How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

[ambershadow]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

Hello,

Here are some updates:

Update 1 -

FROM The Office of Fair Trading

Thank you for your email received by us on 29 October 2012, letting us know of the the above mentioned trader.

I can confirm that the business you mention holds a consumer credit licence. Under the Consumer Credit Act, holders of consumer credit licences must be fit and competent to do so and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has a duty to monitor the fitness and conduct of all traders who hold such a licence. We would like to assure you that the OFT places great value on complaints received from consumers. Consumer complaints are one of our main sources of evidence when monitoring the fitness of traders to hold a consumer credit licence.

The OFT has issued guidance to consumer credit licence holders engaged in the debt collection industry. The guidance is intended to ensure that debt collectors treat individuals fairly. Non-compliance with this guidance will call into question the fitness of licence holders and applicants. You can view our guidance at: www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/debt-collection

We have therefore recorded the details of your complaint, and we will consider this alongside any other complaints we have received with a view to any consumer credit licensing or other action we may decide to take. If we do take any action against this trader we may need to contact you again in the future. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose any details about any action we may take, due to legal restrictions on the OFT relating to disclosure of information.

While we are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you have been experiencing, the OFT has no authority to become involved in individual disputes between consumers and traders so we cannot advise you directly in this matter.

The Financial Ombudsman Service can help with most complaints about consumer credit products and services if the consumer has failed to satisfactorily resolve the matter directly with the consumer credit licensee itself. The Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted at:

The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR
Telephone: 0800 0234 567

The OFT has published a consumer guide about debt collection which you may find helpful. The guide can be viewed on the OFT’s website at the following address: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/consumer_leaflets/credit/oft1299.pdf

Thank you again for writing to us and bringing this matter to our attention.

Yours sincerely
Kaiser Chaudhary
Enquiries and Reporting Centre
Office of Fair Trading

[ambershadow]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

Update 2 -

FROM Local Fair Trading Service

31.10.12

Thank you for your enquiry to this Service, which was received by email on the 29th October 2012. I understand the matter concerns dealings that you have had with a company called Lowell Financial Limited in Leeds.

The email states that you have raised this issue directly with the Office of Fair Trading, regarding the company's business dealings and their fitness to hold a Consumer Credit Licence.


I have today addressed these concerns to my colleagues at West Yorkshire Joint Services Trading Standards, to apprise them of the difficulties that you have experienced and the information that you have passed to us concerning the company. The details have been passed to them for their assessment, as the company is based in their area.

I note the matter concerns the receipt of a letter, purportedly from 3 Mobile, but in actual fact from Lowell Financial Ltd, regarding the alleged non-payment of an outstanding debt. You dispute the legitimacy of this debt, and have written to the company to advise them of this, and to place the debt in dispute. You have received further letters from the company re-stating their entitlement to payment of the debt. They have yet to provide concrete evidence of any liability that you may have.

I would advise that you write to the company, stating in clear and concise terms that you dispute the debt, and that unless they provide substantial written evidence i.e. a contract, stating your clear liability of the debt, that you remain in dispute and accept no liability what so ever for payment. Should the company fail to heed your warning, you may wish to add at the bottom of your letter, that their continued pursuit and correspondence will incur an administration charge to be applied by yourself. Should they fail to consider this, you reserve the right to pursue them through the small claims track of the County Court, to recover your costs of administration.

I do hope that this information is helpful to you.

Yours sincerely
Miss M J Baker | Trading Standards Officer

[ambershadow]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

Update 3 -

I have not yet contacted Lowell. In my absence TWO letters have been sent by Lowell, identical, signed by same individual, the letter is made up of paragraphs with the following headings: "We have replied to your query", "We can help you with an affordable plan", "A suitable repayment plan for you"

Pretending to be helpful. The cheek! :tinysmile_aha_t:

[Roy Clayton]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

Ambershadow
Not to put a dampener on things, but dont hold out much hope on the OFT getting anything done quickly these are standard responses. I have seen emails between West Yorkshire TS and Lowell that seem to be over friendly. If I had my time again I would not complain to WYTS, and certainly dont complain to the CSA, Lowell share a Director. At a later date Lowell will make you look desperate and vexatious and point out you have made lots of complaints without success. Go to your MP go to the media. Watchdog already exposed the 3G Lowell saga. Lowell bought a floppy disc with 40,000 accounts and no background info. Make a DPA Section 7 request to Lowell by recorded delivery and report them to the ICO if they miss the 40 days. Read my posts it will give you an insight as to what to expect. Stick with these sites. Lowell and the CSA want them closed for a reason.
Good luck!

[ambershadow]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

Ambershadow
Not to put a dampener on things, but dont hold out much hope on the OFT getting anything done quickly these are standard responses. I have seen emails between West Yorkshire TS and Lowell that seem to be over friendly. If I had my time again I would not complain to WYTS, and certainly dont complain to the CSA, Lowell share a Director. At a later date Lowell will make you look desperate and vexatious and point out you have made lots of complaints without success. Go to your MP go to the media. Watchdog already exposed the 3G Lowell saga. Lowell bought a floppy disc with 40,000 accounts and no background info. Make a DPA Section 7 request to Lowell by recorded delivery and report them to the ICO if they miss the 40 days. Read my posts it will give you an insight as to what to expect. Stick with these sites. Lowell and the CSA want them closed for a reason.
Good luck!

