Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

[goodf]

Hi guys
It's my first time on this forum, came here after searching Lowell on google. So, sorry if I babble on too much but I will explain my situation as best as I can. So I received a CCJ from Northampton County Court for £363 and the claimant is Lowell Portfolio I Ltd/ BW Legal I contacted them to find out what its all about and they told me that I owe them the money because I had a contract iPhone with O2 which I apparently took out in July 2009. The last payment date was Oct 2010 so its not statute barred. Now some of the information is correct i.e. the phone number they say the contract was for, the last payment date and amount. BUT I never took out an iPhone from O2 I only had a sim-only monthly rolling plan (£14pm). I forget to cancel it and I ended up owing some money I think, I don't know how much but £363 seems a lot for a sim only plan which would've been cancelled after a 2nd or 3rd month of non-payment. I understand some charges are added but the amount is atrocious.

So after I told them that I did not take an iPhone and the information they have about the debt is wrong they advised me to contact ActionFraud and get a CRN. I don't know if this is what I should do?

Or should I just apply for the CCJ to be set aside (I'm on Employment Support Allowance so I will get help with the fees)

Lastly I was actually sent a Claim Form before the CCJ but I had never opened the letter it just sat in a pile of junkmail.

Also I dont know if I can use this in my defense but I am receiving treatment for some mental health issues and it has affected me in dealing with all these issues due to it being left till last min

Any advice at all will be greatly appreciated!

[Kati]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

tagging [MENTION=55034]nemesis45[/MENTION] [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION]

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

Hi guys
It's my first time on this forum, came here after searching Lowell on google. So, sorry if I babble on too much but I will explain my situation as best as I can. So I received a CCJ from Northampton County Court for £363 and the claimant is Lowell Portfolio I Ltd/ BW Legal I contacted them to find out what its all about and they told me that I owe them the money because I had a contract iPhone with O2 which I apparently took out in July 2009. The last payment date was Oct 2010 so its not statute barred. Now some of the information is correct i.e. the phone number they say the contract was for, the last payment date and amount. BUT I never took out an iPhone from O2 I only had a sim-only monthly rolling plan (£14pm). I forget to cancel it and I ended up owing some money I think, I don't know how much but £363 seems a lot for a sim only plan which would've been cancelled after a 2nd or 3rd month of non-payment. I understand some charges are added but the amount is atrocious.

So after I told them that I did not take an iPhone and the information they have about the debt is wrong they advised me to contact ActionFraud and get a CRN. I don't know if this is what I should do?

Or should I just apply for the CCJ to be set aside (I'm on Employment Support Allowance so I will get help with the fees)

Lastly I was actually sent a Claim Form before the CCJ but I had never opened the letter it just sat in a pile of junkmail.

Also I dont know if I can use this in my defense but I am receiving treatment for some mental health issues and it has affected me in dealing with all these issues due to it being left till last min

Any advice at all will be greatly appreciated!

Good evening [MENTION=87269]goodf[/MENTION],

For clarification please.

1. You did receive a claim pack from the Northampton CC Business Centre?

2. Why did you not acknowledge service of the claim?

3. Had you been receiving correspondence from Lowell chasing payments for this debt?.

4. You're defence would be that you only ever had a " sim only" contract with O2 for £14.00 month?

As to the added costs you will have court and solicitors costs added to the debt.

Have you now looked at the county court claim form? Can you tell us exactly what the particulars of the claim are.

nem

[goodf]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

hi nem,

Yes I had received a Claim Form from Northampton CC Business Centre - But I never got around to opening the letter so didn't know what it was

Lowell says they had been sending me letters but again, I get so much junk mail that I hadn't been dealing with them now I know I'm in craphole because of it - I do have some mental health issues which makes things like these even more stressful for me

Yes my position is that I never took an iPhone from O2 but had a sim only plan - BUT Lowell claims that the contract was for an iPhone

The Claim Form amounts;
Amount Claimed: £266.95
Court Fee: £25.00
Legal Representatives cost: £50.00
Total: £351.95

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

hi nem,

Yes I had received a Claim Form from Northampton CC Business Centre - But I never got around to opening the letter so didn't know what it was

Lowell says they had been sending me letters but again, I get so much junk mail that I hadn't been dealing with them now I know I'm in craphole because of it - I do have some mental health issues which makes things like these even more stressful for me

Yes my position is that I never took an iPhone from O2 but had a sim only plan - BUT Lowell claims that the contract was for an iPhone

The Claim Form amounts;
Amount Claimed: £266.95
Court Fee: £25.00
Legal Representatives cost: £50.00
Total: £351.95

Hello goodf.
First point you are Not a " craphole"!! These things happen when one loses control.

When was the claim issued and what date was judgment made?

The task before us is to convince a judge that it is reasonable to set aside the judgement on the grounds that: 1. Your mental health has caused you to be unable to cope with day to day financial matters.

2. The original claim was faulty as it referred to an IPhone account not a sim only deal

Have you checked with your local court about remission of fees for an application to set aside the judgement?

nem

[goodf]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

Yes I can apply for remission of fees because I'm receiving Employment Support Allowance

The Claim Form date is 13 May 2016
The CCJ Judgement date is 6 June 2016

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

Yes I can apply for remission of fees because I'm receiving Employment Support Allowance

The Claim Form date is 13 May 2016
The CCJ Judgement date is 6 June 2016

Ok not too long after judgment to apply for set aside.

Is setting this aside what you want to do? Please be aware there must be a defence with a reasonable chance of success as well.

This may well hinge on the cost of the contract as sim only and the cost for an account for an IPhone.
Do you have any bills/invoices for the account?
nem

[goodf]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

Hi nem

Okay so I looked in my file cabinet and found all my bills + original contract for my O2 sim-only. BUT the contract date and mobile number are different to what Lowell has - it dates back to 2007-2008 and not 2009-2010. Now the only thing linking me to this is that Lowell claims I paid £18 on 10th October 2010 - I checked my bank statement and there was actually a payment to O2 on that date for £18.

So now I'm puzzled, have I really been a victim of fraud? should I be reporting it to ActionFraud as Lowell suggested? o_O

goodf

[goodf]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

I might also add that I called O2 and gave them the number Lowell gave me and O2 said yes there was a contract in my name but it was not for an iPhone and it was sim-only plan - super confused!!

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

I might also add that I called O2 and gave them the number Lowell gave me and O2 said yes there was a contract in my name but it was not for an iPhone and it was sim-only plan - super confused!!

That's rather confusing I agree.

Did you ask O2 what the balance on the account was when they assigned the debt to Lowell?

nem

[Celestine]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

When you say you are struggling with mental health issues, can you share any more?
Have you considered that this makes you vulnerable and have you formally informed Lowell of your ill health.

xxx

[goodf]

Re: Lowell Portofolio / BW Legal CCJ Help!

O2 confirmed the number that Lowell gave me which was for the account, that it was in my name and that it was sim-only plan but they didnt have any more details re: outstanding balance, they said due to the length of time has passed

That's rather confusing I agree.

Did you ask O2 what the balance on the account was when they assigned the debt to Lowell?

nem

- - - Updated - - -

Does anyone know what will happen when I report the case to ActionFraud? with regards to the CCJ - as Lowell wouldn't discuss they just said get us a Crime Reference Number and we will tell you what happens then. Will I have to ask the court to set aside or will they cancel it?
Thanks guys for replying it really helps a lot - just knowing someone is listening and understanding love you guys

Goodf