T-Mobile ruined my credit rating

2

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  • I'm sending the below letter today to lowell portfolio I Ltd via recorded delivery with a copy also being sent to T-mobile.

    I am also sending a pdf of the letter to Lowell portfolio's email address notifying them that the alleged debt is in dispute and the attached pdf has been sent via recorded delivery and that i will look forward to their written reply.

    also reiterating the below

    Do not contact me concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability and the validity for the debt in question.
    Dear Sir/Madam

    Reference No: XXXXXXXX

    You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

    I would point out that I have no knowledge of any such default/debt allegedly owed to EE (formerly trading as T-Mobile) until the 28/07/2016 when I joined Experian (I have email proof, also my account details will attest to this) and checked my credit report for the first time. On the 09/08/2016 I emailed Experian asking them to query the default with T-mobile (I have email evidence of this). I am currently in the process of disputing the validity of the above default/debt allegedly owed.

    I am familiar with the Consumer Credit sourcebook of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which states the following rules.

    "A firm must not ignore or disregard a customer's claim that a debt has been settled or is disputed and must not continue to make demands for payment without providing clear justification and/or evidence as to why the customer's claim is not valid." 7.5.3

    "A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds." 7.14.1

    "Where a customer disputes a debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds, the firm must investigate the dispute and provide details of the debt to the customer in a timely manner." 7.14.3

    "Where there is a dispute as to the identity of the borrower or hirer or as to the amount of the debt, it is for the firm (and not the customer) to establish, as the case may be, that the customer is the correct person in relation to the debt or that the amount is the correct amount owed under the agreement." 7.14.4

    "A firm must provide a customer with information on the outcome of its investigations into a debt which the customer disputed on valid grounds." 7.14.5

    "Where a customer disputes a debt and the firm seeking to recover the debt is not the lender or the owner, the firm must:
    (1) pass the information provided by the customer to the lender or the owner; or
    (2) if the firm has authority from the lender or owner to investigate a dispute, it must notify the lender or owner of the outcome of the investigation." 7.14.6


    In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

    Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

    I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

    In addition, any default, adverse information, or account details have been reported to the Credit Reference Agencies regarding this account, I require you to remove any such information forthwith.

    Recording false and inaccurate information on Credit Reference Files is a breach of the Data protection Act 1998, and may also constitute an act of defamation on your part.

    I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the FCA of your actions.

    If appropriate I will also take this matter forward as a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service and Information Commissioner's Office.

    I look forward to hearing from you.

    Yours faithfully,

    Fistatron, Ph.D
  • fermi
    fermi Posts: 40,546
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    Legally, FCA rules do not apply to the collection of debts that are not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, such as phone contracts.

    So quoting most of that is not really going to take you very far, unless Lowell are even more stupid than normal.
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  • fermi
    fermi Posts: 40,546
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post Intrepid Forum Explorer
    Forumite
    Free/impartial debt advice: National Debtline | StepChange Debt Charity | Find your local CAB

    IVA & fee charging DMP companies: Profits from misery, motivated ONLY by greed
  • Fistatron
    Fistatron Posts: 23 Forumite
    edited 17 August 2016 at 11:42AM
    just sent the following email with the attached letter and cc'd [email protected] (email address given to me by experian.
    Dear Sir/Madam,

    Reference No: XXXXXXXXX

    This is just a short email to notify you that I have sent the attached PDF as a letter via recorded delivery in reply to the letter i received on the 15/08/2016 (letter dated 11/08/2016) today. I have also sent the attached letter and in copy to T-mobile via the below address:

    T-mobile Credit Referrals
    EE PO BOX 616
    550 Metroplex Business Park
    Salford
    M5 0HN

    The attached letter is notifying you that the alleged debt is in dispute and that you should not contact me concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability and the validity for the debt in question. Any attempt to contact me without evidence of a thorough investigation as to the validity of the alleged debt will be in direct contradiction of the Consumer Credit Sourcebook of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

    yours faithfully,

    Fistatron, Ph.D

    NUTS i've only just seen the above replies from Fermi!!! I have already sent the email i hope this does not sink me :-(

    do you think i should sent the letter as well or not bother?

