Lowell purchased debt with an "invalid" original default notice

[suedepanther]

Hello everyone,
Long time reader, first time poster.

I’m in a bit of a sticky situation with Lowell and would really appreciate some guidance on what to do next.

Back in 2021, I defaulted on a PayPal Credit account. I won’t go into loads of detail, but life took a turn for the worse at the time and PayPal weren’t particularly understanding. They actually refunded me £5 in 2023 as my account was flagged as one that fell short of their customer service standards. In the end, I stopped engaging, the account defaulted, and I was permanently banned from PayPal.

I’m aware this is my responsibility and I’m not trying to wiggle out of it, but after five years I’d much rather try to agree a discounted settlement rather than paying the full amount upfront.

After that, I didn’t hear anything for around five years. I kept an eye on my credit file and nothing unexpected showed up. At one point, the account changed from defaulted to settled, but I hadn’t had a debt purchased before so I didn’t realise that usually means the debt has been sold.

Now I’ve had the “hello” letter from Lowell saying they’ve bought the debt, and they’ve started calling me regularly (I haven’t answered so far).

From that letter, the key dates are:

- Last payment: 4th September 2020
- Default date: 16th July 2021

I’ve sent a subject access request to PayPal and I’m waiting for that to come back. I don’t currently have a copy of the default notice, so I’m not fully clear on the cause of action date.

I’ve also had a letter from Lowell saying the original default details may have been inaccurate/invalid, and they’ll remove the default if I pay the full balance within 28 days. I’m not really sure what to make of that.

A few things I’d appreciate advice on:

- Is it wise to send a CCA request at this stage? I haven’t engaged with Lowell yet and don’t want to trigger more contact (they’re already calling daily).

- Has anyone seen this kind of letter about removing a default if paid in full before? Is that typical?

- Am I right to wait for the SAR response before doing anything? I know that can take up to 30 days, and they’ve given me 30 days to pay — which I don’t have anyway.

- Anything I should avoid saying or doing at this point?

Thanks in advance

[suedepanther]

Sorry, I should have shown the letters!

[echat11]

Hi Suedepanther

Welcome to LB

a) When you receive the SAR information from PayPal you'll get a better understanding of where you stand with the Default Notice that PayPal may of sent.

You should be able to negotiate a settlement (none compliant Default Notice – you may also be able to claim some compensation from PayPal as they didn’t allow you enough time to get your account in order – no guarentees on that’, but wait until they provide what they have document wise.

Previous Default Notice date: 16th July 2021. They've sent a new one as they believe the previous one was non compliant, you weren't given enough time to pay.

b) The need to provide an Agreement (with Terms and Conditions), Default Notice, Letter of Assignment and Statement of Account.

c) Is it wise to send a CCA request at this stage?

I’m not sure it matters as they need to provide one, if they want to pursue the matter. But that will give you the time required to get the requested SAR information.

d) Has anyone seen this kind of letter about removing a default if paid in full before? Is that typical?

I believe that’s standard practise.

e) Am I right to wait for the SAR response before doing anything? I know that can take up to 30 days, and they’ve given me 30 days to pay — which I don’t have anyway.

As above.

Square boxes are ' and ,.

[suedepanther]

Hey echat11, thanks for replying. You all do the Lord's work on here.

I've sent a SAR request to PayPal via the ICO website; hopefully, that's okay. I'm not sure if I should have done it by post instead, but I can do that as well. PayPal doesn't want to engage at all about the account, just directing me to Lowell, and the internal "review" they had about how poorly they treated people experiencing difficulties (me included) was in 2023, at the time I didn't even consider possible compensation.

On the default notice, I'm not convinced the 16th July 2021 date is actually the default notice date itself. That's when the default was registered, but I would expect the notice (if one was issued) to have come before that if Lowell are saying my last payment was September 2020. My memory from that time is a bit patchy, so I don't recall receiving one, which is why I definitely want to see what comes back in the SAR.

Now Lowell has sent a fresh default notice in the pursuit of "fairness" which I assume would then be compliant, I think my bargaining ability is going to be limited after the 30 days they've given to pay it expires.

Part of me really wants to see if they do or don't have that CCA and documents, as I might be able to settle and avoid court if they do.

Is it ok if I update once I get the SAR back?

[echat11]

Yes, update when you have more information.
The 'errors' they made with a 'non-compliant' Default Notice will give you some 'bargaining ability',
it denied you the opportunity to bring your account up to date.