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Good evening one and all,
Long post warning
I'm in a bit of bother with Lowell's Portfolio 1 Ltd & Lowell Solicitors and was hoping someone with a bit more legal savvy than I could help?
In February 2011 I took out a Visa credit card with Vanquis online. I used the card for a few months running it to its limit then didn’t make any more repayments to the account. My last payment to the account was May 27th 2011 and I made a final purchase on the card putting it over its credit limit on the 21st June 2011.
From those dates I have not made any payments to the account and ignored all communications from Vanquis. In 2012 I believe Vaquis sold the debt to Lucas credit services who then chased me for a while but again I ignored all communications with them. Everything went quiet until October 2015 when the debt was sold on again to Lowell's Portfolio 1. At this Point Lowell decided to make an entry on my credit file making October 2015 the default date to this debt on my credit file!!
Lowell then sent letters every few months from then on all of which I ignored. Fast forward to March 2017 and Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd send me a letter advising that all matters relating to this debt will now go through Lowell Solicitors. On the same day of receiving this letter I also received a letter from Lowells Solicitors advising the same information and advising that I have 14 days to clear the balance owed or they will be starting county court proceedings.
I decided to send Lowell Solicitors the standard letter before action template requesting more information on the account. At the same time I also sent Lowell the s.78 cca request letter and a £1 postal order copying Lowell Solicitors on everything. I sent these letters recorded delivery and both Lowells signed receipt of them on March 29th 2017.
A week later I received a letter from Lowell Solicitors acknowledging my requests and they stated my account had been put on hold until they had sourced more information from the original lenders Vaquis. However until this day I have never received any response from Lowell Portfolio in regards to my s.78 request?
Now fast forward 90 days including weekends and bank holidays and on June 27th 2017 I receive a letter from Lowell Solicitors advising that they have included the documents requested and that I now have 14 days from the date of the letter to advise how I am going to settle the debt or they may start county court proceedings against me.
However the documents Lowell Solicitors enclosed were:
1. A copy of a default notice from Vanquis dated Sept 2011. (Looks legit)
2. A copy of all transactions on the original credit card. (Looks legit)
3. A copy of a reconstituted online application. (Which appears to be done on excel. My personal details are all correct but there is some info missing like duration with employer and employer contact details. No terms and conditions or anything like that looks pretty poor to be honest)
4. Strange letter from Vanquis. (Attached to the online application is an alleged letter from Vanquis dated May 17th 2017 personally addressed to my name but my residential address was excluded from the letter? The letter advises that they have attached a copy of my original online application and that they confirm that on the stated application dates Vaquis approved my request for a Visa credit card. They also go on to advise that under certain rules and regs by me ticking the yes box on the online application I was committing to the t&c'S etc etc. This letter is a copy and appears to be on Vanquis headed paper but seems very dodgy indeed almost fabricated?
That’s it they did not include any notice of assignments, no other defaults notices, or a proper CCA stating terms and conditions. The vaquis letter they included seems strange because I have had no communications with Vaquis so why would they be writing to me via Lowells?
Can anyone please advise where I can go with this in regards to replying to Lowells solicitors? I'd rather nip it in the bud before they start court proceedings and I'm even considering offering them a payment plan but money is tight due to my wife recently giving up work due to illness. However if anyone thinks I have good grounds to challenge this as unenforceable I really appreciate your advice.
It would also be great if anybody could give me an accurate date as to when the debt becomes SB?
Apologies for such a long winded post but I didn’t want to miss anything out lol
Thanks in advance
Walrus :-)
Long post warning
I'm in a bit of bother with Lowell's Portfolio 1 Ltd & Lowell Solicitors and was hoping someone with a bit more legal savvy than I could help?
In February 2011 I took out a Visa credit card with Vanquis online. I used the card for a few months running it to its limit then didn’t make any more repayments to the account. My last payment to the account was May 27th 2011 and I made a final purchase on the card putting it over its credit limit on the 21st June 2011.
From those dates I have not made any payments to the account and ignored all communications from Vanquis. In 2012 I believe Vaquis sold the debt to Lucas credit services who then chased me for a while but again I ignored all communications with them. Everything went quiet until October 2015 when the debt was sold on again to Lowell's Portfolio 1. At this Point Lowell decided to make an entry on my credit file making October 2015 the default date to this debt on my credit file!!
Lowell then sent letters every few months from then on all of which I ignored. Fast forward to March 2017 and Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd send me a letter advising that all matters relating to this debt will now go through Lowell Solicitors. On the same day of receiving this letter I also received a letter from Lowells Solicitors advising the same information and advising that I have 14 days to clear the balance owed or they will be starting county court proceedings.
I decided to send Lowell Solicitors the standard letter before action template requesting more information on the account. At the same time I also sent Lowell the s.78 cca request letter and a £1 postal order copying Lowell Solicitors on everything. I sent these letters recorded delivery and both Lowells signed receipt of them on March 29th 2017.
A week later I received a letter from Lowell Solicitors acknowledging my requests and they stated my account had been put on hold until they had sourced more information from the original lenders Vaquis. However until this day I have never received any response from Lowell Portfolio in regards to my s.78 request?
Now fast forward 90 days including weekends and bank holidays and on June 27th 2017 I receive a letter from Lowell Solicitors advising that they have included the documents requested and that I now have 14 days from the date of the letter to advise how I am going to settle the debt or they may start county court proceedings against me.
However the documents Lowell Solicitors enclosed were:
1. A copy of a default notice from Vanquis dated Sept 2011. (Looks legit)
2. A copy of all transactions on the original credit card. (Looks legit)
3. A copy of a reconstituted online application. (Which appears to be done on excel. My personal details are all correct but there is some info missing like duration with employer and employer contact details. No terms and conditions or anything like that looks pretty poor to be honest)
4. Strange letter from Vanquis. (Attached to the online application is an alleged letter from Vanquis dated May 17th 2017 personally addressed to my name but my residential address was excluded from the letter? The letter advises that they have attached a copy of my original online application and that they confirm that on the stated application dates Vaquis approved my request for a Visa credit card. They also go on to advise that under certain rules and regs by me ticking the yes box on the online application I was committing to the t&c'S etc etc. This letter is a copy and appears to be on Vanquis headed paper but seems very dodgy indeed almost fabricated?
That’s it they did not include any notice of assignments, no other defaults notices, or a proper CCA stating terms and conditions. The vaquis letter they included seems strange because I have had no communications with Vaquis so why would they be writing to me via Lowells?
Can anyone please advise where I can go with this in regards to replying to Lowells solicitors? I'd rather nip it in the bud before they start court proceedings and I'm even considering offering them a payment plan but money is tight due to my wife recently giving up work due to illness. However if anyone thinks I have good grounds to challenge this as unenforceable I really appreciate your advice.
It would also be great if anybody could give me an accurate date as to when the debt becomes SB?
Apologies for such a long winded post but I didn’t want to miss anything out lol
Thanks in advance
Walrus :-)
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