Lowell / CIA insurance debt

[TGFBeta]

Hi all

 

Just wondering what the collective wisdom of the group suggests. I've just received a letter at my current address from Lowell Financial asking for payment of a debt to CIA Insurance. The amount isn't huge and I can afford to just settle it. I'm pretty sure I do owe the money from an insurance policy a while ago.

 

However I have another, larger debt for a few k which has been around since about the same time, and I could do without waking that one up. If I just pay this small one to Lowell, do you think I'll start getting chased for the other debt?

 

Cheers

 

TGFB

[TGFBeta]

just to clarify - the other large debt hasn't (so far as I'm aware) ever been owned by Lowell.

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi all

 

Just wondering what the collective wisdom of the group suggests. I've just received a letter at my current address from Lowell Financial asking for payment of a debt to CIA Insurance. The amount isn't huge and I can afford to just settle it. I'm pretty sure I do owe the money from an insurance policy a while ago.

 

However I have another, larger debt for a few k which has been around since about the same time, and I could do without waking that one up. If I just pay this small one to Lowell, do you think I'll start getting chased for the other debt?

 

Cheers

 

TGFB

 

Not if they are not connected in anyway.

 

If the debt is small and you can afford to repay, it is often best to get shot of them. Even if they did not take you to court, you could suffer from years of harassment.

[TGFBeta]

Thanks

 

I haven't been chased for a debt for ages. I wonder what the trigger for this letter was.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks

 

I haven't been chased for a debt for ages. I wonder what the trigger for this letter was.

 

CIA are an Insurance intermediary which basically means that they arrange Insurance through Insurers and don't underwrite the risk themselves.

 

They would have written to you asking you to pay the amount owed on a number of occasions. Following failure to obtain payment, they would have then placed the debt on an internal account to decide what to do. It could be that a considerable time period passed, before they opted to get external debt collectors involved. They could have either sold the debt to Lowell or just assigned it to them to chase on their behalf. Lowell may have taken sometime to start sending letters, as I doubt the account they have for CIA is that big compared with others they deal with.

 

There are hundreds of thousands of debts being chased at any one time, so these things can take time. If you have moved address, this would also have delayed matters.

 

You would wise to check your credit record to see if the debt default is noted.

[TGFBeta]

You would wise to check your credit record to see if the debt default is noted.

 

Maybe, but my experience suggests that providing credit reference agencies with a current address is not a good idea if you still have outstanding debts elsewhere.

 

Anyway that's that debt paid off. If the DCAs behave themselves I might settle up that large debt in a few months