I paid Lowell but now I'm disputing the debt

[Mandatorystate]

Hi
I'm new here but have spent all evening reading as much as I can about my position. I had a phone call a few weeks ago on my ex-directory landline from a guy from Lowell Portfolio. He said that he was calling regarding an old debt I supposedly had with Provident. I was completely taken back by this call and that is because I have old debts which I have avoided for years (most are statute barred now) but honestly cannot remember who they are with etc. nowadays I am a good payer for debts and I have been working hard to make payments on everything for years now. Anyway, I was asked a couple of times over the phone if I remembered the debt and I told them that I vaguely remembered taking a couple of doorstep loans years ago but wasn't confident about who they were with. The guy was actually quite nice and made me feel like I could trust his word so being the reformed bill-payer I am now I agreed to pay £20 a week by automated debit card payment. I have made 3 payments. Now I have hunted high and low through all my paperwork and bank statements and even on my credit report but this debt is nowhere to be seen and I cannot recall any such loan. I rang Lowell and explained to a guy my position and said that I was concerned about the authenticity of this alleged debt which I was paying into..
The guy became really rude and basically said he would get me a copy of the original agreement between me and provident at my request (which was really polite on my part). A day later I received an email saying that due to the age of the debt (2010 default date) they are unable to obtain a copy of the agreement but had an account number, loan amount and loan start date. i do not feel happy paying this without any evidence of it truly existing! I've read loads of stories about people being conned into paying for debts that do not exist!
Can anyone please advise me where I stand now that I was duped into acknowledging the debt and making payment? Can I still dispute it?
Thanks! And sorry for the long winded post!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: I paid Lowell but now I'm disputing the debt

Hi
I'm new here but have spent all evening reading as much as I can about my position. I had a phone call a few weeks ago on my ex-directory landline from a guy from Lowell Portfolio. He said that he was calling regarding an old debt I supposedly had with Provident. I was completely taken back by this call and that is because I have old debts which I have avoided for years (most are statute barred now) but honestly cannot remember who they are with etc. nowadays I am a good payer for debts and I have been working hard to make payments on everything for years now. Anyway, I was asked a couple of times over the phone if I remembered the debt and I told them that I vaguely remembered taking a couple of doorstep loans years ago but wasn't confident about who they were with. The guy was actually quite nice and made me feel like I could trust his word so being the reformed bill-payer I am now I agreed to pay £20 a week by automated debit card payment. I have made 3 payments. Now I have hunted high and low through all my paperwork and bank statements and even on my credit report but this debt is nowhere to be seen and I cannot recall any such loan. I rang Lowell and explained to a guy my position and said that I was concerned about the authenticity of this alleged debt which I was paying into..
The guy became really rude and basically said he would get me a copy of the original agreement between me and provident at my request (which was really polite on my part). A day later I received an email saying that due to the age of the debt (2010 default date) they are unable to obtain a copy of the agreement but had an account number, loan amount and loan start date. i do not feel happy paying this without any evidence of it truly existing! I've read loads of stories about people being conned into paying for debts that do not exist!
Can anyone please advise me where I stand now that I was duped into acknowledging the debt and making payment? Can I still dispute it?
Thanks! And sorry for the long winded post!

Hi and welcome

Sadly this is what often happens when people deal over the phone with DCAs, those guys are trained to extract payment and very little else. :mad2: From now on you should keep everything in writing, :typing: if you get a phone call refuse to ask their security questions and don't ring them!

By making payments you would have reset the clock so, sadly, this debt won't be statute barred next year, however, all is not lost. Limitation may well be out of the question now but you can still dispute it using the Consumer Credit Act. Rather than asking some guy over the phone if they have a copy of your agreement, you should be sending a proper, written CCA request to Lowell. The letter should be sent by recorded delivery with a PO for £1 to cover the fee. They should respond in 12+2 working days but won't be able to do so because they'll have to contact Provident to get the documents. :thumb:

You'll find the CCA request letter here: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...y-of-Agreement

Up to you whether you wish to continue paying £20 a week, in view of what you are saying above, if it was me I probably wouldn't.

Bear in mind once the 14 working days are up the account will be unenforceable for as long as they don't comply. :grin:

[Mandatorystate]

Re: I paid Lowell but now I'm disputing the debt

Wow what a speedy reply and so helpful too - thank you so much!
I am going to send the letter first thing Monday recorded delivery and I shall post on here their reply!
And I think it goes without saying - I will not be resuming payment!
That made my weekend x