    I could have sworn i read in the post i was quoting the letter from that i could send the above letter even if it was a debt not covered by the CCA
  • fermi wrote: »

    is the communication ombudsman? or just ombudsman service?
  • Fistatron
    Fistatron Posts: 23 Forumite
    edited 17 August 2016 at 1:47PM
    I've decide that since i have sent the email i will have to send the letters now

    I'm sending the following to EE (formerly T-mobile (UK)) in with a copy of the above letter i'm sending to lowell
    Account in dispute- T-Mobile account phone no. 0XXXXXXXX
    T-Mobile account no. XXXXXXXX
    Lowell reference no. XXXXXXXX


    Dear Sir/Madam

    Original account no. XXXXXXX
    Lowell reference no. XXXXXXXXX


    I have sent the attached letter to Lowell Portofolio I Ltd in reply to communication received on the 15/08/2016 (letter dated 11/08/2016). In the above mentioned communication another letter from EE (formerly trading as “T-Mobile (UK) Ltd”) was attached informing me that the alleged debt was sold to Lowell Portfolio I Ltd on the 25/07/2016 (stated in the received letter), this letter was also dated the 11/08/2016.

    I was unaware that alleged debt/default existed until I joined Experian and checked my credit report for the first time on the 28/07/2016 (my account details will attest to this, as well the conformation email received from Experian). On the 09/08/2016 I emailed Experian to query the above mentioned default (again my email account will attest to this). On the 11/08/2016 I received a reply from Experian stating the following
    “They [T-Mobile] have provided us with the following information:

    "We have looked into customer's account and can confirm that account has outstanding balance of £121.17. This is for invoices from March 2014 to August 2014, which remained unpaid. Customer can make a payment by calling us on 08454 121 124."

    I understand that this may not be the outcome you were hoping for. If you'd like to discuss their decision, you should contact them directly. Their contact details are:

    Credit Referrals EE PO BOX 616 550 Metroplex Business Park Salford M5 0HN Email: [email protected]


    As you can see in the above communication between T-Mobile and Experian, you state that if I wanted to make payments I could have called T-mobile on 08454 121 124. Also in the above reply from Experian were the contact details for the credit referrals department of EE. This reply was sent and received on the 11/08/2016, I was in the process of formatting a letter to enquire about the alleged debt with an aim to resolve the matter, when I received the communication from EE Ltd and Lowell portfolio I Ltd.

    As is evident from the above timeline reported in the aforementioned communication from EE & Lowell my right to reply and challenge the alleged debt was removed. I feel I have been treated unfairly and have denied fair process with regard to this matter.

    I would like to dispute the alleged debt and come to a resolution between myself and EE with regard to the issue. I do not feel this issue would be resolved via a third party who will not possess all of the information or full authority with regard to transmitting data to credit reference agencies (CRA).Therefore I would like to open lines of communication between myself and EE (formerly T-mobile (UK) LTD) on this matter.

    If not dealt with appropriately I will also take this matter forward as a complaint to the Ombudsman Service.

    I look forward to hearing from you.

    Yours faithfully,
    fistatron, Ph.D
  • Fistatron
    Fistatron Posts: 23 Forumite
    fermi wrote: »
    Legally, FCA rules do not apply to the collection of debts that are not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, such as phone contracts.

    So quoting most of that is not really going to take you very far, unless Lowell are even more stupid than normal.


    Just a note I have found on the financial ombudsman service web site
    complaints we can look at

    Previously, we could only consider complaints about debt collectors where the complaint was about an attempt to collect a debt that originated from a regulated consumer-credit or consumer-hire contract.

    The position changed on 1 April 2014 when regulation passed from the OFT to the FCA.

