Red Debt Collection (Lowells) & 3 mobile

GunJack · 12 December 2008 at 10:05AM

GunJack's regular update.....

right, letters in post now, so let's see what happens...I'm squeaky-clean, my experian report says so as I knew it would....will see what hapens...

Anyone else had any sort of further contact/progress with these &*%£%&& ??? (pick your own expletive as you see fit

)

tdgooner · 12 December 2008 at 3:22PM

Hi. Looking for some advice on the way forward with this please?

The history of this is here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1231441&highlight=lowells+red

I have finally received info back for my SAR (it took longer than 40 days). It has print outs (which they claim to be from 3 mobile) which have my name, date, payment amount and address on it. However, this does not say it's from 3 mobile anywhere - it looks like it has been done on a simple Excel spreadsheet. They have provided nothing that says they have been appointed by 3G other than their first letter in August (which I never received as it was to my old address).

I also have copies of letters they sent to me, and a print out from their computer system with 'account details' etc.

They have put a default on my credit account, even though they started pursuing this in August this year. It says that I have over 8 defaulted payments to 'Lowell Portfolio 1'. The most recent was November, even though they said that my account was being questioned - are they still able to update credit reference files even though a debt is being disputed?

I have noticed that they have reduced my 'current balance' by £10 - this looks like the SAR money I paid. Is this right? Where does this leave me? Should they be taking the SAR money from my 'money owed'?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm thoroughly lost! Thanks.

tdgooner · 13 December 2008 at 1:25AM

Can anyone help please?

rog2 · 13 December 2008 at 10:58AM

tdgooner wrote: »

I have noticed that they have reduced my 'current balance' by £10 - this looks like the SAR money I paid. Is this right? Where does this leave me? Should they be taking the SAR money from my 'money owed'?

No tdg - they should not have treated your £10 Statutory Fee as a payment towards the account. This 'ploy' is often used by DCAs in an attempt to prove, should it come to court, that ou have acknowledged the debt by making a payment towards it.

And, yes, you are indeed correct - whilst a debt is, as yours, 'in dispute' then they should not be 'updating' your credit file.

Equally, as they took more than the prescribed 30 days to provide you with information that, under the terms of the Data Protection Act, they were legally obliged to provide, then they are in breach of the DPA and should be reported to the Information Commissioner's Office:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/librar/data_protection/practical_application/dp_how_to_complain_final.pdf

You should write to Lowell and tell them that 'since they did not provide you with the information that you requested, under the terms of the Data Protection Act, within the legally prescribed term, they are now in breach of The Act, and, therefore, you have registered a complaint with the ICO.
Consequently they should cease all attempts to pursue this alleged debt until the dispute has been settled - any attempts, by them to contact you concerning the alleged debt will be treated as illegal harassment and will be reported to the relevant authorities, including OFT (Trading Standards), the Information Commissioner and the Police.
Also tell them that, by seeing fit to use the £10 that you enclosed as Statutory Fee, as a 'payment' towards the alleged debt, does not, in any way, represent any acknowledgement of that alleged debt by yourself.'

I think, also, that you would benefit by having a quick chat with National Debtline - 0808 808 4000, CCCS - 0800 138 1111, or a debt advisor at your local CAB, as Lowell are a particularily nasty bunch of crooks who seem to think that they have an exclusive right to ignore OFT Guidelines and the Law. When trying to deal with the likes of these cowboys it is often best to have someone who is not going to be intimidated by their tactics on your side.

tdgooner · 13 December 2008 at 9:48PM

rog2 wrote: »

No tdg - they should not have treated your £10 Statutory Fee as a payment towards the account. This 'ploy' is often used by DCAs in an attempt to prove, should it come to court, that ou have acknowledged the debt by making a payment towards it.

And, yes, you are indeed correct - whilst a debt is, as yours, 'in dispute' then they should not be 'updating' your credit file.

Equally, as they took more than the prescribed 30 days to provide you with information that, under the terms of the Data Protection Act, they were legally obliged to provide, then they are in breach of the DPA and should be reported to the Information Commissioner's Office:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/librar/data_protection/practical_application/dp_how_to_complain_final.pdf

You should write to Lowell and tell them that 'since they did not provide you with the information that you requested, under the terms of the Data Protection Act, within the legally prescribed term, they are now in breach of The Act, and, therefore, you have registered a complaint with the ICO.
Consequently they should cease all attempts to pursue this alleged debt until the dispute has been settled - any attempts, by them to contact you concerning the alleged debt will be treated as illegal harassment and will be reported to the relevant authorities, including OFT (Trading Standards), the Information Commissioner and the Police.
Also tell them that, by seeing fit to use the £10 that you enclosed as Statutory Fee, as a 'payment' towards the alleged debt, does not, in any way, represent any acknowledgement of that alleged debt by yourself.'

I think, also, that you would benefit by having a quick chat with National Debtline - 0808 808 4000, CCCS - 0800 138 1111, or a debt advisor at your local CAB, as Lowell are a particularily nasty bunch of crooks who seem to think that they have an exclusive right to ignore OFT Guidelines and the Law. When trying to deal with the likes of these cowboys it is often best to have someone who is not going to be intimidated by their tactics on your side.

Thank you rog2, that is really useful info. I was unsure what to do when I received this back from them - I have heard about Lowell's/red debt/hampton's etc but this is quite stressful.

Thank you for your advice on the SAR payment, and also the credit reference file situation - it confirmed my initial thought.

Thanks very much for your detailed info - this forum is priceless for the info it provides, and I really do appreciate it. I will update all when I hear more.

Once again, thanks.

tdgooner

GunJack · 14 December 2008 at 1:58PM

has no-one who sent the "prove-it" letter previously got anything to add to this debate, or was it a case of letter sent, nowt back from Lowell/red/mackenzie hall ???

GunJack · 22 December 2008 at 11:10AM

GunJack's regular update.....

Right, RM delivered the prove it letter to Mackenzie Hall last monday 15th, so it's a waiting game........

GunJack · 31 December 2008 at 6:01AM

Well, I know it's the xmas hols, but that's 2 weeks with no response....wonder if they're going to bother or not

...GunJack sits staring into space drumming fingertips on the table....waiting...

Sarah354 · 9 January 2009 at 2:09PM

Hi Everyone

I have had the same problem as everyone else on this thread, with Lowell attempting to collect a debt from me of £109, apparently owed to O2. I phoned O2 and they confirmed that I don't owe them any money and advised to ignore the letter in the first instance.

This was a few months ago, however I just applied for a credit card and was surprised to be turned down. I checked my credit score with Equifax and found that the £109 debt with Lowell appears as defaulted on my credit score back in 2003 - obviously this seriously affects my otherwise good credit (I've spent years paying off my debts and thought I was finally clear!!). Help!!!

How do I get them to remove this debt, which isn't mine, from the credit record? I'm panicking that this will completely ruin all the hard work I've put in over the last years to clear my debt

Any advice is much appreciated! Thank you.

GeorgeUK · 13 January 2009 at 12:36PM

Do you have anything in writing from O2 that you don't owe anything? You shouldn't need to prove you do not owe the debt, but if you can it may save time.

Write to Lowell stating that they are in breach of the Data Protection Act by holding incorrect information on you and passing incorrect information on to the credit reference agencies. Inform them you will be contacting the Information Commissioners Office and Trading Standards if you have not received confirmation that they will remedy the situation and remove your details from their records.

There may be some letters that can help on the standard template thread, but i can't really look right now.

good luck.

Red Debt Collection (Lowells) & 3 mobile

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