That's excellent information thank you. Sharing a Director? Well, well!
What does WYTS and CSA stand for by the way?

Is the ICO any good in that situation?

Watchdog and MP. Noted. Thanks.

[Roy Clayton]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

Yes sorry Ambershadow

I complained to the ICO that Hutchinson were obstructing my DPA requests for my information. I made 3 requests before I complained to the ICO. Apparently 3 run a paperless office which means they wont be able to provide any information about your account nor in my case did they have anything to support the default they registered on my Credit File, without telling me. I asked 3 for the pre debt sale letter they said it was computer generated. I found out in court that 3 dont issue them becuause they get Lowell to send them with a 3 logo. I asked 3 to explain why they lied, but no reply. The ICO did not initially uphold my complaint, but later did agree with me that it was unlikely 3 had complied with the DPA. Funny 3 found paper in their paperless office when the Ombudsman came into play and they found ennough letters to persuade the Ombudsman to find in their favour. Letters I had never seen before and that had disappeared again when I paid £10.00 and asked for copies a few months after. ICO had no issue with a retention policy allowing an organisation to dispose of information that would have been compromising.

With Lowell I found the ICO remarkably gullible. Lowell convinced them I was vexatious and that they were giving me all the information I was asking while never actually doing so. All I asked the ICO to do was go out and ask Lowell to provide info to back up the default and prove that the Notice of Assignment was issued. I asked the ICO because Lowell would not comply with my DPA requests. I eventually got Lowell to provide me a copy of their computer log. As expected no record of any NOA no record of a default notification and a whole year of information was missing.

After the initial hearing which I lost due to procedural errors by the courts (which was accepted by the Appeal Judge) I paid the Judgement. Lowell recorded the information with Experian incorrectly. Changed a telecommunications account to a credit card and put the wrong ammount as paid. ICO finally finally stood up and agreed that it was unlikely that the information was recorded correctly. However in the case of 3 and Lowell the ICO decided no action was necessary.

Lowell told ICO it was 3 that recorded the default and that 3 posted incorrect info. Lowell told the ICO that Experian posted the wrong information after the Judgement. Its seems that the ICO are not willing to find fault with Lowell, but if sufficient people complain then maybe they will see things differently. Maybe I did not state my case clearly enough who knows. Anyway Lowell have to pay me back now as finally the truth is outed. Its a shame so many agencies did not get it right first time.

CSA Credit Services Association and WYTS West Yorkshire Trading Standards.

I dont want to be critical of the ICO because I would like them to go back and look at my case again to explain their decisions.

Hope this helps

[ambershadow]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

The latest and third letter from Lowell threatens court, a face-to-face visit from an "agent", or a process server who will peitition for my insolvency!?

Not sure what to do next.

I'm thinking I should probably follow the advice of the local OFT and restate clearly that I do not consider the debt to be mine and an administration fee will now apply.

Anyone know what I can expect to happen next?

Oh and they claim to have checked my records with "The Credit Reference Agency" whatever that means.

They have given me 21 days to pay in full apparently.

[ambershadow]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

I will send the following letters:

Letter 1


F.A.O.Lowells Portfolio Complaints Department


Re:your letter dated 12th November 2012


Idispute that I owe £244.32 and unless you provide substantialwritten evidence stating my clear liability of the debt, I remain indispute and accept no liability what so ever for payment.


Ifyou fail to heed this warning, your continued pursuit andcorrespondence will incur an administration charge.


Samantha,please refer this letter to your complaints department.


Regards,

Letter 2


F.A.O.Samantha Barnard


Re:your letter dated 12th December 2012 received on 14th December.


Youclaim to have been helpful but I made a formal complaint in January2012 that was not dealt by your formal complaints department (pleasemay I see a copy of your complaints procedure?)


Mycomplaint was not addressed in full – and no evidence ordocumentation was provided to support your findings.


Pleasebe aware the Office of Fair Trading Credit Fitness Team and my localTrading Standards Officer now have copies of your correspondence andmy lengthy complaint highlighting Lowells 11 breaches of OFT DebtCollection Guidelines.


Regards,

[Roy Clayton]

Re: How to deal with Lowell Harrassment over a 3 bill?

If its any comfort I have had all the same letters and I also dealt with Samantha Barnard. Plenty of acknowledgments but no credible responses. Have you tried other languages as don't think they understand English. You won't get your information but the more you ask the more they will make you look vexatious. I did win in the end you just have to stick to your principles. I dealt with Alan Bates at OFT he knows Lowell. I would also involve my MP and make a subject access request by recorded delivery to Lowell. The Section 7 Data Protection Act is for all the info they hold. You wil find they don't have much because if they have been contravening OFT guidelines they will delete big chunks. There will be nothing on the NOA s if they were not issued, nothing on the transfer or sale and definitely no default. It will be worth a tenner and they have 40 days. Also they will say they have no info prior to the purchase but legally they have to get it because with absolute assignment they become the sole data controller. I. Think the case is Jones v Link Financial.
Hope this helps