A moment of madness? thinking i'm doing something to improve my credit rating? I never really worried about it until I started looking at buying a house. I'll call Northants Bulk on Monday. I also have a Capquest / Shop direct agreement for you guys to look at and tell me if it is enforceable. I'll start another thread tomorrow or Monday for that. Thanks for your help Jonathan

So far, I have started paying off a Cabot CCJ on behalf of Capital One at £50 per month As for the others there are 2 Lowell one's. If I rang the court and ask for the claim forms would I be able to find out who the OC is? I noticed there is also another CCJ from December 2012 that must have gone to an even older address. Considering the age of this judgement and that it will drop off my credit file in just over a year, would I be wasting my money paying it off? Regards Jonathan

Ok, that is pretty much as I thought. The only way to deal with it is to pay up and learn a lesson?

I've had 2 CCJ's from Lowell appear on my credit file that went to my old address, this meant that I was unable to defend them. During that period Lowell were constantly writing to me at my current address regarding 2 other debts. This meant that they must have known where I live now and could have easily sent the Claimforms there. Is there any precedent for getting these set aside?

Andy 210000, They are called Just Mortgage Brokers. I've had to pay off some old debts, I've fought some and had them removed from my credit file. I have 4 CCJ's I have 20% deposit, and finally have a decent income but am still going to get rinsed on interest rates. That's why it would be amazing if I could get some of the CCJ's set aside and actually get a conventional mortgage. From what I have learnt a lot comes down to the age of the CCJ's and / or debt defaults. They are more interested how good you have been in the last year or so, than stuff that happened 5 years ago. Also the other thing that are toxic to mortgages are payday loans, my wife had some of these and it has taken ages to pay these all off.

DX100 Lowell have known my current address for the last 2 years, and have been writing to me. I also have 2 backdoor CCJ's from them , sent to my old address, yet Lowell knew damn well where I was living. ? Does that mean I have a shot at getting them set aside? Regards Jonathan

Hi Andy, This is what's known as a 'backdoor CCJ' It went to your old address and they won by default as you were unable to defend. Lowell will say that it's your responsibility to let your creditors know when you move, that's what happened to me, anyway. I have 3 of them, and I'm paying them off bit by bit. Honestly I was upset at first, but they will all be satisfied in 5 years, and off my credit file. It hasn't stopped me getting a mortgage, albeit with a higher interest rate, but it's still better than renting and I can always remortgage further down the line. It really isn't the end of the world!

Yep I am a suspicious so and so about those Lowell slime buckets. 1. Both debts were pretty small £400 and 800 ish respectively. 2. The first one really didn't have any paperwork, and I also probably cost them more than that in time with my pnonecalls 3 The second's one agreement was genuinely terrible, I cost them loads in calls and it was going to leave my creditfile in July '18 anyway Now I am having a lot more difficulty with Cabot and Capquest right now, and those debts have years left to run.

I agree DX100UK but, I wanted this off my credit file, and now it is! If I wasn't trying to get a mortgage in the next year or so I would have left it alone. I've also been terribly bitten by backdoor CCJ's in the past so am perhaps a little more aggressive than needs be.

Hi Catherine. This is highly typical of Lowell. In fact I was at this stage a couple of Months ago with them, from a Next Debt. In my situation they went a stage further and sent an agreement with my signature on. It was actually more like something a 5 year old could put together on word. I would expect this to follow soon! Let me show you the text of the Email I sent them that got them to close the account and mark the debt as paid on my Credit file. If they are not sending you constant threat o grams then that part of the complaint is irrelevant . Right now they haven't given you what you asked for which needs to be at the very least is a reconstituted agreement. This needs to be legible, and have dated terms and conditions that were in force at the beginning of the agreement. On the correspondence there should be a complaints email address, which they are actually surprisingly good at responding to, providing you qoute the agreement numbers etc in the subject line. I would wait a few days to see if the so called agreement arrives before sending anything. This is the second Lowell debt I have had closed this year, and I might get flamed by some more experienced heads on here, but I was on the phone to them all the time following up agreements etc I wouldn't recommend it but I think it helped waste a lot of their time, further contributing to their decision to close the accounts. (Forgive me but I enjoyed winding their agents up) Dear Liam Thanks for your reply, Re - Your Findings I refer you the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) hand books in relation to S.77, S78 and S79 of the CCA. Please feel free to look this up yourself 1. (1) Failure to comply with the provisions means that the agreement becomes unenforceable while the failure to comply persists, and the courts have no discretion to allow enforcement. 2. (2) In such cases, a firm should in no way, either by act or omission, mislead a customer as to the enforceability of the agreement. 3. (3) In particular, a firm should not in such cases either threaten court action or other enforcement of the debt or imply that the debt is enforceable when it is not. I'd say the letter you sent out on 4th July 2017 (plus several others) ' Close your account for £446' might be seen by a judge as number 1, 2 and 3 on that list. Looks like 'enforcement' to me. Moving on to the 'agreement' you have sent me. I understand that under a post 2007 agreement you are entitled to put together a reconstituted agreement, but what you have sent me is illegible. OFT Guidelines below. 2 Legibility of notices and copy documents and wording of prescribed Forms (1) The lettering in every notice in a Form prescribed by these Regulations and in every copy of an executed agreement, security instrument or other document referred to in the Act and delivered or sent to a debtor, hirer or surety under any provision of the Act shall, apart from any signature, be easily legible and of a colour which is readily distinguishable from the . You have also breached the following guidelines by trying to mislead me into believing this is not a reconstituted agreement. No original document would be lacking a date either on the agreement or in the T&C's. You have failed to provide any evidence that these T&c's were valid at the beginning of this agreement. As an aside I have never seen an actual agreement without a credit limit ! 1. (2) The firm can reconstitute a copy. It can do this by re-populating a template of the relevant agreement form with the details of the specific agreement taken from its records. If the firm does provide a reconstituted copy, it should explain that that is what it has done, to avoid misleading the customer that this is a contemporaneous copy. My conclusion Right now I am at a total loss as to what this debt is all about, I've asked you to produce evidence of this alleged debt. I've asked for a copy of the original agreement, and have finally received something a 5 year old could have cobbled together in an English lesson. During this period you've been harassing me and sending payment demands and illegally sharing my data with third parties ie CRA's. I now feel like you are trying to extract money with menaces. Unfortunately the only option for me is to move forward with an Financial Ombudsman / Information Commissioner complaint

