Lowell Group: false demand, attempted extortion?

[jonathan.andrews]

I received a demand for a debt that Lowell group have bought from Very. Until this afternoon I had never heard of Very and have no account with them (I tried to login to Very's page which failed and when I tried to recover my password, the site responded that my email was unknown. Magnificently, Very changed my homepage in the process!). The debt is, I am confident is a fiction. The email I received is copied below.

There are absolutely no details of how I ran up this debt. I replied asking them to provide details.

I wonder has anyone else received similar emails? Do this just try to panic people into paying debts they are unsure that they have?

Jonatha


Lowell Reference Number: xxxxxxx
Original Account Number: xxxxxx
Original Company: Very
Account Balance £261.18
Dear Mr Joxxxxx Andxxxxx,
We wrote to you recently regarding your debt that has been sold to Lowell Portfolio I Ltd by Very.
Please call 08448 150 673 today regarding the outstanding debt due to our above client.
We are not aware of any reason why your debt should remain unpaid. It is therefore very important that you contact us as soon as possible so that we can agree repayment. If you cannot afford to pay back the money in one go we can agree with you an affordable repayment plan that suits your financial circumstances. Please call an account manager today so that we can bring this matter to a close or follow this link and securely setup a direct debit.
Please visit our website www.lowell.co.uk for details about how you can pay, find out information about who we are and how we can help you and you can find answers to some of the common questions we are asked.
If you are struggling with debt, you can also contact a number of not-for-profit organisations for free, confidential and impartial advice, or for details of where to get advice in your area. These include:

• National Debtline : If you live in England, Wales or Scotland phone 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.co.uk for debt advice and information.
• StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS). For debt advice throughout the UK phone 0800 138 1111 or visit www.stepchange.org.

Your sincerely,
Robert Taylor
Head of Collections












.

[Wombats]

Re: Lowell Group: false demand, attempted extortion?

I would send them a CCA request asking for a copy of the agreement. Lowells are duty bound to pass on this request to Very who will then either find, or quite probably fail to find, any agreement. They have 14 days in which to respond - 12 + 2 days in the post. It's not worth pushing the point though, let them take their time for the moment.

Ensure when you post it you get at minimum proof of posting and keep it filed together just in case.

[teaboy2]

Re: Lowell Group: false demand, attempted extortion?

How did very change your homepage? This is usually only done by installing software that comes with other software (other software earns commission from it). If it was done, without your knowledge then that may be a breach of the computer misuse act 1990.

Question is are you sure it was Very, are you sure your computer is not infected with malware, spyware or adware (or even a virus) that is more likely to have been responsible. Did you install any programs that same day? I have just be to Very's website and had not issues! Are you sure you didn't accidentally set Very's page as your homepage?

[ncf355]

Re: Lowell Group: false demand, attempted extortion?

You certainly seem to have taken the right approach Jonathan, as Wombat suggested, was your request to them a formal CCA 1974 S77/78 request?

On the home page issue, what browser do you use?

[bluebottle]

Re: Lowell Group: false demand, attempted extortion?

Lowells are sods for using Scatter-Gunning, which is in breach of debt collection guidelines.

It involves sending debt collection letters to a number of people with the same or similar names, alleging they owe a debt in the hope one of them is the actual debtor or is not and is hoodwinked into paying, even though it is not their debt.

Scatter-Gunning falls within a grey area between a civil tort and a criminal offence. Some debt collection firms can become very aggressive when challenged about suspicious debt collection letters and I would not let Lowells try to browbeat you in any way.

Follow the advice Wombats has given and see if Lowells can produce the documentation described. If not, I would report them to the FCA and Trading Standards for breaching debt collection guidelines.

[Nibbler]

Re: Lowell Group: false demand, attempted extortion?

They are also ****in useless at tracing, so could be they are writing to just you, but simply have the wrong Jo*** An****

[Amethyst]

Re: Lowell Group: false demand, attempted extortion?

Lowell Reference Number: xxxxxxx
Original Account Number: xxxxxx
Original Company: Very
Account Balance £261.18
Dear Mr Joxxxxx Andxxxxx,
.

If you want me to change your username to something more anonymous just let me know, I have taken off the reference numbers from your first post.