Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

[rx7ali]

Hi Guys

Thanks in advance for any help / advice you can offer.

My partner has an outstanding debt which Lowell have been chasing for. The outstanding balance is £2324 which has come a quite a suprise to her and even more so to me

I went through the process of delaying Lowell's by asking them to provide full statements of the account and today they have sent through a large reem of paper with a summary of every month on the account for the past 10 years.

Last payment made to the account was 20/05/2008
Last charge on the account (interest) was 20/06/2007
Last actual use of the card was 17/11/2005
The origional Credit limit was £1800

Lowell had origional offered to "Cut a deal" to reduce the amount, but is there any way I can argue against the debt all together?

Thanks
AC

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

You're not in Scotland by any chance? Because if you were up there, this would be Statute Barred in May, as the limitations period in Scotland is just 5 years, however, in England it's 6 years.

You could send Lowell a s.77/78 CCA request, see this ---> http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...746#post312746

Send it Recorded Delivery with a PO for £1, sign digitally using a computer font and not your real signature. They have 14 days to respond, very likely they will take longer than that because debt purchasers don't get the agreements when they buy debts, so they'll have to go back to the original creditor to request the paperwork. As this is an old debt, they probably won't be able to produce anything, in which the debt will be unenforceable.

This needs to be sent a.s.a.p. to cover your partner from possible legal action. Who was the original creditor? Barclays by any chance?

[rx7ali]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

Unfortunatly I'm in England, and "relocating" her to scotland for the sake of teh debt seems extreme :-/

The origional credit card was with HBOS PLC, (halifax?) Not sure if this makes a difference?

Thanks for the help.
Ali

[rx7ali]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

Can i not request this over the phone? Or is that dangerous territory?

[Kafka]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

This is a legal request that must be in writing. In any case, never speak to DCAs on the phone.

Your figures suggest that there are hundreds of pounds of charges added to this account that do not form part of any genuine debt. Do you have the statements with all of these on?

[rx7ali]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

This is a legal request that must be in writing. In any case, never speak to DCAs on the phone.

Your figures suggest that there are hundreds of pounds of charges added to this account that do not form part of any genuine debt. Do you have the statements with all of these on?

I have every statement from the past 10 years and unfortunatly there are several months statements of genuine transations which add up to a heafty amount of dosh (Around the £1800 mark) which was the credit limit. Everything after this date are simly charges, interest and tate fee's which make up the remaining amound which leads to the £2324 final closing balance.

Beffore recieveing the full statements I was really hoping this was going to all add up to be just fee's rather than genuine charges but this is not the case :-(

I'm guessing now my only hope is for Lowells to fail to provide the proof of Credit agreement?

Ali

[Kafka]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

Do Lowell claim to own the account or are they just trying to collect it?

Has the account been defaulted?

[rx7ali]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

I'm sure i read in a previous correspondance that they have purchased the debt from HBOS.

The latest letter states

"We are now entitled to recieve payment of the balance of £2314.00 from you and enclose a copy of your statement as requested. Neither HBOS PLC nor ourselves are aware of any reason for non-repayment."

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

Can i not request this over the phone? Or is that dangerous territory?

The request has to be made in writing stating it is a request under s.78 of the CCA for it to have legal validity. You also need to pay the £1 fee and it should be sent Recorded Delivery so you can track it has been received. This is important if you want to put the account in dispute for non-compliance (in case they don't respond within 14 days) and even more important if Lowell started legal action. Be warned: Lowells are fond of SDs (Statutory Demands) and proper CCA request would help you set aside if it came to that.

I'm sure i read in a previous correspondance that they have purchased the debt from HBOS.

The latest letter states

"We are now entitled to recieve payment of the balance of £2314.00 from you and enclose a copy of your statement as requested. Neither HBOS PLC nor ourselves are aware of any reason for non-repayment."

If they have purchased it you should have received a NoA (Notice of Assignment). Lowell act mostly as debt purchasers rather than debt collectors so they are likely to have bought it, but you should still have the relevant document proving it.

[rx7ali]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

The request has to be made in writing stating it is a request under s.78 of the CCA for it to have legal validity. You also need to pay the £1 fee and it should be sent Recorded Delivery so you can track it has been received. This is important if you want to put the account in dispute for non-compliance (in case they don't respond within 14 days) and even more important if Lowell started legal action. Be warned: Lowells are fond of SDs (Statutory Demands) and proper CCA request would help you set aside if it came to that.


If they have purchased it you should have received a NoA (Notice of Assignment). Lowell act mostly as debt purchasers rather than debt collectors so they are likely to have bought it, but you should still have the relevant document proving it.

What do you mean by set aside?

I don't believe we have recieved a notice of assignment, having said that I didnt see all the paperwork from the beginning.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

What do you mean by set aside?

I meant if Lowell were to issue a Statutory Demand (SD), you would need to have it set aside, otherwise they could proceed to issue a BR petition. Lowell are fond of SDs unfortunately so keep an eye on the post.

[basa48]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

What do you mean by set aside?

I don't believe we have recieved a notice of assignment, having said that I didnt see all the paperwork from the beginning.

A 'set aside' is a legal process (at court) whereby you can argue why the debt is in dispute (hence the need to request a copy of the credit agreement) and the Statutory Demand is disposed of (set aside).

You are entitled to receive a 'notice of assignment'. This can be in the form of a letter, but it should identify the debt account and when it was 'assigned'. I am unsure whether this should be a letter from the new debt owner or the original creditor. It seems reasonable to me that the original creditor should advise they have passed the debt on. Anyone theoretically could write to you saying you owe them money.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

A 'set aside' is a legal process (at court) whereby you can argue why the debt is in dispute (hence the need to request a copy of the credit agreement) and the Statutory Demand is disposed of (set aside).

You are entitled to receive a 'notice of assignment'. This can be in the form of a letter, but it should identify the debt account and when it was 'assigned'. I am unsure whether this should be a letter from the new debt owner or the original creditor. It seems reasonable to me that the original creditor should advise they have passed the debt on. Anyone theoretically could write to you saying you owe them money.

You usually get both: a 'goodbye' letter from the OC and a 'hello' letter from the debt purchaser, but the NoA itself comes from the debt purchaser.

[gravytrain]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

It is allowable for the 196 notice of assignment to come from either party.

[rx7ali]

Re: Lowell & my other halfs Credit Card

What happens if they take longer than 14 days to respond to my recorded letter?