BW Legal services/ Lowell Portfolio vs Snapair 66

[Snapair66]

Hi Legal Beagles

I am hoping someone can help me with County court claim letter I received in November for £903 (original amount of debt was £630).

Ok so here goes the story….

So when I was 18 and stupid (now 24) I got duped into a mobile phone scam by a Phones4U agent; in which when I took out a contract the agent took out another contract under my name. She also did this to a few other people. To cut the story short she got found out as myself and other victims to this scam complained to the store manager.

This led to the Phones4U agent to get fired and was taken to court (Bedford Magistrates). Myself and a few other victims had to go to court to provide a testimony against her, which led to her being found guilty of fraud/ theft.. (Something along the lines of that).

The original contract that I had taken out from the store, which this particular Phones4U agent processed, I returned to the store within 14days and had the contract cancelled. However, the contract that she had taken out under my name and kept was not traceable and 02, (contract provider) had kept on sending me bills for this, which I’ve never paid, and have always protested my innocence.

When I highlighted this issue to the Phones4u store manager (back then) they said, they would take care of it and I would not be responsible. I saw from the bill I received, that they made payments on this mobile phone account for a few months, however after the court case they stopped making payments. I eventually started receiving letters from debt collectors over the years, but I simply ignored them, as it was not my debt to pay (I told them a few times it was fraud, but they still kept on chasing me for the money). So I decided to ignore all future the letters they sent.

So fast forwarding to December of 2013 I received a letter from Northampton County court, notifying me that BW Legal had made an application on behalf of Lowell portfolio to try and give me a CCJ … and I was given something like 14 days to respond (which I did not, I have also lost the letter). However, I did call up BW legal services at the time to enquire what it was about, and they told me it was to do with the phone contract palava.

I told BW legal services, that it was fraud and it was not my debt to pay, more importantly I told them it went to court etc. They then told me that they would enquire with Lowell Portfolio and get back In touch with me.

So yesterday after months of waiting they finally got in touch with me and told me they could not find any information about the court case (I doubt they even looked). I was told; it was up to me to prove that it did go to court and that I am not making it up.

So now I am not sure what to do, or how I can prove this. As I was 18 when this happened (6 years ago) I cannot remember where I put all the paperwork, I am not even sure I kept it (I have already had a search). I have also done a credit check today and have not yet been issued with a CCJ.

Also I did some research during the day and called them back telling them regardless of if they believe I am liable or not, the debt it not recoverable by legal proceedings because I fell under the Limitations act 1980 (as it has been 6 years). The contract was taken out on the 19^th of June 2008 so therefore it would be six years next Thursday, am I right in this? When I said this to the guy from BW legal services he got rather rude and agitated and said ‘’first you say it was a fraud, now you say its statue barred. Which one is it make your mind up’’ (amongst other things).

The guy on the phone also then went to say it is not statue barred, as apparently I made a payment of £3.00 in 2010 to them. In which I asked him how was this payment paid and he said he doesn’t know, but its on the system apparently, so I have asked for proof of this payment. I have NEVER made a payment on this account, why would I even pay just a specific amount of £3?

The guy from BW legal services also said it could have been made by BACS and is not traceable apparently? It sounds absurd that I would have made a payment of £3.00 in 2010 to pay off a £630 debt. He said he would query it with Lowell and get back to me.. So I am waiting….

so to some this up , I have no clue to what I am doing , or what I need to do and I am hoping some one can please help me?

Does the Limitation act 1980 apply to me? (ive never made a payment , even though they claim I did, nor have I ever acknowledged the debt)

How can I get proof of the court case?

Does the action date worded in the 1980 act start from the day I took the contract out or from when it first defaulted? (as Phones4u made payments for a few months on the contract) on the credit search it says I defaulted on 31/12/08 even though I never made a payment since the contract was taken out on 19^th June 2008.

Should the phone contract not count as invalid as the agent sold it under misrepresentation? Was also convicted of an offence?

What shall I do about the court letter , how do I get a replacement ?


I know this is a long read, and I would like to thank everyone in advance.

[Amethyst]

Re: BW Legal services/ Lowell Portfolio vs Snapair 66

Thanks for the comprehensive post - you should be fine. You need to get in contact with the police and ask for the crime reference for the case of fraud where the phones4u employee was convicted, you should also contact phones4u and ask them to send you a letter confirming the details of the case and that this contract was one of the fraudulent ones.

Don't worry about the payment, Lowells always invent small random payments in 2010 to try and avoid limitations. You wouldn't be stat barred if it was your debt anyway if the contract was June 2008 as the time clock stops when they issue a court claim, so would have to have been before December 2007 to be time barred.

So what is the current position with the court claim ?

[Snapair66]

Re: BW Legal services/ Lowell Portfolio vs Snapair 66

Thanks for the comprehensive post - you should be fine. You need to get in contact with the police and ask for the crime reference for the case of fraud where the phones4u employee was convicted, you should also contact phones4u and ask them to send you a letter confirming the details of the case and that this contract was one of the fraudulent ones.

Don't worry about the payment, Lowells always invent small random payments in 2010 to try and avoid limitations. You wouldn't be stat barred if it was your debt anyway if the contract was June 2008 as the time clock stops when they issue a court claim, so would have to have been before December 2007 to be time barred.

So what is the current position with the court claim ?

Hi Amethyst,

Thank you for your reply. Well basically i am not too sure what is going on with the court claim, as they told me to respond in 14 days to either say that i will pay the debt or if not, why not. I received this back in December and it has been 6 months now so i am well passed the 14 days to respond.. i have also lost the letter i received from the court... so im not too sure what to do about that.

I have not yet received any further correspondence from the courts , i.e in terms of if they have issued me with a CCJ , or anything like that. When i did a credit search with Noddle it says i have not had any CCJ's recorded against my name as of yet.

I am not to too sure on how to approach the police ... do i just give them the phone4u agents name? and they are able to search it up from there?

Also regarding that stat barred , are you saying that i am not covered by this act so therefore they can still legally try claim the money through the courts?

* UPDATE * - I have just come off the phone from Phones4u and they have told me there is nothing on their system regarding this fraud, as it may be because it was a long time ago. Therefore, their position is that they are unable to provide me with a letter as they do not want to provide an admission, as they have any evidence on their system

Thanks!