Lowell CCJ - requested proof of debt and they couldn’t provide but CCJ granted

[thegreatgonzo]

Hello.




I hope someone could give me some advice about my situation.




In my student days (I’m now 36) I gained a quite large level of debt, coming from a family without funds I had to pay my way through uni working two jobs but after fees it still wasnt enough and ended up with many numerous debts on credit cards and loans etc. I spent the best part of a decade paying everything off and working hard to be debt free. I got there and it felt great.




Forward to two years ago and I received a letter out of the blue from Lowell saying I owed Some money but couldn’t say who to. So after lots of phone calls it turned out they were asking for the money for a debt they bought from capital one for a credit card that I hadn’t had for about 7 years. They kept saying I had to pay prior to me finding out what the debt was for and that they would get a CCJ.




I was meticulous in paying off my debts and am certain that I paid off everything and was surprised by this. I then was told by a commenter on a different website at the time that I should ask them to provide proof of this debt and the original credit agreement. They had already threatened a CCJ but I got in touch with them by phone and explained the situation. They said I needed to put it in writing to request the info so I did.




I then received a letter from them saying they had nothing other than an amount owed and the original debt owner (capital one) and a couple of other bits of info (I have attached the letter with redactions for privacy) and could not provide me with any documentation proving the validity of the debt.




In the meantime, however, whilst I was waiting for their response, they went ahead with the CCJ - which I didn’t actually find out about until a good time later when I did a credit check.




When I found out about the CCJ i sought advice about having it set aside but after researching online concluded that too much time had passed to effectively do this. I swallowed the fact that I had acquired my first CCJ and just moved on. I didn’t hear anything else from Lowell. The CCJ was entered on 18/05/2017




Out of the blue, two years later I have received a letter saying they are going to take further action including getting a warrant/bailiff to enforce the CCJ.




Is there anything I can do to halt this from happening? As my debts were cleared so long ago and I have moved so many times since then (some time abroad also) I don’t have any paperwork from my twenties and can’t prove that I paid it (although I’m sure I did) is it catch 22? Is there no burden of proof on the debt collector (Lowell)




I believe the debt was unenforceable at the time the CCJ was applied for but is that now irrelevant as too much time has passed? Do I have to pay a debt that I believe I have already paid purely because a CCJ was approved?




Many thanks for your thoughts.

[Amethyst]

The CCJ was acquired in May 2017 and wouldn't have been statute barred until October 2017 as your last payment was in October 2011.

When you discovered the CCJ you could have applied to set it aside. I'm not sure on your timeline, when did you ask them for a copy of the agreement? Was that after or before they issued a court claim which led to the default judgement? And did you receive the court papers?

[thegreatgonzo]

The CCJ was acquired in May 2017 and wouldn't have been statute-barred until October 2017 as your last payment was in October 2011.

When you discovered the CCJ you could have applied to set it aside. I'm not sure on your timeline, when did you ask them for a copy of the agreement? Was that after or before they issued a court claim which led to the default judgement? And did you receive the court papers?

Hello,

I spoke with Lowell on the phone and was told to send them a request for the information I wanted via post. Whilst I was waiting to hear back from them (it took them several weeks) they started the CCJ proceedings. I then received the attached letter. I didn't hear back from Lowell for quite some time. I didn't receive court papers and only discovered my CCJ quite sometime later when doing a credit check. Everything i could find online suggested that its far too late for a set-aside. I understand the original debt was not statute-barred - I'm more concerned with the fact that I'm certain I paid this debt but cannot prove it as it was so long ago and that when I asked them for further evidence they couldn't provide any documentary evidence other than what they stated in the letter.

Does the fact that a CCJ was awarded supersede the fact that the debt may have been unenforceable at the time?

[Amethyst]

Yes, unfortunately the time to challenge a debt is when a court claim is issued. Alternatively if you find you've got a CCJ and hadn't received any of the court papers we can apply then to set aside the judgement and carry on to defend the debt. Have you considered doing at subject access request to capital one to find out whether the debt was actually paid off or not?

Have you communicated with a Lowell Since finding out you had a CCJ? And if so when?

[thegreatgonzo]

Hello,

thanks for your reply. I haven’t communicated with Lowell since I received that letter two years ago. I received a notification for a warrant of control from Lowell this week but I haven’t been in touch with them at all.