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Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

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  • Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

    Hi,

    I've recently (several months ago) tidied up my credit file and dealt with 2 defaults (one through Lowell Portfolio?, arranging reduced full and final settlements that I'm happy with after some good advice here.

    Lowell have since been in touch saying they are now collecting a debt for a Vodafone bill, however the only time I have had a Vodafone contract was in late 2006 to June 2007 when I worked on a short term contract as a consultant. After making 5 monthly payments I handed the phone to the company I had been consulting for when the job finished on the understanding that they would be contacting Vodafone and taking over the contract.

    It appears that this never happened and now Lowell have found this 'debt' from nowhere and are threatening to pull my credit file "and other information about me" from Experian to "help them decide how to recover the debt".

    I queried the accuracy of their records and asked them to confirm in writing - they have replied advising they have checked with Vodafone and that the account was opened in my name and that 5 payments were made, nothing more.

    I have not had any contact from Vodafone. I'm not disputing that I had the phone contract, however after handing the phone over to the company I consulted for this was the last I heard of it. The company I consulted for no longer exists as they were bought out by a national insurer shortly afterwards, so I have no way of tracking anything back.

    The latest letter says they have stopped collections activity on the account for 14 days to allow me to get back to them.

    There is nothing in any of the letters from Lowell that refers to the age of the debt.

    Are Lowell allowed to send me these letters chasing a 7+ year old debt? (the phone was handed over by me in May 2007)

    Is there any course of action I should be taking?

    Any advice appreciated and happy to upload the letters if any help!

    Thanks,

    Ash
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

    The key issue here is Limitation, because you clearly haven't dealt with this for well over 6 years. my concern is that if the firm took it over and it was still in your name, there could have been a cause of action much later.

    My guess is that this has no legs and Lowell are trying it on. I suggest that you send a Subject Access Request to Vodafone (is it T-Mobile now?) to obtain all the personal data they hold on you and that should give the full history of the account. They have 40 days to respond so get this off asap.

    Please note that a mobile contract isn't covered by the CCA so you can't challenge the agreement in the way you can do with credit agreements.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

      Just flagging for [MENTION=19723]Lee Vodafone Company Rep[/MENTION]; to take a look

      Have you tried calling vodafone to ask what happened with this contract after you left the company ?
      #staysafestayhome

      Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

      Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

        Thanks for the replies,

        I haven't contacted Vodafone yet.

        My only actions so far have been to advise that I did not acknowledge the debt and request that Lowell confirm in writing what information/basis they had for contacting me. I also stated that I would only deal with them via written correspondence. I then received the letter from Lowell saying 'you owe £557' and their confirmation of the 5 payments received by Vodafone, which also offered me a 15% 'goodwill gesture' discount if I paid up there and then!

        Would this SAR form from Vodafone be ok to use? http://www.vodafone.co.uk/cs/groups/...ftst031658.pdf

        As this is 7+ years ago I haven't got a clue what the actual phone number was any more!

        Ash

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

          If you don't know the number, give them your full name, DOB and the address you lived t when you took out the account.

          The form you link is their own one. A SAR is a formal request under the Data Protection Act for a fee of £10. Basically you'd be asking for all data, which should include (but not be restricted to) a copy of the original contract, statements for the whole period, details of any correspondence and changes of ownership.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

            Hi Ash,

            Thanks for making me aware of this.

            If you still need help with things, email me with your details via the Contact us form here and quote the code WRT135 - FAO Lee in the subject line.

            Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.

            Kind regards,

            Lee

            Social Media Comms

            Vodafone UK
            I am an official company representative of Vodafone UK.

            LegalBeagles has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help resolve issues.

            This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by LegalBEAGLES.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

              Hi Lee,

              @Lee Vodafone Company Rep

              Many thanks for posting and apologies for delay in responding, I work away from home 2-3 days each week.

              I have submitted the form as requested, reference number from reply is: WRT135 - FAO Lee [#8557431]

              @Amethyst - I came home today to a further letter from Lowell (attached) is there any standard reply I should be sending to them to make them hold off now that I am in contact and this is being looked into?

              Thank you all for your help on this.

              Ash
              Attached Files

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

                Originally posted by Ash76 View Post
                Hi Lee,

                @Lee Vodafone Company Rep

                Many thanks for posting and apologies for delay in responding, I work away from home 2-3 days each week.

                I have submitted the form as requested, reference number from reply is: WRT135 - FAO Lee [#8557431]

                @Amethyst - I came home today to a further letter from Lowell (attached) is there any standard reply I should be sending to them to make them hold off now that I am in contact and this is being looked into?

                Thank you all for your help on this.

                Ash
                This is a standard Lowell letter, the next step will be a letter from Red Debt Collection the next desk along in the murky world of Lowell Land, this will again threaten to "escalate" the debt to a " visit" from an agent and or passing the debt to Hamptons Legal Lowells imaginary legal department a few desks down the same corridor.##

                For clarification please, was the service contract for the phone paid (5 payments) by you or the company you were contracted to.

                This appears to be in my opinion statute barred, which means if there has been no payment or unequivocal written acknowledgment of the debt in 6 years from the date of the last payment the debt cannot be enforced via the court system.

                I would suggest a curt note to:

                Ms Sara de Tute
                Director of Legal & Compliance
                The Lowell Group
                Ellington House
                9 Savannah Way
                Leeds Valley Park

                Leeds
                LS10 1AB


                Use Lowell's Ref:


                Dear Ms de Tute,

                I refer you to recent correspondence regarding an alleged debt originating from an account with Vodafone, please take note of the following points.
                1. I do not acknowledge any debt to the Lowell Group or any company it may claim to represent.
                2. Having reviewed my financial history I have concluded that any such alleged debt is Statute Barred, given this information I will not now or at any time in the future make any payment or offer of payment in regard to the alleged debt.

                Lowell will now confirm in writing that it has closed its file on this matter and removed all data relating to me from its records.
                I remind you of the "guidance" on the sale of statute barred debt without informing the purchaser of the status of the debt.

                signed for post is best and check delivery date.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

                  Hi Ash,

                  Thanks for your time last month.

                  As promised, I'll get back in touch with you as soon as I have an update.

                  Kind regards,

                  Lee

                  Social Media Comms

                  Vodafone UK
                  I am an official company representative of Vodafone UK.

                  LegalBeagles has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help resolve issues.

                  This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by LegalBEAGLES.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Lowell chasing disputed Vodafone bill from 2007 - advice needed please!

                    Hi Lee,

                    Thanks again for the phonecall, much appreciated.

                    Look forward to hearing from you.

                    Kind regards,

                    Ash

                    Comment

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