Advice needed - Lowell/Lowell Solicitors - Old BT Debt

[all_jiggy]

Hi all

I'm not really sure on what to do next, I have an old BT debt from a previous address that is being chased by Lowell. Recently this has been passed to Lowell Solicitors, I'm worried that court action may be on their agenda next if I don't respond. The debt is not statute barred and I do own debt. My only defence is that I don't believe I should pay the amount asked and that the default date registered on my credit file is when BT sold debt to Lowell and not within 6 months of the last payment on the account. Please allow me to explain.

I had a BT phoneline/broadband contact at an old address. I moved out of this address back in 2013 and notified BT to cancel the service by phone. The minimum contract term had lapsed so shouldn't of been an issue but I was slightly behind in payments by a month or 2. I was told I would receive a final bill and the line would be terminated. I didn't receive anything and I never chased them. This obviously was a mistake since it's now come back to haunt me but I was in a bad situation financially at the time.
Anyway, a few years later and Lowell first starting writing to me in 2017 demanding just over £750, this is significantly more than what I thought should be outstanding, approx. £200.
I completed a SAR to BT asking for information, and I got back a statement of account that clearly shows than BT had continued to bill me quarterly for nearly a near after I left the address resulting in over £500 adding to the balance. They never cancelled the contract and the bill was now for around £750. I also noticed that there was default on my credit file for this debt but the registration date was in 2015 which is when BT sold this to Lowell
Unhappy with this I made a formal complaint to BT asking why they never cancelled the contract and requested a copy of the default notice since this wasn't included in response to my original SAR. They contacted me via phone and said there is nothing they can do since it's now with Lowell and I should contact them. The only thing BT sent me in the post was a copy of the final bill for around £750.
So I wrote to Lowell earlier this year stating my findings. I admitted that the debt was mine and I want to settle with a single payment. I told them of my dealings with BT and that this amount appears to be an error on their part. I also stated that the default on my credit file appears to be registered in 2015 and not 2013 which is when the last payment on the account was. I offered £250 to settle as long as they correct the default date which I thought is more than reasonable.
Lowell's response however was not, they offered around £550 and said the default is not their problem since it would of been registered by BT and then assigned to them.
I have ignored them since but recently received a letter passing me onto to Lowell Solicitors.

What do suggest should be my next course of action? I am happy to pay, I owe the money but I want to pay what is fair. I'm more concerned with the default date though, I was planning on applying for a mortgage after my file clears up, now this default means I have to wait till 2021 rather than 2019 when the default should of been registered
If they decide to proceed with court do I have a defence on the basis that the amount owed is not correct?

Appreciate any advice you can give

Many thanks

[Amethyst]

You need to persevere with BT over the Default date and their failure to cancel the contract following your instruction. Does the cancellation call show up in the SAR at all ? If not you should probably go back to them on that and ask for a call recording - make a formal complaint in writing - and look at going to the Financial Ombudsman ( as it's really a credit file issue ). Tell BT you will only communicate in writing too so you have their replies in writing as well.

I got back a statement of account that clearly shows than BT had continued to bill me quarterly for nearly a near after I left the address resulting in over £500 adding to the balance

[all_jiggy]

Hi Amethyst

Thanks for your response, I will try again with BT but their last response was that they can't do anything now and I need to deal with Lowell.
The SAR request didn't have anything related to my cancellation request, I can ask them if they have a call recording but this is so long ago now that I can only remember the month/year and not a date or time.
The SAR only came back with an account statement and some product codes of contract I had, no copy of default.
My previous complaint to BT was in writing and I asked them for a copy of the default and also why they didn't cancel and why they continued to leave and bill the account for nearly 12 months when no payments were being made. The reason why I dealt with over the phone was because I received a letter from them saying that they will close the complaint if I don't speak to them since their "previous" letter should of covered the complaint which I didn't receive.

I will try them again, what should I do with Lowell in the meantime? Continue to ignore? What if they escalate?

Thanks again for your insight

[all_jiggy]

Hi again, thinking of sending BT something along the lines of this. Can you advise if this is along the lines of what you were thinking or suggest any change?

Cheers

Dear Sir/Madam



Further to my previous complaint at the end of 2017 (I have enclosed a copy), I am now considering forwarding my case to the Financial Ombudsman for review.

A BT representative told me over the phone that my dispute can no longer be resolved by you and I now need to deal directly with the debt collection agency that you sold the account to (in this case Lowell).



After writing to Lowell they are not sympathetic to the points I made in my previous complaint to you, which are the following



1) BT never cancelled the contract at my request

2) BT registered a default on my credit file 18 months after the last account payment was made

3) BT (in my opinion) were negligent in handling my account on the basis that they continued to charge for unused services at an address that I didn’t live at for nearly a year when no payments were being made on the account



I would appreciate a response in writing that addresses the above 3 points including call recordings of my cancellation request, a copy of the default notice and an explanation as to why BT allowed the account to accumulate additional service changes for nearly a year when no payments were being made.





Yours sincerely

[all_jiggy]

Hi

Sorry to chase, but just received another letter from Lowell Solicitors stating they intend to take me to court if I don't respond within 30 days.
Enclosed is a form to complete requesting information on whether I believe I owe all, part or none of the amount with info on how I intend to pay.

Should I tell them I am taking the matter up with BT or complete the form sati g why I only owe part of it?
I still haven't send another complaint to BT yet, hoping someone can review the draft I posted above before I send.

Thanks again

[MIKE770]

Pre-Action Letters