Worrying letter from "Overdales Solicitors"

fridgey

Good morning,

Really hoping someone can help me with a letter I received this morning. I had a debt with EE that I was unable to pay, and made this clear to them at the offset, they then closed my account, and send me a final bill in late 2019. I couldn't deal with the debt as was out of work, and so it ended up being left alone. I then started receiving letters from Lowell, who had quite clearly been sold the debt, as EE was removed from my credit report, and Lowell took it over, I have never interacted with Lowell, and this morning I received a letter stating that they had passed the debt to "Overdales Legal Limited" who share the same address as Lowells. But the front letter that is the scary one, details that they are called "Overdales Solicitors" at the same address, and that if I don't get in contact they will look to take the matter to court in order to gain a County court claim against me (CCJ). The debt is over £2000, which certainly isn't something I have spare, or could save to throw at this.

I googled the company, and was directed here by google to someone else's post, but as my matter is much more recent, I thought it would be best to start up a new thread.

There is no date on the letter to respond by, but would assume I couldn't just hold off for a further 2-3 years.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. 

bargainbetty

If you owe the funds and they are threatening legal action (they are within the timeframe to do so) send a prove-it letter to ensure they have the correct documentation, and if they do, you can set up a payment plan. You don't have to pay it all at once, and can eventually send them a statement of monthly income/outgoings to prove it. 

If it means paying them £5 per month (no interest should be added now) for the next ten years to avoid a CCJ, it might be worth your time... 

Andyjflet

Pay your bill, set up a payment plan with the collection agency. 

fatbelly

Overdales, as you suspect, is just another department of Lowell, who have bought your debt for £200 ish. Options:

1. If you had a lump sum, you could offer this in full & final settlement. I would suggest starting at £400 but they may need £600 to settle.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/full-and-final-settlement-offers-ew/

2. You can try to drag this out to the 6-year point (England/Wales), when it would become statute barred. If they did want to start court action, they would first have to send a pre-action protocol letter. 

https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/

3. You can pay by instalments, either now or after the court paperwork is received. Lowell would be open to instalments of anything over £40  per month.

fridgey

@fatbelly

Thank you for that information. I would ideally prefer to have this disappear quickly, rather than waiting till 2025, as i have only just come out of an IVA in the last few years, and would rather not have more things like this hanging over my head.

If I was to opt for Option 1 there, I assume that I would need to write to them using the template from the link you provided, is it best to use snail mail or can I utilise email? I assume snail mail, as it provides me with a bit more time to find x amount.

Thanks

fatbelly

I recommend putting your offer in writing (I'd send a letter), then see what comes back. They are unlikely to accept your initial offer but should come back with a sum they would accept - possibly with a three-instalment option.

If you can then stretch to a figure between your offer and their suggestion, phone them and negotiate.

Get the final deal confirmed in writing before you part with money.

sourcrates

Yes Overdale`s are Lowell`s legal arm, they tend to refer accounts to them where no contact has been made with the debtor.

Lowell can be very slippery at times, and quite litigious too, however on the plus side, they will accept more or less whatever you offer by way of monthly repayment, no one expects you to pay the full amount at once, they may ask for it, but asking and getting are two very different things.

As fatbelly suggests, they also like to do settlement deals, so a few options for you.