Lowells Financial - Want me to pay a debt I do not owe

[Bun]

I hope that I have posted in the correct section, my apologies if not.

Out of the blue this morning, I received a letter and 'Annual Statement' from Lowells, a company I have never heard of until now. They are saying that I owe them money (73.52) due to an unpaid debt originally owned by Freemans PLC. Apparently, the original credit agreement date was 30 Nov 2012.

I have no knowledge of this debt and have always, always paid all debts off on time every month and still do. I have never taken out any loans in my name either.

Whilst this supposed debt is small, I am concerned that if I ignore this demand they will take matters further. I have also read online about this firm and am also worried that contacting them by phone will only lead to more harassment. I am 76 years of age and never been in debt in my life, so receiving this letter this morning upsets me greatly.

I am at a loss as to what I should do, I don't want to pay a debt that as far as I am concerned is not mine, so what should be my first step in this matter?

Just a note. They have sent this letter to my new address yet at the date of the original credit agreement I lived elsewhere.

My thanks, in advance for any help you can give me.

[MIKE770]

did you have a catalogue account with Freemans>

[Bun]

did you have a catalogue account with Freemans>

HI Mike, no, as far as I remember I didn't. I do shop online with a few companies, but with one exception (I have an account with one company NOT associated with Freemans) I always pay via my Credit card immediately and I have no outstanding debts there.

regards

[bizzybob]

Possibly a faulty trace as in sending phishing letters to all J Jones's in an area. Have they linked the account to your previous address? I would check your credit files asap, Clearscore and Noddle are free, Lowell may well have registered a default with Credit Reference Agencies.

[MIKE770]

could you pop the letter up on here minus your personal names and account numbers for viewing as it may be a phishing letter

[Bun]

Here are the 2 sheets I received. A covering letter and what they call an annual statement, though this is the first that I have ever heard of them or the debt.

[MIKE770]

Lowells Annual Statement, ( must be 2 years = 1 year on their calendar), begging letter by the looks of it, maybe? 18/04/2016 to 01/05/20108

[Bun]

Possibly a faulty trace as in sending phishing letters to all J Jones's in an area. Have they linked the account to your previous address? I would check your credit files asap, Clearscore and Noddle are free, Lowell may well have registered a default with Credit Reference Agencies.

I have checked with Clearscore and my files are clear, with a credit score of 467. No Defaults or CCJ's nor any other searches have been made on my records; so far.

[warwick65]

Personally I would be writing a simple letter asking them to prove it
https://debtcamel.co.uk/prove-it/


If you want you could also send a CCA request along with the £1 fee , in fact I suppose you could combine both letters in one although both letters in the same envelope might be better - saves on postage costs

If the worst comes to the worst and it turns out it was one of yours, you can then make an informed choice as to what to do

[Bun]

My thanks to you all so far for the information and advice given. I will prepare and send both PROVE IT and CCA REQUEST letters and see what that brings.

I am really grateful for the advice as, despite the small value, such letters are very disturbing. Thanks again.

[Bun]

Just thought that I would update those of you who gave advice.

I received a letter from Lowells this morning advising me that Freemans cannot find any information regarding my alleged debt and as such Lowells will not be pursuing the matter any further and will ensure that my Credit record is not affected.

I can't thank you all enough for the advice given, especially the links to the letters needed to be used. The letters appear to have resolved the issue without me becoming embroiled in endless telephone calls with this company.

Thanks again, and my best wishes to you all.