Orange/EE dispute

[Marsia]

Good afternoon all.

I am a new member on the site and am quite nervous so please bear with me; thank you in advance.

I had a mobile contract with Orange initially then EE took over. When my contract ended I requested a final bill breakdown as the total I believe I owed did not tally with what they claimed I owed. My last letter dated November 2014 was to EE as Orange refused to respond to me, however EE did not reply either.

Out of the blue last week, I received two letters; one with an Orange letterhead and the second from a company called Lowell Portfolio l. I have attached them both for you to have a read through (if you don't mind) and if possible could you give me some advice on how to go forward with this.

I do know that I owe something in the region of £75-£80 but totally dispute their alleged outstanding balance of £118.81. I am just so upset that Orange and EE chose to ignore me and then wait for two years to contact me via debt collectors.

Any help/guidance you can give me would be so appreciated, thank you.

[Marsia]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Hi again

I know I only posted yesterday but is there anyone who can give me some advice? Maybe I have posted in the wrong place? Please help, thank you...

[R0b]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Hi Marsia,

If you are disputing the amount of the debt owed, then you are better off writing to them and putting them on notice that the amount outstanding is disputed and require Lowell to provide a breakdown of how they have come to the £118.81 as you do not believe that the amount stipulated is owed. The onus is on them to prove that is how much is owed.

In the meantime you could try contacting orange with your account number and see if they can tell you how much of the balance is remaining on that account.

[Marsia]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Hi R0b

Thank you for answering. Yes, it is the balance I am disputing and will write to Lowell as you advise.

In regard to Orange, I had written and called them on numerous occasions in 2014; the only response being that I needed to deal with EE. I also wrote to EE re the remaining balance and again nothing. Just seems like a waste of time but will do as you advise if you think that will help.

Thanks again for your help.

[R0b]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Write to Lowell, and call EE as Orange is no more. It might be easier to speak to someone over the phone rather than write and wait for the information and they should be able to help identify the actual balance outstanding.

[Marsia]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

I will give EE a call this evening to see if they can help and get a letter off to Lowell.

Thank you

[Marsia]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Hi again everyone

I took R0b's advice and made contact with both EE and Lowells regarding my disputed Orange bill.

I rang EE twice and on the first attempt went through the security questions, explained the issue and was told there was no outstanding balance? I was then asked to hold; 10 minutes later the young man still had not come back to me so I hung up. I rang again the following day, went through security, told to hold and again, left holding.

I also contacted Lowells via email quoting their reference and EE's reference numbers so they could pull up the necessary paperwork as well as detailing why I was contacting them. I received the following reply from them:


Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email.

For security reasons, please confirm your address, including the postcode and your date of birth.

Once received I would be happy to help you.

Kind Regards

Jenna
Customer Services, Lowell Group
Email: post@lowellgroup.co.uk
Phone: 0333 556 5733
Opening Times: Monday - Friday 08:00 to 20:00, Saturday 08:00 to 14:00
Website: www.lowell.co.uk

Is it standard practice for them to ask for someone's date of birth? Should I provide it? Also, would they not get my name and address from the reference numbers I gave them?

I am just worried about providing them with more personal information than they actually need.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[R0b]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

I would query perhaps why they need your date of birth, if you give them your address and the reference numbers that should be enough to pull you up on the system and get your account up. I suppose you could attach the letter sent by Lowell to prove you are who you are but it shouldn't really be necessary.

At the very least it sounds like they are mining information from you and your date of birth of course can be used to verify yourself with EE so I would not be prepared on that basis to offer them that information. They are being completely unreasonable if they refuse to deal with your account without the date of birth and if they don't help you out, I would then make a formal complaint against them.

perhaps [MENTION=55034]nemesis45[/MENTION] could offer some better advice on this point.

[nemesis45]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

I would query perhaps why they need your date of birth, if you give them your address and the reference numbers that should be enough to pull you up on the system and get your account up. I suppose you could attach the letter sent by Lowell to prove you are who you are but it shouldn't really be necessary.

At the very least it sounds like they are mining information from you and your date of birth of course can be used to verify yourself with EE so I would not be prepared on that basis to offer them that information. They are being completely unreasonable if they refuse to deal with your account without the date of birth and if they don't help you out, I would then make a formal complaint against them.

perhaps @nemesis45 could offer some better advice on this point.

