sd/shopacheck/choice cat debt - identity theft?

[andrew1402]

Hi guys sorry to bother you

 

my wife keeps getting letters with her previous surname before married sent to her from agency LOWELL claiming we owe them money £121.30 to be exact dated 18th November 2008 with Shop Direct and no payments made.

 

We sent them at letter of i do not acknowledge 6 yrs debt thing

my wife and i got married in march 2002

we moved out the property we were in 2005 yet we get letters using my wifes previous surname

 

any advice would be appreciated

 

would it be ok to send I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE debt and enclose a £1?.

 

Sorry just found a letter from LOWELL PORTFOLIO with statement not saying much

 

OPENING BALANCE £121.30 01/09/2009

TOTAL PAYMENTS 0.00

BALANCE ADJUSTMENTS 0.00

FEES AND CHARGES 0.00

CLOSING BALANCE 31/07/2011 £121.30

 

Thats all it states

it doesn't state what was bought or anything to get the debt all we know it was with SHOP DIRECT

sounds legit but why wait till now to persue

 

had no letters from SHOP DIRECT

only from LOWELL DEBT COLLECTOR/PORTFOLIO

the account is not statute barred due to date of 2008

 

how can we find out what was bought as i think shop direct is a catalogue as i have account with VERY/LITTLEWOODS that says shop direct

 

any help would be appreciated of what to do next for my wife.

[silverfox1961]

Hi

Don't even bother with the £1. In my opinion, sending the £1 is as much as admitting the debt is your wifes.

 

A simple prove it letter should suffice and while you are waiting for the Leeds Loses to get back to you, get your dates of moving for when Lowells come back and say they have investigated and it still is her debt. (they don't understand fraud)

[andrew1402]

thank you for quick reply i'll send another i do not acknowledge the debt the basic one without the £1 lol thanks recorded ofcourse.

[andrew1402]

i have sent cca and follow up cca and still they keep saying we'll keep you up to date

 

times past with signed agreement etc

 

still no signed agreement from them

they say they are checking archives

also we found out that it's on my wifes credit file on experian with that date but wrong date of birth and wrong surname

 

my wifes 60 years old according to date of birth

shes 30 lol and it's a previous address which we moved nearly 6 yrs ago

any advice from here please.

[silverfox1961]

The new OFT debt collection guidance states that a creditor should not chase anyone unless they are sure they are the debtor in question.

 

Methinks a formal complaint to Lowell and demand they remove any reference to your wife or you will complain to the OFT and Trading Standards

[andrew1402]

thanks for the reply but im no good at letters especially formal complaints i've never done one.

 

anyone got a good formal letter of complaint i can use please:x

[rebel11]

Thread moved to the correct forum.

[andrew1402]

we have an agreement of them LOWELL PORTFOLIO but not signed or my wifes date of birth or we didn't live at the address in question in that year 2008 and it's by choice catologue

 

what to do next

we have marriage certificate proving she is no longer her maiden name since 2002

 

the debt is in her maiden name and they say 2 things too

 

1they do not have to give us a signed agreement under section 77/78 consumer credit act 1974

we have sent ccas letters and after cca and still we get this unsigned agreement

 

im stuck what to do next:mad2:

oh and also we have our tenancy agreement proving we didn't live there then.

[DonkeyB]

It's not your debt. Report to the police as ID fraud and get a crime number. Then send that to lowlifes and tell them to foxtrot oscar.

[cerberusalert]

You can report it here http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/report_fraud They'll give you a crime number to pass on to any low life that chases you.

[andrew1402]

it's not even her right date of birth

 

cerberusalert how do you get a crime number no mention of this just a questionaire on that website we have 7 days to give response to lowell we have filled the form reporting this incident.

[citizenB]

You need to report the fraudulent use of your wife's details to the police in order to obtain a crime number.

[cerberusalert]

cerberusalert how do you get a crime number no mention of this just a questionaire on that website we have 7 days to give response to lowell we have filled the form reporting this incident.

AFAIK they email you a reply enclosing a number. If you telephone them they give you one then.

 

 

[andrew1402]

not had any email

[cerberusalert]

With it being weekend your report probably hasn't been looked at by a 'human' yet, if you don't hear anything by Mon/Tues give them a ring.

