Hi Beagles:) Lowell are on my back

[Bernadita]

Hello fellow beagles, great site.

Up till 2007, I held a current account with Lloyds with no overdraft. Although I was able to go up to £50 overdrawn and incur bank charges. In november 2007, I had to depart england suddenly to care for a terminally ill family member. I forgot however to cancel my direct debit with my gym so charges continued to accumulate without me knowing. The charges were for failed attempted direct debits.

When I returned from abroad in 2009, I went to Lloyds branch only to find out my account had been closed and I owed about £850 in charges. I returned home and wrote a letter to head office saying I had left the country suddenly, didnt realise the direct debit charges was still accumulating. Hopefully we could resolve this somehow and I offered my new address. I never received a reply for 3-4 years.

Recently Lowell has been writing me letters claiming I now owe £1030, and I need to make an offer or they would forward my account to Red Debt services. I have sent 90% of their letters back unopened saying wrong address but I feel I need to resolve it properly somehow.

Please any help would be appreciated.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Hi Beagles Lowell are on my back

Hello fellow beagles, great site.

Up till 2007, I held a current account with Lloyds with no overdraft. Although I was able to go up to £50 overdrawn and incur bank charges. In november 2007, I had to depart england suddenly to care for a terminally ill family member. I forgot however to cancel my direct debit with my gym so charges continued to accumulate without me knowing. The charges were for failed attempted direct debits.

When I returned from abroad in 2009, I went to Lloyds branch only to find out my account had been closed and I owed about £850 in charges. I returned home and wrote a letter to head office saying I had left the country suddenly, didnt realise the direct debit charges was still accumulating. Hopefully we could resolve this somehow and I offered my new address. I never received a reply for 3-4 years.

Recently Lowell has been writing me letters claiming I now owe £1030, and I need to make an offer or they would forward my account to Red Debt services. I have sent 90% of their letters back unopened saying wrong address but I feel I need to resolve it properly somehow.

Please any help would be appreciated.

Hi and welcome!

Red are part of the Lowell Group: http://www.lowell.co.uk/who-is-red-debt.aspx

Sending back letters claiming you don't live there is not a good idea, since creditors can use that fact as an excuse to send court papers to an old address and get default judgment. :scared:

Things get even more serious where Lowell are concerned, as they are extremely fond of Statutory Demands and you owe them over £750, so in theory they could issue a SD to an old address, followed by a bankruptcy petition. :scared: :scared: :scared:

You could send the following letter to Lowell:

Dear Sirs,

Account/Ref

Under the provisions of The Consumer Credit (EU Directive) Regulations 2010 and also c.39 (s.74 (A&B) (VA)) CCA(1974) I wish to formally request a copy of the original overdraft agreement and relevant paperwork that you should be sending me annually for this account.

As I held what can only be regarded as an 'Agreed Overdraft', which has now reverted to an 'Unauthorised Overdraft' then the lending becomes regulated in line with c.39 Part VA (s.74) (s.1(b)) CCA1974 meaning the normal rules and CCA(1974) protection applies to this account.

You should be sending an annual reminder to me regards the overdraft, as well as copies of the original agreement made and an annual renewal form that contains the relevant prescribed terms that are clearly outlined in s.74(A)2(a,b,c,d,e). I highlight this provision for your perusal;

s.74A(2) The current account agreement must include the following information at the time it is made:

(a)the rate of interest charged on the amount by which an account-holder overdraws on the current account or exceeds the pre-arranged overdraft limit,
(b)any conditions applicable to that rate,
(c)any reference rate on which that rate is based,
(d)information on any changes to the rate of interest (including the periods that the rate applies and any conditions or procedure applicable to changing that rate), and
(e)any other charges payable by the debtor under the agreement (and the conditions under which those charges may be varied).

You should also be paying attention to s.74(B)(2) which reads, I quote;

s.74B(2) The matters referred to in subsection (1) are:

(a)the fact that the current account is overdrawn or the overdraft limit has been exceeded,
(b)the amount of that overdraft or excess,
(c)the rate of interest charged on it, and
(d)any other charges payable by the debtor in relation to it (including any penalties and any interest on those charges).

Therefore in line with the above, could you please send me the required documents. I trust that I have set out the position clearly and I await your response.

See this for reference ---> http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...144#post312144

[Bernadita]

Re: Hi Beagles Lowell are on my back

Hi FlamingParrot,

I really appreciate your prompt response. I'll send them what you've shared above and will return with their response.

Many thanks,

Bernadita