Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

[smiler236]

Hi everyone.
New boy here and im in a bit of a pickle. I received a "Letter of Claim" from Lowell Solicitors regarding an old Argos Store card.
Now, the annoying and slightly worrying thing is that up until quite recently, I had been defending this claim as I was gaining information on how to deal with it all from "getoutofdebtfree.org". Their website doesn't seem to be working anymore so im left with not much idea how to continue with this. I have previously sent Lowell three letters setting up a "Tassit agreement"? But Lowell have ignored all of that and just pressed on with this. Am I right in thinking Lowell have to provide a "Deed of Assignment"? Because I have asked for this three times and all they sent were poorly photocopied statements and nothing I was instructed to ask for. There is a Reply Form which gives me the chance to dispute the debt and give my reasons, but should I use this and what should I put? I fully intend to defend this as all im asking for is proof that they leagally own the debt and im quite happy to go to court if needs be and stand up for myself as im sick of all the letters I have received from these people.
Any help on this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance. S.

[Kati]

Re: Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

to LB [MENTION=111990]smiler236[/MENTION] ... don't worry you'll get lots of help from the knowledgeable Beagles

Here's a link to your first steps - https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-court-claims/

and I'll tag [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION] [MENTION=55034]nemesis45[/MENTION] [MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] [MENTION=98117]warwick65[/MENTION] to come and advise xx

[smiler236]

Re: Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

Thanks Kati. I'm really trying to sort my self out but Lowell are just so persistent and theres an air of arrogance about them too. I refuse to let them ware me down. S.

[Diana M]

Re: Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

I received a "Letter of Claim" from Lowell Solicitors regarding an old Argos Store card.

. . . . There is a Reply Form which gives me the chance to dispute the debt and give my reasons, but should I use this and what should I put? I fully intend to defend this as all im asking for is proof that they leagally own the debt and im quite happy to go to court if needs be and stand up for myself as im sick of all the letters I have received from these people.

Can you just clarify whether you've only received a Letter Before Claim and not an actual county court claim from NCCBC/MCOL?

If it is a LBC then here's some guidance on how to complete the Reply Form on this website > https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/

You have 30 days from the date of that LBC letter to respond and the debt owner shouldn't issue a claim before then.

If you've already received the claim form then things will be managed differently.

Di

[smiler236]

Re: Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

Hi Di. Thanks for the reply. The wording underneath "Dear Mr xxxxxx says "Letter of Claim" It goes on to say that they are "writing to me to inform me of their intentions to issue proceedings against me in the county court".

[Diana M]

Re: Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

Hi Di. Thanks for the reply. The wording underneath "Dear Mr xxxxxx says "Letter of Claim" It goes on to say that they are "writing to me to inform me of their intentions to issue proceedings against me in the county court".

Okay so you haven't received a court claim.

My suggestion would be to immediately send a s 77-79 CCA Request to Lowells - there a link to a template letter here > https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...etter-example/

I would put everything else you've read on the internet to the back of your mind for a moment while you gain control of this situation.

Post up a little background of the Argos debt (when/what year it was opened, how you opened it, the reason you couldn't keep paying, how much is the balance etc.) to give an idea of how you may be able to defend a claim if one arrives (hopefully not !).

Once that's known you can decide how to complete (or not) the Reply Form. As I said you have 30 days from the date it was sent. What date is that?

Di

[smiler236]

Re: Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

Hi Di. The date on the letter is 31/12/2017. I originally took out the Argos card in 2004 because at the time I was a successful touring musician and I used to use argos a lot for various bits and bobs. I broke my foot in 2005 and was unable to work. The outstanding amount left to pay is £776.29. I had a few debts which I was paying off through a debt management agency but I was paying the money in and the debts didn't seem to be going down much. I woke up one day and just thought this isn't really fair and dug my heals in. The last time I paid any money to Lowell was roughly 4 years ago. So it sadly wont be Statute barred.

[smiler236]

Re: Lowell Solicitors Letter of claim

Morning. Right, I've posted the 77-79 cca request to Lowells. I have kept proof of postage so lets see what happens. Thanks for all your help so far. S.

[smiler236]

Hi again. Its been 12 working days since I sent the 77-79 cca request to Lowells and they have not responded in any way. What should I do now? Thanks. S.

[MIKE770]

sit and wait their usual method of not responding at this stage

[smiler236]

Wow! Just got a letter from Lowell Solicitors saying that their client Lowells has been unable to locate the requested information so "a decision has been made to close the account"! They are also going to refund my pound too! I cant thank you all enough for your help on this matter. I do have two other debts with Lowell so will post up if and when they hassle me but for the time being Thank you so much. S.

[MIKE770]

keep that letter filed

[Diana M]

Wow! Just got a letter from Lowell Solicitors saying that their client Lowells has been unable to locate the requested information so "a decision has been made to close the account"! They are also going to refund my pound too! I cant thank you all enough for your help on this matter.

What great news!

You responded to the Letter Before Claim by sending a CCA Request and that prevented them from issuing a claim when they discovered that they couldn't comply with your request. You've dodged a bullet

As Mike770 has said keep that letter safe, but also keep a copy of your CCA Request as evidence that you sent it.

You say you have two other debts with Lowells so consider whether it might be beneficial to send a CCA Request for either/both of those.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Di

[smiler236]

Thanks so much Di. It was your information that made this possible. One of the other alleged debts has been passed to a company called "Debt Managers (services) ltd" by Lowell. they are offering me a 40% discount etc. Am I right in thinking that I should send Lowell a cca request for this one too? Thanks. S.

[Amethyst]

I think that would be a good plan, but to Debt Managers ( Services ) Ltd - Did Lowell send you a notice of assignment ? ( I don't think they are the same company ) ( https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08092808 & FCA Auth 661939 )