Lowell Default woes!

[Deleted User]

Obviously I can't see the t&cs you signed up to, but this seems to be a fairly common term in BT t&cs. It's highly unlikely it's not covered.

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/static/terms/post3rdjuly2016voiceandbroadband.html

9.8 If you don't pay your bill, we may give your personal data to a debt-collection agency and ask the agency to collect the payment for us. If we do, you'll have to pay us an extra charge to compensate us for having to do this. This won't be more than the reasonable costs we have to pay the agency, who will add the amount to your debt. Any extra amount added to your bill won't be subject to VAT. Alternatively, we may transfer the debt you owe us to any other business (in which case your personal information will also be transferred to that business) who may then try to recover the amounts in a way it considers suitable in the circumstances. This Paragraph applies even if your Agreement with us has ended.

EzekielKnobrott

Deleted_User wrote: »

Obviously I can't see the t&cs you signed up to, but this seems to be a fairly common term in BT t&cs. It's highly unlikely it's not covered.

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/static/terms/post3rdjuly2016voiceandbroadband.html

9.8 If you don't pay your bill, we may give your personal data to a debt-collection agency and ask the agency to collect the payment for us. If we do, you'll have to pay us an extra charge to compensate us for having to do this. This won't be more than the reasonable costs we have to pay the agency, who will add the amount to your debt. Any extra amount added to your bill won't be subject to VAT. Alternatively, we may transfer the debt you owe us to any other business (in which case your personal information will also be transferred to that business) who may then try to recover the amounts in a way it considers suitable in the circumstances. This Paragraph applies even if your Agreement with us has ended.

That is a newer updated T&C's

When I took out the agreement they were completely different.

Same paragraph back in 2010.

Credit checking and account management


1. Please note that when you order goods and services from BT we may make enquiries about you for credit reference purposes. These enquires include searching your records held by Experian / Equifax or any other Credit Reference Agency (CRA) and checking any details held on you by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) Security Alert or other Fraud Prevention Agencies (FPAs). When CRAs receive a search from us they will place a footprint on your credit file that may be seen by other organisations. At all times where your information is disclosed to us we will protect it in accordance with this policy and keep it secure.
2. We will carry out checks while assessing your application for telephone service and will verify your identity. We do this to help protect you from identity theft and fraud, and also to prevent and detect crime and money laundering. We may also make periodic searches at CRAs and FPAs to manage your account with us.
3. If you tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we will link your records together so you must be sure that you have their agreement to disclose information about them. CRAs also link your records together and these links will remain on your and their files until such time as you or your partner successfully files for a disassociation with the CRAs to break that link.
4. Information on applications will be sent to CRAs and will be recorded by them. We may also give them details of your accounts and billing information, including how you manage it/them to CRAs We may tell them about payments you make to us, your account balances, and payment defaults [We may also give them historical information we hold about your payment history with us.] If you do not pay your bills on time, CRAs will record this information and it may be supplied to other organisations by CRAs and FPAs to perform similar checks and to trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe to them as well as us.

How to find out more
This is a condensed version and if you would like to read the full details of how your data may be used please visit our website at or phone [0800800150] or ask one of our staff.
You can contact the CRAs currently operating in the UK; the information they hold may not be the same so it is worth contacting them all. They will charge you a small statutory fee.

Callcredit, Consumer Services Team, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ or call 0870 0601414 or log on to https://www.callcredit.co.uk
Equifax PLC, Credit File Advice Centre, PO Box1140, Bradford, BD1 5US or call 0844 3350550 or log on to https://www.equifax.co.uk
Experian, Consumer Help Service, PO Box 8000, Nottingham NG80 7WF or call 0844 4818000 or log on to https://www.experian.co.uk
Return to top

Do we share your personal information with anyone else?


As a normal part of our business we share with other communications companies information for connecting and charging for calls over each others networks.
We sometimes use other companies to provide services to you or to provide services to us. To enable them to do this, we may need to share your personal information with them. When we do so, these companies are required to act in accordance with the instructions we give them and they must meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act to keep the information secure.
We may share your personal information with other parts of BT to enable them to conduct their own businesses and to market their products and services to you. We provide this information in accordance with our code of practice on the disclosure of customer information. This code limits BT´s ability to share information in this manner and is intended to prevent BT gaining unfair competitive advantage over its competitors.
We may share your personal information with other companies so that they can contact you with details of other products or services you may be interested in. We will only do this if you have agreed to this and where the companies agree to use your personal information for that purpose only. If you have agreed to receive information about products and services from another company and later decide not to you will need to contact that company yourself to let them know. You can of course ask us not to continue to provide your personal information to any more companies in future.
We may provide information, in response to properly made requests, for the purposes of the prevention and detection of crime, and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders. We may also provide information for the purpose of safeguarding national security. In either case we do so in accordance with the Data Protection Act. We also provide information when required to do so by law, for example under a court order, or in response to properly made demands, under powers contained in legislation.
If there is a change (or prospective change) in the ownership of BT or any of its assets, we may disclose personal information to the new (or prospective) owner. If we do so, we will require them to keep it confidential.
If you believe the personal information we hold on your is incorrect you may amend it by following the procedure set out below in "How can I change the personal information BT holds about me?"

