Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

[Robjohn81]

Lowells have been chasing a defaulted account for over 5 years, I decided to CCA them back ion April this year, during which time they transferred it to BW Legal, I wrote to them and with a copy of the CCA and all went quiet, later this year BW again chased the debt to which I replied with a letter informing them the account is default as still not CCA response. Last week they have sent me a copy of what seems to be a credit agreement with Shop Direct but no statement of notice of assignment. What should I do next ??

[Robjohn81]

Noobie needs Help with BW Legal and Lowells

Hi everyone, loving the forum, but need help .......

Lowells have been chasing a defaulted account for over 5 years, I decided to CCA them back ion April this year, during which time they transferred it to BW Legal, I wrote to them and with a copy of the CCA and all went quiet, later this year BW again chased the debt to which I replied with a letter informing them the account is default as still not CCA response. Last week they have sent me a copy of what seems to be a credit agreement with Shop Direct but no statement of notice of assignment. What should I do next ??

[warwick65]

Re: Noobie needs Help with BW Legal and Lowells

Hi
Just to confirm - you sent a CCA request to Lowell with the £1 fee ?
They have sent you back a copy of credit agreement, did they include the terms and conditions
A statement of account for the purposes of a CCA request need only be a signed letter with the current outstanding balance , not an actual statement
As for the assignment , again that is not part of a CCA request

Are they threatening court action?

[Robjohn81]

Re: Noobie needs Help with BW Legal and Lowells

hi warwick65
Thanks for the response
Yes I sent CCA to Lowell's with the £1 fee all recorded delivery, case now passed to BW Legal and they are threatening court action.
1 thing I did notice was in the T&C's it mentions further T&C's available on website ??? surely if your signing a legal document all the terms and conditions should be within such document ?????
is it time to make a F&F offer, I've managed to claw my credit score back up over the years with the use of credit cards etc and don't want it taking a hit when this default only has a few months left till it drops off (Default date 22/11/12)

[nemesis45]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

Lowells have been chasing a defaulted account for over 5 years, I decided to CCA them back ion April this year, during which time they transferred it to BW Legal, I wrote to them and with a copy of the CCA and all went quiet, later this year BW again chased the debt to which I replied with a letter informing them the account is default as still not CCA response. Last week they have sent me a copy of what seems to be a credit agreement with Shop Direct but no statement of notice of assignment. What should I do next ??

Good morning,

It would help to get you more appropriate advice if can post suitably redacted copies of the documents you have received + a more full history of the alleged debt.

nem

[Kati]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

threads merged for ease xx

[warwick65]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

Thamks@kati
[MENTION=111607]Robjohn81[/MENTION]

Sorry a couple more questions ( well maybe more than a couple)
When was the account opened?
How much (roughly) are they asking for
When was the last payment made
Have you received a formal letter before claim that includes all the necessary paperwork such as an income and expenditure and a form to say if you admit the debt or not

I do think that saying further terms and conditions are on the internet may not be sufficient but I am not a judge or a lawyer come to that

As [MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] always says, law is often about more than the law but also about tactics

[Diana M]

Re: Noobie needs Help with BW Legal and Lowells

I sent CCA to Lowell's with the £1 fee all recorded delivery, case now passed to BW Legal and they are threatening court action.
. . . .
is it time to make a F&F offer, I've managed to claw my credit score back up over the years with the use of credit cards etc and don't want it taking a hit when this default only has a few months left till it drops off (Default date 22/11/12)

Did you make any payments after the remedy date on the Default Notice (if you were served with one that is)?

If not than you may be in the final months before the debt becomes Statute Barred so an offer of payment could scupper that even if headed Without Prejudice.

Making an offer doesn't guarantee a claim won't be issued. Sometimes it can have the opposite effect when the debt owner decides to issue a claim because you've indicated that you've got access to funds.

They may have sent you a document purporting to be a credit agreement but that doesn't necessarily mean the debt is enforceable in court.

Have you been sent a Notice of Sums in Arrears (s86) annually since the account was defaulted?

Were you served a compliant Default Notice before the account was terminated?

If they issue a claim and the disputed sum in less than £10k you should be given the opportunity to settle it using the court service's free telephone Mediation. Any settlement agreed that way is legally binding but not a CCJ so no blemish on your credit file.

How much are they chasing you for?

Send a Subject Access Request to Shop Direct to get the full history of the account so you can assess whether any documents you're sent by BW Legal are 'honest and accurate'. You'll also be able to see what documents don't exist by their absence in the Transaction Log

Did the account begin as Shop Direct or was it Littlewoods or Very etc?

Di

[Robjohn81]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

Thanks for the responses guys, ill try and answer all the questions.
The account was opened 31/01/2012
Supposed balance due £622.00
Last payment probably made around March 2012? I can't actually see because my credit file only shows 2013 onwards?
I have not received formal letter before claim, guessing that will come next ? letter from BW says:
Failure to contact us within 14 days may lead to
- Further collections activity or
-further legal action

Don't remember making any payments, I moved around a lot so letters just got thrown in the bin , served to wrong addresses etc
I have never seen a default notice.

as I have mentioned above I moved around 5 times in 5 years for various reasons so it never really bothered me but now I'm settled and rebuilding my credit file they have found me .
I will attach the credit agreement, looks weird as there is no account no on it also?

[warwick65]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

The address they give for you, is it the one where you lived at the time?,
I asked because when I asked SD for proof of an agreement after my ex died they gave her new address and not where I know she had been living when the account was opened.

[Robjohn81]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

That is one of my older addresses , the default on credit file shows it at another address ?

[Robjohn81]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

@Diana M any ideas what I should do next ? how do I complete a SAR request ? I'm expecting BW to chase me again in the next week. should I ask them for the Statement of Account to bide me more time ?

[Amethyst]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

Subject Access Request Letter as a starting point, it's normally best to ask for everything they hold relating to you.

I would ask them for documents when/if they send a pre-action letter - I'd not nudge them before that though.

Very catalogue account opened 31/01/2012

[Robjohn81]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

can anyone suggest a SAR Template ?

[Amethyst]

Re: Help with Bw Legal and Lowell's

Subject Access Request Letter