Thanks R0b.

[nemesis45]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

I would query perhaps why they need your date of birth, if you give them your address and the reference numbers that should be enough to pull you up on the system and get your account up. I suppose you could attach the letter sent by Lowell to prove you are who you are but it shouldn't really be necessary.

At the very least it sounds like they are mining information from you and your date of birth of course can be used to verify yourself with EE so I would not be prepared on that basis to offer them that information. They are being completely unreasonable if they refuse to deal with your account without the date of birth and if they don't help you out, I would then make a formal complaint against them.

perhaps @nemesis45 could offer some better advice on this point.

Thanks [MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION].

I suspect Lowell has little data on you Marsia and are attempting to build up a file.

If Lowell are unsure that they have contacted the correct person they should not be making contact and revealing the details of the alleged debt.

The above is what I would tell them in A Formal Complaint addressed to Andrew Bartle Chief Operating Officer of the Lowell Group.

I would use signed for post rather than e-mail.

nem

[Marsia]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Thank you again R0b, I did think it was strange particularly as when I contacted EE my date of birth was not even one of the security questions. Attaching the letter seems like a good idea; if they still demand my d.o.b., I will complain as you have advised.

[Marsia]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Thank you for your advice also nem.

I think I will pen what you have said in the form of a formal complaint by letter.

I will update you and R0b once/if I get a reply back from Andrew Bartle.

Thanks again

M.

[Welsh-mike]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Hi group, in a bit of a bind, had an iPad with orange and they tried taking my monthly charge out on wring day so it was rejected and then took it out again and same issue so bank blocked it I contacted orange about this and they then added the amount of iPad and remainder of contract which couldn't pay next thing getting letter immediately from debt collectors I have contacted them and explained how orange acted and just fell on deaf ears and lowel and fredrickson both just ignoring situation and demanding money and charges on top fast forward and now have a ccj against me for £523 rang up lowel and they claiming it's more than that it's £596.4, due to warrant fees been added on top even tho I have checked on my online credit score and it's £523, and advice or help dealing with this as ccj amount is stopping me from getting a buisness loan, anythin that may help would be gratefully appreciated

[R0b]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Hi group, in a bit of a bind, had an iPad with orange and they tried taking my monthly charge out on wring day so it was rejected and then took it out again and same issue so bank blocked it I contacted orange about this and they then added the amount of iPad and remainder of contract which couldn't pay next thing getting letter immediately from debt collectors I have contacted them and explained how orange acted and just fell on deaf ears and lowel and fredrickson both just ignoring situation and demanding money and charges on top fast forward and now have a ccj against me for £523 rang up lowel and they claiming it's more than that it's £596.4, due to warrant fees been added on top even tho I have checked on my online credit score and it's £523, and advice or help dealing with this as ccj amount is stopping me from getting a buisness loan, anythin that may help would be gratefully appreciated

Hi Mike,

Couldn't really follow that post there, could you give us a brief history with dates of when things happened so we can understand your position?

[nemesis45]

Re: Orange/EE dispute

Hi Mike,

Couldn't really follow that post there, could you give us a brief history with dates of when things happened so we can understand your position?

Might be an idea to get some punctuation into the post Mike.

From what I can deduce:
You had an IPad, on an Orange contract, Orange took DD payment on the wrong day DD failed and failed again on retry?

Orange the called in the full amount outstanding in accordance with the provisions of the agreement I think?

Orange sold the debt to Lowell and assigned the debt to Freds for management and collection? Lowell will have had no idea of any dispute when the acquired the debt, nor to they have any reason to do anything about the dispute.

You now have a " Judgment by Default" i.e. you did not respond to a County Court Claim issued by Lowell/Freds?

You mention a warrant, a warrant of control issued by the claimant because you did not pay the judgment order??

The Court Costs and Warrant Fee will not show on credit files.

So.

1, Did you receive a County Court Claim Pack from The Northampton County Court Business Centre?

2. If you did receive the claim back did you follow the instructions e.g. Acknowledge Service of the Claim?

3. Lowell/Freds would have written to you quite a few times before issuing a claim, did you not respond the them in writing or did you rely on telephone calls?

4. When was the judgement made?

5. When was the warrant issued and what action has been taken to enforce the warrant?

nem