Lowell and co NEED ADVICE

Callum123_2

Hi
This is a weird one i have been reading stories about these companies but haven't seen a similar story

So... back in 2013 ish i took out a phone contract on behalf of my now ex. It was clear at the start of the contract that we could change the name of the contract to her mothers (as i did not want it in my name). So exactly 3 months after the contract was taken out i made a phone call to orange to change the name of the contract and this all went successful the money no longer came out of my bank the address was change and it was all in her mother name.

So i haven't been with the girl for around 3 years now and got contacted by lowell about an unpaid bill from an orange account for around £190.

I contacted orange and the only data they have about the account is the mobile number, my name, her mothers address and her account details.

I suspect that during the time she decided to not pay the bill my name was brought up and they probably thought they would have more luck getting the money off me?

I contacted lowell told them i and not paying the bill as its not my phone bill they said they would investigate but i never heard back from them. I assumed that they found i was correct and defaulted the unpaid bill back to her or her mother.

Now i have been contacted by another debt collection agency regarding the same bill?!?!

Do i just pay and get it over with or stand my ground and refuse? I add that this has now effected my credit score! When they contacted me next i am going to ask for proof of the debt i owe but where do i go after that.

*NOTE*
There is no chance this girl is going to own up and pay the bill.

fwor

I suspect the problem you have is that at the outset you signed up to a contract for the phone. Calling them up and giving them another name doesn't in itself cancel the contract and in some way commit the person who's name you give them to take over paying - contract law just doesn't work like that.

In legal terms I would expect that you are still the person responsible for the contract. On that basis I can't see any easy way for you to get out of paying the amount due from then until now. So I would pay up and make sure that the contract is canceled.

pogofish

Lowell are utter scumbags who don't really care who pays-up.

They are also known as scattergun operators who try to scare any name they can associate with a debt, however weakly into paying.

And passing-on to a secondary company is another known scare tactic of Lowell's - In reality, without a court order they are unable to do anything meaningful against you anyway.

In most cases thay can be ignored but you could send them a "prove it" letter to see if they will put-up any evidence they have against you - but the odds are they won't as they have obtained the debt improperly and will sink back under their stone after a few more letters.

gycraig_2

Are you sure a change of ownership was actually done and not just her being named on the account and her address added ? 0

forgotmyname

Possibly changed the account name and bank in which to take the funds?

SIL had an orange account for her now EX. Orange said she needed to wait until the contract was up to transfer the number/account to him.

Both parties needed to goto a store with ID to switch it.

You may want to phone them and see if you can still access the account details.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Re-post this on the DFW section of MSE. Lowell are the lowest of the low and generally chase debts that aren't always enforceable but they try on the off chance

Pixie5740

As others have already raised, are you positive that the name of the Orange account holder was changed? I used to work for another mobile network operator and I know it wasn't possible to transfer an account into someone else's name. You could change the account address and direct debit details but you could not change the account holder. If an account holder got married or divorced they had to send in legal documents to get the name updated.

Does this Orange account show up on any of your credit files?

Clive_Woody

As others have stated, transferring a credit agreement is nigh on impossible, so although you may have changed the name and bank details of the payee you were still ultimately responsible for the account and repayments.

I think you have been stitched up here by your ex. You could try sending her a letter before action to see if this prompts any sort of payment to you, but otherwise I think you are stuck with this debt.

MEM62

Callum123 wrote: »

Hi
This is a weird one i have been reading stories about these companies but haven't seen a similar story

So... back in 2013 ish i took out a phone contract on behalf of my now ex. It was clear at the start of the contract that we could change the name of the contract to her mothers (as i did not want it in my name).
Clear to who? Because this usually not possible.
So exactly 3 months after the contract was taken out i made a phone call to orange to change the name of the contract and this all went successful the money no longer came out of my bank the address was change and it was all in her mother name.
Again, this is not possible. You cannot arrange a financial contract in someone else's name. Would you accept another individual being able to take out credit in your name based on a phone call? I doubt it.

So i haven't been with the girl for around 3 years now and got contacted by lowell about an unpaid bill from an orange account for around £190.

I contacted orange and the only data they have about the account is the mobile number, my name, her mothers address and her account details.
The address and payment details are probably what was updated when you erroneously thought you were putting the account on her mother's name.

I suspect that during the time she decided to not pay the bill my name was brought up and they probably thought they would have more luck getting the money off me?
They are not chasing you in the hope that they will have some luck. The account will be in your name. If your ex or her mother stop the payments you a liable. It's your debt.

I contacted lowell told them i and not paying the bill as its not my phone bill they said they would investigate but i never heard back from them. I assumed that they found i was correct and defaulted the unpaid bill back to her or her mother.

Now i have been contacted by another debt collection agency regarding the same bill?!?!
Because they have checked and they know that it's your account.

Do i just pay and get it over with or stand my ground and refuse? I add that this has now effected my credit score! When they contacted me next i am going to ask for proof of the debt i owe but where do i go after that.
You have no ground to stand on. You took out the contract and the charges have not been paid.

*NOTE*
There is no chance this girl is going to own up and pay the bill.

Your assumption that you could transfer the account to your GF's mother is where your problem started. If you didn't want the contract in your name then you should not have taken it out in the first place. I would pay up and chalk it up to experience.

Callum123_2

Hi all thanks for the replies

Just to clear a few points up before i took out the contract for her i made sure i could change ownership of the contract. I was not willing to to take out a contract for her otherwise. The shop worker informed me that after the first 3 months the contact owner ship could be changed.

I have recently downloaded the app clear score. With this app it tells me when i have entered into a credit agreement going back to my first bank account. I can see my other phone contracts with tmobile and EE but there is no mention of orange. This is where i am confused?!

Also when the name was switched we where both on the phone it wasnt just me giving her the name she had to take the phone and confirm the contract takeover.

I have a feeling that i am just going to have to pay up and learn a lesson! Any other points are welcome though!

Callum123_2

Whats DFW?