Field agent visit

Clouds88

Hello,

I have been up and down with debt for years.
I have about 5 low level debts with Lowell, ranging from £200 to £2600.

I have one with TM legal which I pay £1 a month towards.
I have one more somewhere from an old mobile company.

I have signed a new contract at work to increase my hours so will have a bit more income, until now I’ve been ignoring all of the Lowell ones but my most recent letter said a field agent is visiting my home soon.
My plan was to try save and negotiate a discount further down the line to write it off but am I better off just paying a small amount to each debt for now to keep them from going for CCJ or visiting my house?

I don’t own any big possessions like a house, I rent, I own one car worth £3000 and that’s it.

Thanks.

Brie

It is highly unlikely that they will try for a CCJ on your debts, depending of course on what they are for. If it's for credit cards or catalogues I can't see it happening. And if you are paying even a small amount they won't bother. If it's for traffic violations of some sort then it's more likely.

Do you know if the debts have defaulted? Have you asked for credit agreements? Or affordability checks? These thing may make a big difference to your situation.

It will be easiest for us to comment more fully if you provide a statement of accounts (SOA, see my signature for a link) and give us a full picture.

Meanwhile you might want to read up on debt solutions - Debt solutions - what is your best option?

sourcrates

Ah, the threat of a doorstep visit, designed to make you quiver in your shoes and cough up some cash to prevent it from happening.

This has been a debt collection tactic since the dawn of time, by far the majority of folk, just get a card through the letterbox, an actual visit is rare, and I have posted many times, along with other regulars to this board, about how utterly unimportant such field agents visits actually are.

If you want to avoid further action by Lowell, then write to them, if you can`t afford to pay anything, tell them so, or if you can only make token payments, again, tell them why, just doing nothing only encourages contact from them, hence why you are on the list for Resolvecall or whoever it might be to visit.

Clouds88

thank you both. I can afford some, but I thought if I set up a repayment plan to pay off the whole lot it’s going to take me 10+ years I thought either token or avoiding it and then offering a settlement in a few years might be better.

I have told Lowell previously that I can’t pay and they held my account for 30 days, I sent proof of my income/outgoings at the time this was last year I think, my situation was worse then.

RAS

The agent has as much power as next door's cat. Just say, bye and shut the door.

Creditors can't demand income and expenditure either, unless it's court ordered. In which case, you make sure that all your legitimate expenses are included. Even those who are bankrupt are allowed a basic holiday and some money for hobbies are entertainment.

If the debt is defaulted and you want to pay, then pay them a fiver, don't offer, just use the account details off their letter and set up a standing order. Never a direct debit.

tigergambit

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863118#Comment_81863118

DO NOT tell them that your situation has improved. You can either make a small payment with a view to saving the difference to make a part-settlement offer in the future OR continue to ignore and aim for statute barring in 6 years. It's your choice - both have merits.

If they are really hassling you and you want it to stop ask them to remove your phone number and request they only contact you by letter.

sourcrates

The problem with these debt purchasing companies is that they work on either a 30 day or a 60 day account hold, and then resume collection activity as though nothing has happened.

Its a tactic to keep you engaged with them, to make you more amenable to paying them something.

You can go down the complaints route and try to drag the hold period out a while longer in the hope they will decide to take a commercial decision and either cease collection activity altogether or write the debt off, it can happen but it depends on your circumstances.

Your only other alternative is to ride out the storm, and take what ever Lowell throw at you, and only respond if they issue a court claim, in the hope you can save some money and settle further on down the line.