    We can now consider complaints about collecting debts that arose from exempt consumer credit and consumer hire agreements – even if the event happened before 1 April 2014.

    We can also consider complaints about debt collection arising from certain peer to peer agreements. However peer-to-peer lending only became a regulated activity on 1 April 2014 – so we can only consider complaints if the event was after this date.

    This still means that we can’t deal with complaints about the collection of debts such as:

    council tax
    utility bills or
    rent arrears.
    Where consumers are concerned about issues relating to the collection of debts like these, we usually refer them to Citizens Advice.

    For complaints referred to us before 1 April 2014, we follow the rules as they stood before that date.

    So the letter may still do some good as according to the above I can still complain to the FCA/FOS, that is if I have understood the above correctly
  • fermi
    fermi Posts: 40,546
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post Intrepid Forum Explorer
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    Fistatron wrote: »
    Just a note I have found on the financial ombudsman service web site

    So the letter may still do some good as according to the above I can still complain to the FCA/FOS, that is if I have understood the above correctly

    Sadly, no.

    The above just does a bad job of explaining.

    A mobile contract is not a regulated agreement that falls under the FOS/FCA remit. Exempt or non-exempt.

    An exempt credit or hire agreement is still one made under the consumer credit act, but one that holds certain exemptions.

    A mobile phone contract is just a service agreement, not regulated at all under that.

    In that sense a mobile phone contract has more in common with a utility bill or internet/TV contract, which likewise are not regulated by the FCA/FOS.
    Free/impartial debt advice: National Debtline | StepChange Debt Charity | Find your local CAB

    IVA & fee charging DMP companies: Profits from misery, motivated ONLY by greed
  • Fistatron
    Fistatron Posts: 23 Forumite
    fermi wrote: »
    Sadly, no.

    The above just does a bad job of explaining.

    A mobile contract is not a regulated agreement that falls under the FOS/FCA remit. Exempt or non-exempt.

    An exempt credit or hire agreement is still one made under the consumer credit act, but one that holds certain exemptions.

    A mobile phone contract is just a service agreement, not regulated at all under that.

    In that sense a mobile phone contract has more in common with a utility bill or internet/TV contract, which likewise are not regulated by the FCA/FOS.

    Balls lol, never mind i guess.

    Is there a set of rules, guidelines or an authority that does govern debt collectors in general?

    Would be interested to know exactly what are allowed to do and procedurally how they are meant to deal with disputes.

    Thanks for the clarification fermi!!!
  • Fistatron
    Fistatron Posts: 23 Forumite
    So I received an email from Lowell customer services email below
    Hello Ryan,

    Thank you for your email.

    For security purposes can you please provide your date of birth?

    Once this information is received I will be happy to help.

    Kind regards

    Dan
    Customer Services Lowell Group

    I don't see why they needed my date of birth for a security check? I'm guessing this is just an attemp for them to fish info out of me (even though it is not relavent). Anyway tin foil hats aside the point is I had told them not to contact me without evidence of a thorough investigation or valid justification

    Here is my reply below.
    Dear Dan,

    The previous email was only a notification that the attached PDF had been sent via recorded delivery (letter received this morning according to online tracking) and in copy to EE's credit referrals department.

    If not already made clear in the below email and written communication (received 18/08/16) please do not contact me concerning the aforementioned account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability and the validity of the debt in question.

    Any further attempt to contact me without evidence of a thorough investigation as to the validity of the alleged debt or without a valid justification, will be seen as a form of harassment that will be reported to the appropriate authorities.

    All future communications made to me from Lowell group/portfolio I ltd must be in writing and include valid evidence of investigation as to the validity/liability of the alleged debt. This will also negate the need for any future security check.

    I thank you in advance for your future cooperation with the above request.

    Yours faithfully,

    Fistatron, Ph.D

    Both letters that were sent yesterday were received and signed for.
This discussion has been closed.
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