but clearly keeps failing to meet the payments. Constantly making excuses, blaming Lowell for not taking payment etc etc.

I know that ultimately the problem lies with my other half. Her dealings with the ex are of no concern to Lowell, understandably, and the debt is in her name (nobody has chewed her ear off about this more than I have!)

We're only talking about £450 and the dilemma from my side is that if I so wished, I could just pay it off tomorrow and make the problem go away, but clearly I don't want to. It's still £450 and I shouldn't have to pay it and I really don't want to bail him out (I don't even know him!) but ultimately, in the eyes of the law, it's not his debt - it's my girlfriends problem!

What I don't want a CCJ suddenly issued which will then make a £450 problem a significantly bigger one with legal fees etc added to the bill.

Realistically, at what point do I need to intervene to prevent this from being taken further than a default followed by few strongly worded letters?

stirling-gorilla

Speaking from personal experience of this situation I would say she needs to get this sorted out and not rely on her ex to do it.

I looked at most ways to get out a debt my ex got me and well it's not really possible as I had actually applied for the finance.

It would be different if you could prove that the finance was obtained fraudulently or she was forced into the situation but doubt you will make a case stick.

National_Debtline

That is very difficult to say because it will be at Lowell's discretion when/ if to start court action. Can your partner set up a regular instalment plan to clear the debt by completing a SOA? If she did this (and the arrangement was stuck to) then Lowell may not seek court action - but there are no guarantees.


It is your decision, of course and you are right that if court papers are issued then the debt would increase. You could try and negotiate a settlement figure with the creditor at that point, but again, it is at their discretion. If the debt was paid in full at that point (or within one month of the judgement date) then the CCJ would not actually be recorded on her credit file.


Laura
@natdebtline

Mahsroh

stirling-gorilla wrote: »

Speaking from personal experience of this situation I would say she needs to get this sorted out and not rely on her ex to do it.

I looked at most ways to get out a debt my ex got me and well it's not really possible as I had actually applied for the finance.

It would be different if you could prove that the finance was obtained fraudulently or she was forced into the situation but doubt you will make a case stick.

Totally 100% get all that and that's what i'm working towards. But i'd rather she just kept pressure on him in the immediate short term and if it doesn't sort itself out within a month or two then i'll regrettably pay it. What I don't want to do is see what happens in the next month or two, if a CCJ is going to arrive in two weeks time.

Mahsroh

National_Debtline wrote: »

That is very difficult to say because it will be at Lowell's discretion when/ if to start court action. Can your partner set up a regular instalment plan to clear the debt by completing a SOA? If she did this (and the arrangement was stuck to) then Lowell may not seek court action - but there are no guarantees.


It is your decision, of course and you are right that if court papers are issued then the debt would increase. You could try and negotiate a settlement figure with the creditor at that point, but again, it is at their discretion. If the debt was paid in full at that point (or within one month of the judgement date) then the CCJ would not actually be recorded on her credit file.


Laura
@natdebtline

Hi Laura, thank you for your help and advice. It's very useful particularly your point about payment within 1 month of CCJ.

I've highlighted the one line in bold because this is the not the issue as we (as a couple) can afford to pay it off tomorrow which is increasingly what I think needs to be done (I am fully aware of the irony of me bailing her out after starting my post by stating that she "foolishly" agreed to do this for her ex partner, before anyone points that out!).

sourcrates

Hi,


Whatever the rights and wrongs here, the debt is in your girlfriends name, and she is 100% liable for the debt.


If she can get money from her ex, all well and good, but that wont change the fact Lowell will want this debt repaying.


Lowell can be difficult to predict, sometimes they go quiet for months/years on end, on other occasions they continuously pursue you, what you should know, is that prior to any court action, you will receive a letter telling you this, it will say "we will take you to court", rather than, "we may take you to court", that is accepted practice they must follow, under the pre-action protocol, civil procedure rules, so you will have notice of this, and can act accordingly.

stirling-gorilla

Well just get it paid off if you can afford to. It gets lowell off her back. Then pester the ex for payment but I think you will just need to accept it as it is as doubt he will pay you.

As said I am going through this the now roughly £1500 is the final figure of Debt caused by my ex which is the one that has forced me to where I am having to go through StepChange to get my finances sorted out, as the debts caused by her have messed up my situation as the companies involved were demanding around £130 pm but that on top of my other debts ect it's not a good place to be.

Mahsroh

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi,


Whatever the rights and wrongs here, the debt is in your girlfriends name, and she is 100% liable for the debt.


If she can get money from her ex, all well and good, but that wont change the fact Lowell will want this debt repaying.

Completely get all that. Not sure my girlfriend quite understands the implications, but I certainly do. So far i've been led to believe that he's been sorting it but this latest failure to pay makes me realise he's not bothered.

Lowell can be difficult to predict, sometimes they go quiet for months/years on end, on other occasions they continuously pursue you, what you should know, is that prior to any court action, you will receive a letter telling you this, it will say "we will take you to court", rather than, "we may take you to court", that is accepted practice they must follow, under the pre-action protocol, civil procedure rules, so you will have notice of this, and can act accordingly.

Thank you that's very useful.

Thanks to all for your comments and advice. I discussed this with the other half last night and I've told her that if he hasn't made the next installment by Friday (that's the date that Lowell have given) then i'm going to pay it.... and if he does pay, as soon as he misses a future installment i'll just pay the balance.

I have however, told her to tell him on Friday (if he hasn't paid) that we have received a CCJ and that her parents have had to pay it in full. I doubt he'll respond to emotional blackmail but i'll see where we get. Blatant lie of course but in the circumstances I make no apologies!

Mahsroh

stirling-gorilla wrote: »

As said I am going through this the now roughly £1500 is the final figure of Debt caused by my ex which is the one that has forced me to where I am having to go through StepChange to get my finances sorted out, as the debts caused by her have messed up my situation as the companies involved were demanding around £130 pm but that on top of my other debts ect it's not a good place to be.

Sorry to hear that - hope everything sorts itself out for you.

Muttipops

Hi,
I agree with you, pay it off with your money, get your girlfriend to put pressure on her ex to pay it back without telling him that you have paid for it, but then i suggest your girlfriend pays you back, don't just let it slide by. Hard lessons are there for a reason, to learn from it, and if you bail her out it is too easy. I appreciate it is the ex's fault, and that we all do things we know we shouldn't for love, but you should not have to bear the consequences of their mess.

Mahsroh

Muttipops wrote: »

Hi,
I agree with you, pay it off with your money, get your girlfriend to put pressure on her ex to pay it back without telling him that you have paid for it, but then i suggest your girlfriend pays you back, don't just let it slide by. Hard lessons are there for a reason, to learn from it, and if you bail her out it is too easy. I appreciate it is the ex's fault, and that we all do things we know we shouldn't for love, but you should not have to bear the consequences of their mess.

Agree completely! Believe me i'm not going to let her off this lightly. It was foolish - and she knows it was foolish.

My wanting to pay this off is more than "for love" though. I'm working on the basis that we'll be married in the future and will want to buy a property together. A poor credit history could affect me as much as it affects her.... She's already got a default on her record as a result of this!

The only issue is, we'll have to tell him we've paid it off though - as he is currently paying Lowell (or at least he should be!!) directly. That's why I plan to make up the story about the CCJ and that her parents paid it.... If he thinks they've paid it i'm hoping he'll feel more guilty about it! Possibly clutching at straws by hey-ho!