Lowell chasing debt from 2006

[Cjos16]

Hi everyone, after reading through this forum and how clued up all you guys and girls are, i thought it was time to join and get some advice on the lovely people at lowell financial. Il try to be as detailed as possable so here we go. In may 2006 i allegidly took out a credit agreement with hfc bank to finance goods bought from currys, what goods i dont know yet but il let you know when i find out, the last payment made to hfc was november 2007, hfc then stamped a default on my credit file in november 2011 four years after the last payment, and then sold the debt in december 2011 to lowells. Now they have been doing the usual letters and phone calls for the past few months and the pre legal assessment rubbish but today i was caught off guard, i answered the phone thinking it was a call i was waiting for but no, it was lowelles. So i thought while iv got them on the phone id ask them what they actually know about this debt which is not alot apparently, i also asked that being 11 years old would this debt not be barred as i thought after 6 years of no payments etc tht a debt becomes unenforceable, they replied that as the default is active upto november 2017 then it is not barred and still enforceable. I requested a copy of the credit agreement and the terms and conditions relating to it and my account is now on hold untill they can get what iv asked for. So my questions are, is this debt still enforceable or is it sb ?, also hfc waited 4 years to default the account, can they do that ? I thought the guidelines were 3 to 6 months maximum after a missed payment. Any help is very much appriciated.

[charitynjw]

Re: Lowell chasing debt from 2006

Hi Cjos16 & welcome to LB.

If I were you I'd be getting info from the horses mouth. (I believe that HFC stuff is now being dealt with by HSBC).
I would SAR them, see what info they might have.

[warwick65]

Re: Lowell chasing debt from 2006

Most debt purchasers claim it is the date of default that triggers the cause of action but that is disputed - I hear there is a case going to appeal at the moment which may give some clarity.

Just to note, the date on your credit file is not necessarily related to the date a DN was issued or indeed the remedy date.

When you asked for a copy of the agreement , did you do that verbally, informally , or by using a CCA request (S77-79) with the £1 fee. If you didn't do it formally then I would do it now - if you did, thats good , but don't expect Lowell to play by the rules and be wary of a letter before action dropping on your doorstep. If it does, respond , there is a template somewhere

Morning@charitynjw
As Charitynjw says, send a SAR to HSBC which should get you all the details such as date of last payment, date of default, date of assignment - all good things to have just in case

[Cjos16]

Re: Lowell chasing debt from 2006

Hi and thankyou both for your response, iv sent off the cca request to lowell thismorning so they will recieve that tomorrow, iv also been in contact with hsbc to see why the default date is 4 years late, they have asked me to put it in writing and they will investigate it further as they couldnt answer why, il also get the sar sent off to them while im at it, so if i get the information back from hsbc and lowell send the credit agreement as requested then what would be my next step ? Im waiting to get a court summons through the door as they think this debt is still enforceable upto mid november but everything iv read says otherwise, i am very confused about the whole situation and what to do next. Once again many thanks for all your help