Hello, I to am in the process of cleaning up my credit history in order to buy a house at some point in the next few months and have learnt a few hard lessons. Yes the, debt will disappear off your credit file, after 6 years. However, the M/O of such companies as Moorcroft is to wait until the last few months then hit you with a CCJ to ruin your credit history for another 6 years. Lovely people really ! As recommended above, in order to 'proof' yourself against this you need to send a CCA request as detailed on the forums multiple times. Let me put a number on this for you so far I have sent 3 CCA requests to DCA's 1. Couldn't produce the documents, debt written off and expunged from Credit file. 2.They sent my agreement, (actually it was more like something a 5 year could draw up on word) , debt written was written off 3. I have been hounding for 9 months, and have now admitted in writing the debt is unenforceable but refuse to tell the credit agencies. It's a fair bet that Moorcroft don't have the paperwork they need in order to CCJ you, not that it would stop them anyway. Your job now is to write off and come back to this thread with any replies you receive. I'm happy to answer any questions you have too. PS they will kick up a tantrum like a 2 year old sometimes Jonathan

I have a CCJ from Lowells and have learnt the hard way how to beat them and since then have managed to wipe 2 debts (Shop Direct and Next). A few points 1. Do not ignore the pre legal action threat, they are serious! This is Lowell's MO. Wait until the debt is about to disappear from your credit file, then ruin you for another 6 years with a CCJ. Such a nice bunch !! 2. They are utterly and completely useless at coming up with any of the CCA requirements. It's probable they will either not have the CCA details, or send you a botched agreement meaning the debt is unenforceable in a court , rendering a CCJ impossible. 3 Wiped Debt 1 :- Lowell sent me a pre legal judgement, I CCA'd them , 3 reminders and many phonecalls later they still were making excuses. I filed a complaint that they were breaching the CCA and Data protection and they needed to wipe my debt or i would report them to FOS and Information Comisisoner. Letter received , account closed, all traces wiped from my credit file. 4 Wiped Debt 2:- Same, but this time after 5 months they came up with a signed agreement in response to my CCA. Sadly for them that was the only legible part, there was no date and no date on the Terms and conditions. I wrote back saying the agreement was unenforceable and they had tried to mislead me into believing this was the original not a recon agreement and I would report them to FOS. Account closed, debt wiped double quick! Conclusion. The simple act of sending a CCA will stop any chance of a CCJ with Lowell, and depending on how they respond may wipe your debt from credit history. Burying your head in the sand and ignoring them will result in a CCJ and your credit being damaged for 6 more years!

Forget about the contact centre or collections department most of them do not have a clue what their own vulnerable person policy is. Do some googling about recent debt related suicides and you will realise that they are bound to take mental illness extremely seriously! The most important thing that you need is a GP letter explaining illness, symptoms, treatments etc. Then go onto Google and find out how to contact the leader of your local council. They should have a mobile and email address easily available. Email them along the lines of I am a vulnerable person with xyz illness, and am on benefits.!I have fallen behind on my council tax. The bailiffs are now threatening to take away my possessions unless I pay £x in their fees. My only choice is to pay this or not be able to afford to eat. ' I understand the importance of making payments and I want to contribute as much as possible, even if it is a nominal sum per month until I am back on my feet. I can afford £x per month but am asking for the bailiffs to be called off and their fees to be waived. The GP note attached explains my illness and how badly stress can make things worse. Thanking you in advance' When I was in this situation it took 25 minutes for a positive reply. Any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

I definitely agree with the above sentiments, about cutting back on mobiles TV subscriptions etc. However, you are making this way too harsh on yourself. I may only have a couple of posts but I have been through years of Bailiffs, AOE's, etc and have been in far worse arrears than you are. I am now up to date with everything to the current month so finally feel qualified to share my experiences. 1. Your local council's own code of practice will take into account your illness, especially depression (classed as a vunerable person). You want to make sure that you are talking to somebody in the revenue collections department, as opposed to a call centre operator, preferably as senior as possible. You will find they will (mostly) be incredibly sympathetic! There is also absolutely no way they will go down the bailiffs route either in the illness situation. A letter from your GP may be needed here if they ask. 2. You are safe from the AOE route, being self employed ! 3. If they still insist on an arrangement that will cause you hardship. Phone and email your local councillor / head of Council. In the email along the lines, of ' I want to pay as much as I can afford, but it's not much because of xyz illness and XyZ financial problems' The council have demanded X amount, I am happy to pay x amount reviewed in 6 months , as I want to be able to clear this debt' In my experience it's these local councillors who have done the impossible. Providing you show willing to pay, often things will be sorted out within 24 hours using this route ! Any questions feel free to ask ?

I have been through this. Councils are being very harsh by slapping 2 AOE's at the same time, and causing far too much hardship With 1 attachment, they would get the money just the same. Ringing them up is also a total waste of time. I rang my local councillor, and rang / emailed the head of council and explained the situation. (All details should be on the internet). Within 15 minutes the second AOE had been lifted. Job done