Lowell Default woes!

EzekielKnobrott

Afternoon all,

I have some issues with Lowell and was hoping you guys could help out.

First up a little history.

5 years ago I made the decision I would tackle all my debts head on and get everything paid however long it took. My total was roughly £15000 and seemed insurmountable.
5 years later I now have 2 payments until I am totally debt free which I'm quite proud of.

I assessed all my debts with Experian and contacted everyone to set up agreements and paid as much as I could afford a month off all of them, at one point 80% of my monthly net was going on debts. Throughout this time I watched my Experian score climb and climb and for the last 2 years its been 6 points from perfect, 993.

On the 20th of May 2016, out of the blue, I received a letter from Lowell stating I owed money to them for an old BT contract from 2012 for broadband. I rang them up and paid the full amount of £285.14 over the phone and they sent me an email receipt. I queried why it was not on my credit file otherwise I would have paid it sooner. They said they had just purchased the debt from BT and didn't know.

On the 8th of July I completed on my first house with my partner. Something that we have both been looking forward to for some time as it means we can now replace our both ageing cars that are fast becoming unsuitable for our daily needs!

We decided we would get a loan between us to buy two modest, but newer vehicles that better meet our requirements. We are both in a very comfortable financial situation despite just taking on a mortgage.

So we decided to do a soft search with Sainsburys, she was instantly accepted and I was instantly declined.

I log on to my Experian to discover that Lowell had updated my credit file on the 26/06/2016 and added a default backdate to December 2012?!

This has sent my score plummeting to 777 and the default is now active on my credit file. My previous near perfect score has been decimated by paying a debt in full on the day of notification!

I spoke to Experian today and they confirmed the default was not present until the 26/06/16 so effectively I have now been penalised for paying a debt! Experian have raised it as a query with Lowell however.

I also spoke to Lowell who said there is nothing they can do and I will have to wait a further 2 years for this be removed.

This has totally devestated me. I've managed what I thought was impossible 5 years ago and worked damn hard to get where I am now only for it to be decimated by paying a debt in full that I had no prior knowledge of. I've fired an email off to Lowell this morning before I spoke to them asking if they can remove it as a goodwill gesture.

Beyond this I don't know what action to take. I really dont want this on my hard fought file score for the next 2 years. I certainly did not expect them to default me after the full amount was satisfied!

Any advice is welcome.

Thank you in advance and apologies for the essay!

Will.

[Deleted User]

First thing is ignore any shiny score that the CRAs give you. They're worthless, whether 999 or 000.

The default date looks to be accurate. You may be able to get a goodwill gesture out of them, but they won't have any obligation to do so.

EzekielKnobrott

Thanks for the response.

I had no notification of them planning on defaulting me, no threats, nothing?

I just log on and find it.

I'm aware the score is useless but the default is certainly affecting things now as it appears as put on my file in June.

Is it right that I can have a default applied over a month after settling a debt that was 4 years old with no prior warning or chance to rectify the situation?

I wasnt even aware this debt existed let alone given any chance to pay?!

[Deleted User]

Ask Lowell for evidence of the default. They will probably need to go back to BT for this.

Does the default appear on any of your other credit files?

EzekielKnobrott

Its on Experian and Noddle.

I'm not signed up to Equifax.

UPDATE: Lowell have come back to Experian saying the information is accurate. So that was a dead end.

mparter

Have they marked the default as settled? Not sure how much difference it will make when it comes to credit applications but if they're going to play "it's accurate" game, make sure that works both ways.

ALIBOBSY

TBH any time you question something with the CRA they will contact the creditor who pretty much always say yep thats accurate. There is no checking tbh and as most people simply accept it the creditors debt collection agencies and the credit ref agencies get away with putting info on file with no proof or evidence whatsoever, simply a "yer mate thats accurate" from one to the other seems to suffice.

Nearly always worth challenging, do a written complaint to the debt collector asking for proof of the debt and confirmation of the date the default letter was issued by the original lender as you have never received a letter. State that the default and alleged debt had not been on your credit file prior to their entry so you want to ensure the debt and default are really yours and that the default was served in the correct format by the original debtor. Pound to a penny BT won't have the details and the debt collector will panic and off to remove the default to stop you challenging the debt any further.

Otherwise as another poster says ensure they list the default as settled, given that its already getting on for 4 yrs old it will fall off shortly and at least your mortgage was sorted before this and its age-especially if listed as settled, will mean it will be less important than a newer default anyway and decreasing in its negative effect.

BTW any complaints do in writing either email or snail mail, debt collectors frequently lie, threaten and talk a load of old carp over the phone.

Worst comes to worse 2 yrs 5 months and its gone.

Good Luck
Ali x

pogofish

Do you actually even owe them anything?

I have to wonder because I too have been getting threats from Lowell over a BT debt from 2012, despite never having been a BT customer at the time.

:mad:

EzekielKnobrott

Unfortunately i do. Albeit an account i had for someone else but i know the debt responsibility is mine. Which is why i didn't hesitate to pay it. But to then be slapped with an apparent 4 year old default for paying it is ludicrous.

To those asking if its showing settled, yes it is. But has still negatively affected my credit. Quote badly too. Soft searches for loans were all coming back approved less than a month ago, couldn't take them because of the impending house completion, now however i seemingly cannot get approved.

chanz4

In a way your lucky as your mortgage went through without detecting it

EzekielKnobrott

Quick update.

I received a standard response from Lowell saying they would not remove the default and it was added by BT and not them etc.

Simply not true, Experian have confirmed it was added by Lowell and backdated from the date they added it.

So I checked my BT terms and privacy policy back from 2010 and to 2011 when the agreement was terminated. Nothing in there states they will sell my data for the purposes of debt collection.

So it seems my data has been sold and purchased without my consent.

I've gone back to Lowell with that and await a reply.

Thanks for the help so far everyone.