Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

[NeedSomeHelp]

Please help me! I've been receiving letters from Lowells and then Fredrickson International for several weeks in regards to an old catalogue debt (£3320). I don't remember exactly when the account was opened (I think approx 2009/2010 possibly even before that) but I do know that I never signed a credit agreement as I remember them sending it to me in the post, and I never signed or returned it - unintentionally, just completely forgot about it and then found it one day months later, figured there was no point sending it then and just shredded it with old paperwork.

I got in to a lot of financial difficulty in the years since and this debt got forgotten about (I don't think anything has been paid on it since 2011/2012), and now as I said, I have started getting letters and texts from these people and today I received a letter from 'Bryan Carter Solicitors' (am I right in thinking it's just a different arm of the same company?) telling me that they have been instructed by Fredrickson International on behalf of their client, Lowell Financial to commence legal action and issue a claim against me if I do not respond within 14 days, and I have until October 13th to pay or respond.

I don't know what to do? I am a carer for my disabled son and have no income of my own, and my husband is self employed and our household income is very low. I would very much appreciate some help, please.

(I apologise if I have posted on the wrong forum, I am unfamiliar with how to use them)

[illustriousmuz]

Re: Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

Have Brian Carter issued court proceedings against you? Has a claim pack arrived from the court? Or are they just harrassing you for payment with threats to take you to court?

If they're only in the threatening stage, I'd suggest sending out a CCA request to Lowell Portfolio as soon as possible. Make sure you send it recorded delivery and include the £1 fee. They cannot start proceedings against you until they have complied with the CCA.

Do this ASAP, I'm having dealings with this shower now and I'd say it's best to get ahead of them on this.

[NeedSomeHelp]

Re: Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

No, no claim pack just a letter, it says;

LETTER OF CLAIM

We have been instructed by Fredrickson International Limited on behalf of our client, Lowell Financial Limited regarding your Shop Direct account to commence Legal Action and issue a claim against you in the County Court in respect of this debt.

Should you fail to respond to this letter within 14 days a Claim will be issued against you without any further notice. If Court action is taken, additional costs and interest will be added to the debt which you will be responsible for as below:

Current Debt £3320
Estimated Court Fee £185
Estimated Solicitor Cost £80
Estimated Total £3585

Non payment of the debt following claim may result in a county court judgement (CCJ) being entered against you.

To avoid this action and the estimated costs you must pay £3320 to us before 13th October 2015. If you are unable to make this payment we can discuss an affordable repayment arrangement with you.

That is the basic outline of the letter, I've condensed it of course. It also says it's a letter of claim under the practice direction (protocols) pursuant to the civil procedure rules 1998.

[illustriousmuz]

Re: Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

OK well i would immediately hit Lowell with a CCA request. The templates are here

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?751

Make sure to send it recorded delivery and get it sent off immediately. Also, don't send it to Lowells PO Box address since stuff goes "missing" there all the time and sometimes recorded delivery isn't recorded when sending to a PO Box. Instead, Address it to

Andrew Bartle
COO The Lowell Group
Ellington House
9 Savannah Way
Leeds Valley Park
Leeds
LS10 1AH

thanks to [MENTION=55034]nemesis45[/MENTION] for that info!

At the same time, I would suggest copying the CCA to Bryan Carter, (don't send them any £1 fee), with a cover letter indicating that you are awaiting a response from Lowells with regards to your CCA request. Do not speak to them on the phone at all. They must comply with a CCA request before taking action against you

Do not forget to send both letter recorded and don't forget to include a £1 postal order to Lowell - Mark it for payment of CCA only

[NeedSomeHelp]

Re: Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

Thank you very much I will do that today.

Please do you have a suggestion of wording for the cover letter to send to Bryan Carters, as I am very worried that I may inadvertently write the wrong thing that could then be used against me. I am so anxious to get this resolved I haven't even told my husband that they have been in contact as he's just had major surgery and is currently off work, I don't want to worry him in to returning until he is fully recovered.

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

Hi welcome to LB,

I'll ask an LB team member to start a thread of your own to avoid confusion.

nem

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

No, no claim pack just a letter, it says;

LETTER OF CLAIM

We have been instructed by Fredrickson International Limited on behalf of our client, Lowell Financial Limited regarding your Shop Direct account to commence Legal Action and issue a claim against you in the County Court in respect of this debt.

Should you fail to respond to this letter within 14 days a Claim will be issued against you without any further notice. If Court action is taken, additional costs and interest will be added to the debt which you will be responsible for as below:

Current Debt £3320
Estimated Court Fee £185
Estimated Solicitor Cost £80
Estimated Total £3585

Non payment of the debt following claim may result in a county court judgement (CCJ) being entered against you.

To avoid this action and the estimated costs you must pay £3320 to us before 13th October 2015. If you are unable to make this payment we can discuss an affordable repayment arrangement with you.

That is the basic outline of the letter, I've condensed it of course. It also says it's a letter of claim under the practice direction (protocols) pursuant to the civil procedure rules 1998.

Under the pre-action conduct, it is a requirement to send a letter of claim before issuing a claim and this is it; you are expected to respond accordingly. This is your opportunity to ask them for the documents they would rely on if they issued a claim and trust me, they WILL unless you stop them in their tracks with a suitable letter.

In addition to the CCA request you need to send the letter below, filling in the date when you sent the CCA request. :typing:

Dear Sirs

Ref: xxxx

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xxxx/2015. As the letter contains a threat of litigation, it is being treated as a formal letter before action. As such, I refer you to paragraph 3 of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct, which states: “before commencing proceedings, the court will expect the parties to have exchanged sufficient information to (a) understand each other’s position; (b) make decisions about how to proceed;”

Paragraph 6 states “the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives“ and Paragraph 6 (c) of refers to “the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.” My request refers to the documents I require to obtain the necessary information to assess my position in this case.

I require copies of the following:

• The original credit agreement;
• The Default Notice
• The Notice of Assignment;
• Statements of account;

These documents would be expected to be supplied if proceedings were issued and would likely be in your possession if you were issuing a claim. If you consider that there is difficulty in providing a copy of a document, please identify that document and the reason. Additionally, there is a duty to supply documents under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. A request has been made under s.78 on xx/xxxx/2015 and I am awaiting a response.

I shall be able to provide you with a full response to your letter within 14 days of receipt of the documents listed above and also reserve the right to refer to the contents of this letter if proceedings are issued without first providing copy documents to me.

Yours faithfully,

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowells/Fredrickson/Bryan Carter

Thank you very much I will do that today.

Please do you have a suggestion of wording for the cover letter to send to Bryan Carters, as I am very worried that I may inadvertently write the wrong thing that could then be used against me. I am so anxious to get this resolved I haven't even told my husband that they have been in contact as he's just had major surgery and is currently off work, I don't want to worry him in to returning until he is fully recovered.

You need to send the letter I posted above to CARTER and the CCA request to LOWELL. The letter to Carter includes a paragraph that refers to the CCA request you sent.

Only the CCA request requires the £1 fee but both letters should be sent recorded delivery. :typing: