Unsure what to do to help friend with debt/Lowell

naturalsuperwoman

Dear All,

I wonder if you could give me some advice. In September last year, a friend of mine who had a gambling problem took out a contract for a phone with 02 via Carphone Warehouse. He quickly worked out that he couldn’t afford the phone so about a month later we returned the phone (still sealed in box) to Carphone Warehouse and wanted to cancel the contract. As it was outside the 14 day cooling off period, the shop advised us to speak to Carphone Warehouse customer services who advised us to speak to 02. As my friend has severe anxiety and depression and ongoing physical and mental health difficulties he couldn’t do the phone conversations necessary so I tried on his behalf with both companies but no-one would discuss the situation with me (I tried numerous times). And my friend couldn’t have the conversation with them.

A couple of weeks after we’d returned the phone it seems the 02 debt was passed to Lowell. Over the past couple of months they have been writing to him and phoning him daily multiple times about the debt, this has massively escalated his anxiety and stress. They have now set him a ‘pre-legal assessment’ letter saying he needs to get in touch with them to sort out payment. He has asked me to do this on his behalf.

In the interim, about 3 weeks ago we returned to the store where the contract was purchased to try and sort this out. It turns out that they still have the sealed phone and paperwork in the safe. We spoke to the manager who had advised that I send him a timeline of events and he would escalate it further up in the company. This has been done and today I received email confirmation that he’s forwarded this to the appropriate person within Carphone Warehouse.

My question is: what should I do about Lowell? Should I contact them on my friends behalf? And what is a pre-legal assessment?

There seems to be mixed advice on the internet but I would appreciate people’s feedback on this forum.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Naturalsuperwoman

[Deleted User]

They will need to be contacted to advise the situation and you are sorting it out with CPW

sourcrates

Hi,

A “pre legal assessment” is Lowell’s way of deciding weather or not to take your friend to court for non payment.

Your friend needs to get himself together and deal with this matter, he doesn’t have to speak to anyone, if you log on to his online account on Lowell’s website, using the reference number Lowell will have provided, he can agree terms online.

They will accept whatever he can afford normally, otherwise he risks court action which won’t help his mental health one bit will it.

He is now responsible for this debt as he waited longer than the 14 day cooling off period.

All he needs to do is agree to pay whatever he can afford and he can then put it behind him, and no further action will be taken against him.

Get it sorted, otherwise Lowell will get legal.

DCFC79

Your friend could give you the authority to speak with them. Your friend would need to write to them stating this though.

naturalsuperwoman

Thank you all for your advice. I will try to contact them tomorrow.

To be honest this is a drop in the ocean in terms of debt as it’s for £700 and he owes a lot of money elsewhere. Unfortunately, he’s had a bad year in terms of his mental health and has been suicidal in several occasions and took an overdose before Christmas, so it can be very difficult for him to manage the stresses of managing his debts. He can’t work due to a disability and in receipt of benefits. I actually support him in managing his money (informally) and making sure his bills are paid. Hopefully they will deal with me and we can get some resolution on this situation.

sassy_one

Not doing a very good job then, so far, managing this guys finances.

Nebulous2

Are you getting any professional help with this?

It sounds to me as if this has proceeded beyond the do it yourself / mobile phone stage and you should contact one of the free debt charities, such as Step change, for a more formal approach.

[Deleted User]

Agree as above - is you’re helping then I think you need to up your game a bit.

Also consistently mentioning disabilities and mental health issues over and over won’t get you any special treatment especially from a DCA.

Contact StepChange or another debt charity as mentioned above who may be able to provide some advice.

fatbelly

naturalsuperwoman wrote: »

To be honest this is a drop in the ocean in terms of debt as it’s for £700 and he owes a lot of money elsewhere. .

Then you need to be dealing with the situation as a whole, and not fixating on one non-priority debt.

It could be that a DRO or DMP is the way forward.

If you post a statement of affairs on the debt-free wannabe board we can look at this more closely

Willing2Learn

Hi naturalsuperwoman,

It is good that your friend has someone offering support (give yourself a pat on the back).

Has your friend's health or social care professional considered completing a DMHEF (Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form)? I am assuming that your friend is receiving support from their Community Mental Health Team...

Creditors should be told about your friend's health condition. In some cases debt can be written off for mental health reasons. Have a look at the three articles linked below:
Debt and mental health
Should I tell my creditors about my mental health?
Write Offs

macman

Returning the handset, used or otherwise, does not stop the debt building. The airtime contract remains in place until such time as notice is given at the end of the minimum 24m term, since the cooling off period had already expired. The handset is effectively a freebie with the airtime contract.