[Deleted User]

In which case, they should have sent a notice of variation of the new terms (either by email, mail or with your statements). Impossible to say when this might have been though.

EzekielKnobrott

Deleted_User wrote: »

In which case, they should have sent a notice of variation of the new terms (either by email, mail or with your statements). Impossible to say when this might have been though.

I have checked the terms past the end of my agreement with BT and they still don't include the clause.

I could trawl through them all and find when they added it but I'd assume its fairly recently as suddenly a 5 year old unknown dormant debt gets sold to Lowell and I get a letter.

Seems very coincidental.

GingerBob_3

EzekielKnobrott wrote: »

That is a newer updated T&C's

When I took out the agreement they were completely different.

Same paragraph back in 2010.

Credit checking and account management


1. Please note that when you order goods and services from BT we may make enquiries about you for credit reference purposes. These enquires include searching your records held by Experian / Equifax or any other Credit Reference Agency (CRA) and checking any details held on you by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) Security Alert or other Fraud Prevention Agencies (FPAs). When CRAs receive a search from us they will place a footprint on your credit file that may be seen by other organisations. At all times where your information is disclosed to us we will protect it in accordance with this policy and keep it secure.
2. We will carry out checks while assessing your application for telephone service and will verify your identity. We do this to help protect you from identity theft and fraud, and also to prevent and detect crime and money laundering. We may also make periodic searches at CRAs and FPAs to manage your account with us.
3. If you tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we will link your records together so you must be sure that you have their agreement to disclose information about them. CRAs also link your records together and these links will remain on your and their files until such time as you or your partner successfully files for a disassociation with the CRAs to break that link.
4. Information on applications will be sent to CRAs and will be recorded by them. We may also give them details of your accounts and billing information, including how you manage it/them to CRAs We may tell them about payments you make to us, your account balances, and payment defaults [We may also give them historical information we hold about your payment history with us.] If you do not pay your bills on time, CRAs will record this information and it may be supplied to other organisations by CRAs and FPAs to perform similar checks and to trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe to them as well as us.

How to find out more
This is a condensed version and if you would like to read the full details of how your data may be used please visit our website at or phone [0800800150] or ask one of our staff.
You can contact the CRAs currently operating in the UK; the information they hold may not be the same so it is worth contacting them all. They will charge you a small statutory fee.

Callcredit, Consumer Services Team, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ or call 0870 0601414 or log on to www.callcredit.co.uk
Equifax PLC, Credit File Advice Centre, PO Box1140, Bradford, BD1 5US or call 0844 3350550 or log on to www.equifax.co.uk
Experian, Consumer Help Service, PO Box 8000, Nottingham NG80 7WF or call 0844 4818000 or log on to www.experian.co.uk
Return to top

Do we share your personal information with anyone else?


As a normal part of our business we share with other communications companies information for connecting and charging for calls over each others networks.
We sometimes use other companies to provide services to you or to provide services to us. To enable them to do this, we may need to share your personal information with them. When we do so, these companies are required to act in accordance with the instructions we give them and they must meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act to keep the information secure.
We may share your personal information with other parts of BT to enable them to conduct their own businesses and to market their products and services to you. We provide this information in accordance with our code of practice on the disclosure of customer information. This code limits BT´s ability to share information in this manner and is intended to prevent BT gaining unfair competitive advantage over its competitors.
We may share your personal information with other companies so that they can contact you with details of other products or services you may be interested in. We will only do this if you have agreed to this and where the companies agree to use your personal information for that purpose only. If you have agreed to receive information about products and services from another company and later decide not to you will need to contact that company yourself to let them know. You can of course ask us not to continue to provide your personal information to any more companies in future.
We may provide information, in response to properly made requests, for the purposes of the prevention and detection of crime, and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders. We may also provide information for the purpose of safeguarding national security. In either case we do so in accordance with the Data Protection Act. We also provide information when required to do so by law, for example under a court order, or in response to properly made demands, under powers contained in legislation.
If there is a change (or prospective change) in the ownership of BT or any of its assets, we may disclose personal information to the new (or prospective) owner. If we do so, we will require them to keep it confidential.
If you believe the personal information we hold on your is incorrect you may amend it by following the procedure set out below in "How can I change the personal information BT holds about me?"

Slightly off topic, but .... this is one of the Great Lies published by CRAs; you are financially linked just be having a spouse, apparently.

EzekielKnobrott

Another update.

Lowell got back to me. Ignored most of my requests and basically said I was quoting the wrong Act because it was a service agreement and not a credit agreement.

They have also refused to engage further with me about the matter.

So my questions now are, what governs the use of defaults on service agreements so I can read up if they've done this properly.

I have asked Experian to confirm in writing that Lowell entered the default and not BT as it does not appear on my CF previous to 26/06/16.

The fact that they ignored most of my email and now refuse to speak to me further about it stinks. I think they have done something very wrong here and are now trying to throw me off before I discover it.

I'm thinking about SAR'ing BT and Lowell but unless I know how they could default me with no warning or notice or anything on my credit file previous to this popping out the blue i'd rather not waste £20.

Any advice greatly appreciated.