Lowells Debt that I do not owe!

sourcrates · 20 March 2017 at 12:28PM

Distemper wrote: »

Hi
I wonder if you could offer some advice please? I had a letter from Lowells back in Jan saying I owed £85 to EE in 2013. I sent a prove it letter and they have just come back with some statements that are not on any form of headed paper.. They are now asking me to make a payment but I do not believe I owe this as I always paid my bill in full by DD on the due date. Also I had never, at any time during the 3 years I was with them, ever run a bill up any where near close to that.

When I left EE in Jan 13 I was told I would get a rebate of around £40-50 I never heard anything after I left. I moved over to O2 on 24/01/13 ported my number across and forgot all about it until April of that year when I got a letter from a DCA saying I owed £93. I sent a prove it letter and heard nothing back. I emailed EE and got no reply from them either..

I am just not sure where to go from here .. Or how to reply to their letter.. Any advice would be great, thanks.

Were the statements from your account though ?

You normally have to give 30 days notice period, after which there will be a final bill, lots of people forget about this last bill, could that be whats happened here ?

Distemper · 20 March 2017 at 4:58PM

Thanks for getting back to me. I have no idea if they were from my account or not there was nothing on them to suggest where they have come from, they are just statements on plain paper showing a DD paid on time every month...

I had given my months notice and when I phoned for my PAC code I was told I would get a rebate. I paid my bills in advance, minuets and texts were included in my deal and I was out of contract. I never went over my allowance so even if it related to a final amount it wouldn't have been more that £25.

I have had no communication from EE to say I owed anything, otherwise I would have disputed it at the time. I was contacted in the April of 2013 by a DCA they told me I would not have been able to port my number to a new provider if I owed money and when I asked for proof of the debt none was ever forth coming..

I still dispute this, I paid my account in full every month by DD I have never run a bill up with any provider. I left EE and went to O2 and I have been with Virgin for the last 2 years..

How should I best reply to them now, I do not believe they have provided me with any form of satisfactory evidence..

sourcrates · 20 March 2017 at 5:19PM

Distemper wrote: »

Thanks for getting back to me. I have no idea if they were from my account or not there was nothing on them to suggest where they have come from, they are just statements on plain paper showing a DD paid on time every month...

I had given my months notice and when I phoned for my PAC code I was told I would get a rebate. I paid my bills in advance, minuets and texts were included in my deal and I was out of contract. I never went over my allowance so even if it related to a final amount it wouldn't have been more that £25.

I have had no communication from EE to say I owed anything, otherwise I would have disputed it at the time. I was contacted in the April of 2013 by a DCA they told me I would not have been able to port my number to a new provider if I owed money and when I asked for proof of the debt none was ever forth coming..

I still dispute this, I paid my account in full every month by DD I have never run a bill up with any provider. I left EE and went to O2 and I have been with Virgin for the last 2 years..

How should I best reply to them now, I do not believe they have provided me with any form of satisfactory evidence..

It can be quite difficult disputing a mobile service agreement debt.

All i can suggest is contacting the ombudsman for your mobile network, there are two, you need to Google which one is responsible for EE, and lodge a complaint with them.

This has had a mixed response in the past, but short of disputing the debt every time a DCA writes to you, theirs little else you can do.

(EE and Orange have a terrible customer service record for dealing with complaints such as this).

Distemper · 20 March 2017 at 5:28PM

I am not sure I follow. So essentially there is nothing I can do is that what you are saying? They can just demand I make a payment for a debt I do not believe I owe??

Arleen · 20 March 2017 at 5:36PM

Distemper wrote: »

I am not sure I follow. So essentially there is nothing I can do is that what you are saying? They can just demand I make a payment for a debt I do not believe I owe??

Well, you've sent a prove-it letter, they have sent what they conclude is proof enough. You are free to now bin all their letters if you think that you don't owe it, as the only way for them to move further is to file against you with small claims.

But filling a complaint with Ombudsman, as mentioned before, may be worth doing too, if for no other reason than to make them stop sending letters.

sourcrates · 20 March 2017 at 5:36PM

Distemper wrote: »

I am not sure I follow. So essentially there is nothing I can do is that what you are saying? They can just demand I make a payment for a debt I do not believe I owe??

There are two ombudsman services that regulates the mobile networks.

Google "ombudsman services EE" , then lodge your complaint with them.

Here, done it for you :

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/communications.html

or you could try again via resolver :

https://www.resolver.co.uk/companies/ee-complaints

Distemper · 20 March 2017 at 5:55PM

I have just filed a complaint with resolver and will also file one with the ombudsman ...

The documents they sent could have been typed up by themselves for all I know as there is no evidence to say where they have come from, I don't believe they are satisfactory evidence but anyway I am more than happy to take this as far as I need to.. Thanks

pogofish · 20 March 2017 at 6:02PM

Surely, if you don't owe the debt, then neither Resolver or Ombudsman Services can help you - as they don't consider products and services not sold as within their remit?

As for Lowells, all that sending a "prove it" letter to them for a debt I don't owe meant was that they passed it on to another bunch of bottom-feeding scum to start all over again! :mad:

sourcrates · 20 March 2017 at 6:22PM

pogofish wrote: »

Surely, if you don't owe the debt, then neither Resolver or Ombudsman Services can help you - as they don't consider products and services not sold as within their remit?

As for Lowells, all that sending a "prove it" letter to them for a debt I don't owe meant was that they passed it on to another bunch of bottom-feeding scum to start all over again! :mad:

Getting EE to admit that the OP doesn't owe the debt is the goal here.

Distemper · 20 March 2017 at 6:32PM

I have just submitted a complaint with the ombudsman as well.. Do I need to contact Lowells to tell them of this??
I found an email I sent EE back in 2013 disputing this bill and detailing every person I spoke to over a 2 day period who never mentioned there was an outstanding bill but said I would be due a refund of £40-£50 .... I will just have to wait and see I guess..

Lowells Debt that I do not owe!

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