Lowell taking me to court, advice please

BoltStar

I received a letter from Lowell in May 2018 stating that I owed Tesco mobile some £1,600+ which I was baffled about because I have never had a contract with Tesco, I wasn't even aware they did contract phones. I spoke to a friend about this who had a similar experience and she advised me to do some search here and read some advice given to others.


I sent Lowell a prove it letter the following week. They sent me a letter to acknowledge receipt and said they would get back to me soon. A few weeks later, they replied with basically just the same letter saying I owed this money and need to arrange how to pay it back. Another thing that then happened was, the same debt letter was delivered to my mum's address twice even though I haven't lived there for a good 13yrs.


Since their response just looked like they were trying to force me to acknowledge a debt that wasn't mine, I just ignored them.


A few weeks ago, I received a letter from Northampton Court stating Lowell had started proceedings against me. Upon a google search, I found other people who had been in similar situations and some steps they took. I acknowledged the letter online which gave me 28 days to prepare my defense. I sent Lowell another proof it letter and a CPR.31 dated 12th September and gave them 7days to response.


I received a response yesterday which basically stated "As this is a former telecommunications matter it is not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the original creditor is therefore not required to retain a copy of the agreement and therefore unable to request a copy of the required documents". They then attached a letter they had apparently sent out to me in November 2016 (which I never received) & the letter from May 2018 which I received and responded to.


Problem now is that I have no idea what to do from here. They can't seriously use a demand letter of payment as proof that I owe this sum of amount that I have no clue about. I can't afford a solicitor, so I now feel stuck. Any advice would be appreciated.

sourcrates

Hi,


Try posting on Legal beagles.


You dont have a credit agreement for a mobile service contract, but some kind of proof would have to be produced.

National_Debtline

Hi Boltstar and welcome to MSE,


I understand this is a difficult situation, but unfortunately, their response that phone contracts are not CCA regulated is correct. It is unfortunate (and everyone is wiser in hindsight) but had this been chased up previously, you could've gone to the Telecommunications Ombudsman to say insufficient evidence was sent to verify this debt was yours, but now the matter has gone to court it is more complicated I am afraid.


By filing the acknowledgement of service form you will have a total of 28 days from the issue date (plus 5 days for postage) to file a defence. I appreciate you would struggle to pay for legal advice, but whenever you file a defence we would recommend getting this advice, because if your defence is unsuccessful you risk costs of the other side. There are places where you can try and get cheap legal advice, such as www.lawcentres.org.uk.


You will need to attend any hearings scheduled, and if your defence is successful, the matter will be closed and any adverse information should be removed from your credit file. Best of luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

Just_Di

BoltStar wrote: »

I received a letter from Lowell in May 2018 stating that I owed Tesco mobile some £1,600+ which I was baffled about because I have never had a contract with Tesco, I wasn't even aware they did contract phones.

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from Northampton Court stating Lowell had started proceedings against me. . . . . . I acknowledged the letter online which gave me 28 days to prepare my defense. I sent Lowell another proof it letter and a CPR.31 dated 12th September and gave them 7days to response.

I received a response yesterday which basically stated "As this is a former telecommunications matter it is not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the original creditor is therefore not required to retain a copy of the agreement and therefore unable to request a copy of the required documents". They then attached a letter they had apparently sent out to me in November 2016 (which I never received) & the letter from May 2018 which I received and responded to.

If you believe you never had a contract with Tesco mobile then could this be a case of identity theft or a case of mistaken identity since you also say letters were previously sent to your mother's address (possibly phishing letters)?

Whilst mobile phone service contracts are not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act (unless a handset is purchased on contract from O2 since 2015) the Lowells would still have to prove that you had a contract with them (Tesco) since the burden of proof rests with the Claimant.

What documents did you ask for in your CPR 31.14 Request? Did you include the Default Notice, Termination Notice, Notice of Assignment etc?

I would send a Subject Access Request to Tesco to see what data they hold on you. If they write back and say they don't have any record of a mobile phone contract then that may form part of your Defence.

Di

BoltStar

Update

Lowell has sent me a letter discontinuing the case now after they stalled for so long trying to make me miss the defense deadline. You can read all about it on the Legal Beagles website, i opened a forum under the same title as this one, i would put a link but somehow i can't. I uploaded all documents and correspondence and hopefully it will help someone else out there.


1425789-lowell-taking-me-to-court (this is my reference on the legalbeagles website)


Thank you all.

Just_Di

BoltStar wrote: »

Lowell has sent me a letter discontinuing the case now after they stalled for so long trying to make me miss the defense deadline. .

This is good news

To formalise this Lowells must serve you with a Notice of Discontinuance and then file that Notice at court confirming that it has been served on you.

Since you filed your Defence before they discontinued (check that they have) they cannot issue a new claim based on the same, or substantially the same, facts without permission from the court which requires them to make a formal Application and pay the associated fee (CPR 38.7) >

Discontinuance and subsequent proceedings
38.7 A claimant who discontinues a claim needs the permission of the court to make another claim against the same defendant if –

(a) he discontinued the claim after the defendant filed a defence; and

(b) the other claim arises out of facts which are the same or substantially the same as those relating to the discontinued claim.


I'd be surprised if you hear from them again on this particular claim


Di

fatbelly

Found it for you

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues/1425789-lowell-taking-me-to-court

sourcrates

BoltStar wrote: »

Update

Lowell has sent me a letter discontinuing the case now after they stalled for so long trying to make me miss the defense deadline. You can read all about it on the Legal Beagles website, i opened a forum under the same title as this one, i would put a link but somehow i can't. I uploaded all documents and correspondence and hopefully it will help someone else out there.


1425789-lowell-taking-me-to-court (this is my reference on the legalbeagles website)


Thank you all.

Well done !!


Defendant (1)


Lowell (0)