Help Needed - Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd, Lowell Financial Ltd & Halifax

stainless1983

Hi,

Just under 3 years ago I had a £10,000 balance with Halifax on a credit card in my name. Without going into all the detail this was mainly due to my exwife.

Following a messy divorce I ended up with severe depression. My father wrote to all my debtors advising of my position and asking for them to freeze debts and only communicate with him. Proof of my medical condition was provided. Barclays, Natwest, Mint, Capital One (Virgin) have all so far been very understanding but Halifax not so.

I have since lost my job and been unemployed for the past year.

Halifax have now sent a letter to me and not my father (I had requested all correspondence go to him) advising they have sold my debt of just over £12,000 to Lowell Portfolio I Ltd. Another company called Lowell Financial Ltd have been appointed to deal with the account.

In turn I have received several requests from Lowell requesting payment and a red overdue account letter. Again these have come to me directly and not my father. So far neither I nor my father have replied.

I have no income and no assets other than my car which I need to travel to see my son who lives 200 miles away. I cannot risk losing this. Should I transfer ownership to my mother who is on the insurance?

My father is willing to help in settling the account to get them off my back but cannot afford anywhere near the full amount. I understand Lowell do not buy the debt at the full amount. Is there a way of finding how much they paid? How does my father go about making an offer with Lowell for a much lower amount?

Thanks in advance for any help.

stainless1983

I should also maybe add that I cannot afford to go bankrupt or for an IVA due to the line of work I would normally work in. If I was to do so I would not be able to find work in my sector due to financial checks.

sourcrates

Don't worry, your car is not at risk.

They first have to obtain a CCJ against you, and you then have to default on payment before a bayliff would come calling.

There's no way of knowing how much Lowell paid for the account, but it won't be anywhere near 12k.
It's quite common for them to offer 30-50% discounts if you hang on a while.

You should CCA them first, make sure Lowell can produce the correct paperwork, then dependant on that, you can make an offer to settle the account, start low, you can always increase your offer, remember, it's all a matter of negotiation.
To be fair, if you have no assets, there's very little Lowell or anyone else can do to you.

National_Debtline

Hi stainless


With reference to your father's attempts to get the creditors to correspond with him on your behalf:


Please note that any efforts to nominate someone else as your "agent" must originate from you directly. Your creditors won't be able to acknowledge, let alone reply to any correspondence that comes from anyone else in the meantime, as it would infringe Data Protection rules. You'd need to write to them directly, naming anyone you authorise to represent you.


You may find our guide to making reduced lump sum offers of use:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/fullandfinalsettlementoffers/lumpsumoffers.aspx


Good luck


Dennis
@natdebtline




Dennis
@natdebtline

stainless1983

Thanks for the replies. I have written to them reiterating the consent for my father to discuss things with them. Also sent the CCA letter.

My understanding from Martin's mental illness & debts guide is that Halifax have not followed the lending code by selling the debt so I will log a complaint about that also.

Is it possible for me to find out how much the debt was sold for?

sourcrates

stainless1983 wrote: »

Is it possible for me to find out how much the debt was sold for?

Unfortunatly not, but you can be sure they only paid pennies in the pound for it !!!

Lolly24

Hi

I have just recieved a CCJ from lowell from a dept over 7yrs ago a doorstep loan by provident. I have had three letters regarding this debt which they have added interest and court costs. I cannot pay this. I suffer from sever depression and this is causinge real health problems. Please please can someone advise...

sourcrates

Lolly24 wrote: »

Hi

I have just recieved a CCJ from lowell from a dept over 7yrs ago a doorstep loan by provident. I have had three letters regarding this debt which they have added interest and court costs. I cannot pay this. I suffer from sever depression and this is causinge real health problems. Please please can someone advise...

Please don't post multiple times it only confuses people.

I have replied to your original post.

stainless1983

Hi again,

So since March 2016 and my CCA request I had a quick response from Lowell confirming my request and stating the account is on hold. I then received another request from them followed by an apology.

The last communication I received was May 2016 advising they have still not received the paperwork from Halifax and the account remains on hold.

It has now been 6 months since my CCA request and I have not received anything. Does this mean it is likely Halifax cannot provide it? If so what should my next steps be?

Many thanks

National_Debtline

stainless1983 wrote: »

It has now been 6 months since my CCA request and I have not received anything. Does this mean it is likely Halifax cannot provide it? If so what should my next steps be?

We can only speculate but if they haven’t supplied your agreement after 6 months it seems they may be having issues getting hold of a copy.

You don’t need to do anything unless they start contacting you asking for payments again.

James
@natdebtline

sourcrates

stainless1983 wrote: »

Hi again,

So since March 2016 and my CCA request I had a quick response from Lowell confirming my request and stating the account is on hold. I then received another request from them followed by an apology.

The last communication I received was May 2016 advising they have still not received the paperwork from Halifax and the account remains on hold.

It has now been 6 months since my CCA request and I have not received anything. Does this mean it is likely Halifax cannot provide it? If so what should my next steps be?

Many thanks

Hold tight for now, it sounds like they can't find it, or even muddle together enough information to produce a recon.

Wait until they write to you with a definitive answer though, it's always possible they may find something, keep us updated.