BW legal

[Fredag8]

Hi i have received a letter today from bw legal stating a debt of £204 not really sure what this is, anyway its the 1st correspondence iv received from them although have had previous letters from lowell (i understand they are linked) Anyway the letter states if this amount is not paid within 14 days they are going to issue me with court papers not really sure what my options are and reluctant to contact them as they have bad reviews
Please help!

[nemesis45]

Re: BW legal

Hi welcome to LB,

Lowell are a debt purchaser BW Legal is a " solicitors for rent" in the debt collection " industry"'.

What is the debt originating from?
Have you responded to any of Lowell's letters ?
Do you recognise the debt/account being yours?

nem

[Fredag8]

Re: BW legal

Hiya! Thanks so much for your reply, i believe its a catalogue debt maybe but dont recognise the balance. No i didnt respond which i know i should have but have heard and read really bad things about lowell so did not want to contact them. If it is a debt i owe i would pay it but unsure like i said of the amount plus im scared to contact the company. Original creditor is shop direct finance. The letter states if payment is not made my 26/7 then then they will issue a claim against me in county court and i will receive no further demands

[jon1965]

Re: BW legal

In my opinion what you need to do is send a CCA request to Lowell include a cheque or postal order for £1 ( I usually leave it blank but cross it ) for the account and also write to BC asking for copies of any documents mentioned in their letter of claim
here are some details http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pro...on_conduct#6.1

maybe you could post up a redacted (all personal details removed) copy of their letter

[nemesis45]

Re: BW legal

Hiya! Thanks so much for your reply, i believe its a catalogue debt maybe but dont recognise the balance. No i didnt respond which i know i should have but have heard and read really bad things about lowell so did not want to contact them. If it is a debt i owe i would pay it but unsure like i said of the amount plus im scared to contact the company. Original creditor is shop direct finance. The letter states if payment is not made my 26/7 then then they will issue a claim against me in county court and i will receive no further demands

Ok A CCA request to Lowell to see if they have the agreement. There is a £1 statutory fee to
pay use a cheque or postal order endorsed for statutory fee only. Lowell has 12 +2 days
to comply.

Just quote the Lowell Ref: No.in the letter.
You can notify BW that you have done so.
The Lowell address is
The Lowell Group
9 Savannah Way
Leeds Valley Park
Leeds
LA10 1AH.

nem

[Fredag8]

Re: BW legal

Thanks so much for your help il try this. So do you think they are genuine? Like they are actually taking it to court?

[nemesis45]

Re: BW legal

Thanks so much for your help il try this. So do you think they are genuine? Like they are actually taking it to court?

Yes Lowell is a significant purchaser of delinquent account and regularly instructs BW Legal as it's legal representative.
They frequently issue claims whilst often not in possession of any documentary evidence to back up the claim

As advised CCA request to Lowell asap.
e-mail BW and state you have contacted Lowell directly for information.

nem

[jon1965]

Re: BW legal

It is the first step in taking you to court so do not be surprised if you get a court claim drop through your letterbox. However you have taken the first steps in getting ready to defend so you will be ahead of the game.
I imagine that for £204 they will expect you to just cough up so a nice little earner but they need to prove what the debt is for and if they have all the necessary paperwork , if not I could just make a claim against someone I didn't like and bingo.
Just remember that that amount will grow with court fees so if it is a legitimate debt you owe and they come back with compliant documents it would be worth making a repayment plan (of what you can afford , no more)

[FlamingParrot]

Re: BW legal

It is the first step in taking you to court so do not be surprised if you get a court claim drop through your letterbox. However you have taken the first steps in getting ready to defend so you will be ahead of the game.

Even though a CCA request has been sent (or is about to be sent), it would still be a good idea to respond to BW Legal in accordance to the pre-action conduct. Even though I've not seen the letter they've sent, it's likely to be some sort of letter before action or letter of claim even if not headed that way. The fact a CCA request has been sent should be included in the reply:

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:

1. The original credit agreement;
2. The Default Notice
3. The Notice of Assignment;
4. 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 being 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,

[Fredag8]

Re: BW legal

Thanks everyone for your responses and help i wish id just contacted them in the first place but so many people had written bad reviews about them i didnt dare i will upload a copy of the letter. I have posted a CCA request by recorded delivery to Lowell today and emailed BW legal

[Fredag8]

Re: BW legal

This is the letter

[FlamingParrot]

Re: BW legal

Thanks everyone for your responses and help i wish id just contacted them in the first place but so many people had written bad reviews about them i didnt dare i will upload a copy of the letter. I have posted a CCA request by recorded delivery to Lowell today and emailed BW legal

Bad reviews? You bet! :grin: They are a firm of solicitors often used by Lowell, in the past they often issued statutory demands but since the FCA took over consumer credit licensing, they've stopped doing that and are now issuing claims like confetti!

The problem is that those guys spend all day in front of the computer logged in to the Moneyclaim Online (MCOL) website, just filling in claim after claim! :tinysmile_cry_t: For those who ignore their letters, what follows is a claim! However, in many cases a claim can be avoided just by responding as above. Those claims are issued speculatively hoping for default judgment, if you show them that you will be asking them for documents to back up their claim, they may well just move on to easier prey. As you will see here, obtaining documents isn't what their clients Lowell do best! :thumb:

[FlamingParrot]

Re: BW legal

This is the letter

I'm not psychic but, as I'd expected, it IS a letter of claim, and it's even headed as such, so you should really send the letter I posted above in response. It's not just letter tennis, there is a part of the Civil Procedure Rules that states that, before going to court, the parties should talk to each other so to speak: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...on_conduct#3.1

Objectives of pre-action conduct and protocols

3. 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;
(c) try to settle the issues without proceedings;

Steps before issuing a claim at court

6. Where there is a relevant pre-action protocol, the parties should comply with that protocol before commencing proceedings. Where there is no relevant pre-action protocol, the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives in paragraph 3, bearing in mind that compliance should be proportionate. The steps will usually include—
(a) the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
(b) the defendant responding within a reasonable time - 14 days in a straight forward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one. The reply should include confirmation as to whether the claim is accepted and, if it is not accepted, the reasons why, together with an explanation as to which facts and parts of the claim are disputed and whether the defendant is making a counterclaim as well as providing details of any counterclaim; and
(c) the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.

That's precisely what the letter I posted above refers to. :typing:

[Fredag8]

Re: BW legal

Thanks FlamingParrot, lots of people had said they'd agreed to pay then BW had taken more than the agreed amount hence my reluctancy to pay them. I copied and pasted it 😂 and emailed it so fingers crossed

[FlamingParrot]

Re: BW legal

Thanks FlamingParrot, lots of people had said they'd agreed to pay then BW had taken more than the agreed amount hence my reluctancy to pay them. I copied and pasted it  and emailed it so fingers crossed

The letter I posted above says nothing about paying... it asks them to produce the documents they'd be relying on in court if they were to issue a claim, I'd bet a million quid that they haven't got them!