Vodafone/Lowell default

Cranium234

I'm hoping to get some guidance if anyone can help.
Three years ago I received a default over a small debt (<£300). It was over some mobile data charges that I understood were to capped but were not. Vodafone gave me the runaround, offering to halve the bill on one call and then retracting it on the next, never ringing me back when they said they would. I maintained with them that I disputed the amount owed and was happy to pay half.
As I'm prone to do sometimes, I buried my head in the sand and stubbornly didn't pay. A few months after seeing the notice, I asked them to share their records. When they ignored my request I reported them to the ICO.
The ICO found in my favour which led to the various call notes being shared. They were inconclusive, largely conflicting and did not contain a copy of the original agreement. I planned to go via small claims but didn't prioritise it.
Fast forward to today and Lowell are chasing me for payment. My questions are;

• If I offer to pay in full, is there a likelihood that Lowell will agree to remove the default from my file? 
• If so, how do I best negotiate this so that I don't pay until it has been removed?
• If they refuse and I want to take a chance with small claims court, do I focus on Lowell or Vodafone?

Thank you!

sourcrates

There is no agreement for a mobile phone contract, use of the phone/sim constitutes acceptance of the contract.
Who registered the default, Vodafone or Lowell ?

You could try and include default removal in exchange for full payment, if it was Lowell, if on the other hand it was Vodafone, then that ship has sailed as the debt was sold to Lowell.

Small claims court for what, following guidelines ? no chance.

PixelPound

So the ICO found in your favour that vodafone did not respond to an information request. That does not have any bearing on whether the debt is owed or valid. As mentioned mobile contracts are usually service agreements, there is no requirement for either Lowell or Vodafone to provide you with a copy.

The default will only get removed if invalid, not usually just because you are willing to pay. Companies have a duty to ensure credit files are accurate. So really it would be showing the default shouldn't have been registered (e.g. you had a complaint that wasn't resolved or deadlocked) rather wanting to credit-wash.

Lowell are a debt company, and so not paying may risk legal action. If you were wanting to go to the small claims, on what basis?

Cranium234

Thanks for the replies both.
1) This was a mobile data dongle and there was an agreement signed in a store. Vodafone have a system that was supposed to notify you if a cap had been hit. It didn't work and they had no other failsafes in place. Normally I would have just paid the bill but I was told that they would reduce it by 50%, hence my frustration when that offer wasn't followed up on
2) The notes from the calls are inconsistent with each other, they also show that I was disputing the bill and that I was disappointed by a lack of call back - hence why I would like the default removed. That's why I mentioned small claims as a resolution option. i did give up trying at one point, which I obviously now regret
@sourcrates my credit file only mentions Lowell - does that mean that they registered the default? If not how can I tell?

PixelPound

The credit file is because you only have one entry. So it usually when a company sells the debt, the new company put an entry and the old one removes it. That way the new one can update the balance, e.g. when its getting paid off or conversely if more charges are added.
I would think it is more likely vodafone would have registered the default.