[andrew1402]

thanks i'll keep you guys posted on what happens

[andrew1402]

guys we've reported this to action fraud but no crime number due to not losing money they don't give a crime number

 

im thinking of writing a strong letter to them saying this is not our debt and it's been reported as identity theft with copies of our marriage certificate,tenancy agreement also her crb as proof of this fraud

 

if they don't close it an unenforceable or something we'll report them to OFT for not complying with the 12 day terms of agreement of copy of original agreement with littlewoods, choice

 

what do you guys think?

is this the right move next?

Recorded ofcourse

 

do you think this letter to them will be ok

 

Don't know what to do next

,do i send a letter with proof but i don't know what to write can i report them on something

is there a letter template for this i can use or what need help with this please

 

they getting on my nerves what will get them off our backs?.

 

urgent help help here please

[LostAtSea]

Andrew, please calm down.

 

You're in the right place doing the right thing.

You can write to lowell's at your leisure or just ignore if you prefer.

 

They have no power to compel you to do anything.

 

Just about every CAG member has been through what your going through and have felt the fear and anxiety that your feeling right now.

 

What we've come to understand is that if you get over that fear you see debt collectors for what they really are, NOTHING!

 

Now get back to doing something that matters like planning for the festive holidays

[silverfox1961]

Hi

There isn't a dedicated template letter as such but you can look at some in the library to give you some ideas of how to form the letter.

 

DO NOT worry about DCAs. They have no power. If they were stupid enough to try this through the courts, I suspect they would get a severe slapping.

 

Report them to Trading Standards and the OFT as they are breaking the debt collection guidance.

[andrew1402]

how are they breaking the debt collection guidance? so i can report them im a noob at this sort of thing the law in debt collection

[silverfox1961]

The debt cpllection guidance states that a DCA must be sure that the debtor they are chasing is the right one. You have told them that this is fraud using your name. They should investigate instead of chasing.

This is the guidance

 

 

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/OFT664Rev.pdf

 

Have you tried to report this via actionfraud?

[silverfox1961]

The debt cpllection guidance states that a DCA must be sure that the debtor they are chasing is the right one. You have told them that this is fraud using your name. They should investigate instead of chasing.

This is the guidance

 

 

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/OFT664Rev.pdf

 

Have you tried to report this via actionfraud?

[andrew1402]

UPDATE

these guys never give up(LOWELL)

they have sent yet another letter dated 12th December

we have Sent letter to them previous 5th of December with copies of CRB,MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE,AND TENANCY AGREEMENT recorded

got letter back today with certificate of disclaimer

 

Q1 have you had any documents stolen:

lost:YES/NO STOLEN:YES/NO NO

WHERE:WHEN:

 

Q2 WHAT DOCUMENTS WERE LOST/STOLEN:none

 

Q3 UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES WERE THEY LOST/STOLEN e.g burglary/car theft:none

 

Q4 DID YOU REPORT IT TO POLICE YES/NO

IF NO WHY

IF NO DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN LOST/STOLEN:

 

Q5 IS THIS THE FIRST INSTANCE OF POTENTIAL ID THEFT TAKING PLACE THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF?

 

Q6 DID YOU REPORT THE MATTER TO THE POLICE YES/NO

IF NO,WHY

 

Q7 CRIME REFERENCENUMBER/INCIDENT NUMBER:NONE

 

Q8 POLICE STATIONAND OFFICER DETAILS WHERE INCIDENT REPORTED TO:

 

Q9 ANY OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION :

I UNDERSIGNED HEREBY DECLARE THAT I HAVE NEVER ENTERED INTO ANY AGREEMENT WITH Shop Direct WITH ABOVE ACCOUNT NUMBERS.

 

I CERTIFY THAT I WILL TESTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS CORRECT IN ANY LEGAL ACTION BROUGHT AS A RESULT OF LOWELL GROUPS INVESTIGATION.

 

FURTHER MORE,I AGREE THAT THIS DOCUMENT CAN BE USED ,IF NECESSARY,IN EVIDENCE IF ANY PROCEEDINGS ARE BROUGHT IN RESPECT OF THE CASE.

 

SIGNED DATE

Thats what my wife got

she didn't report to the police she reported it to ActionFraud no crime reference due to nothing stolen or money

 

should she still call local police to see if we could get a reference we don't know how to fill this in so they understand.

 

PLEASE HELP ACCOUNT ON HOLD FOR 21 DAYS FROM 12TH PENDING THIS INFORMATION

[knigget]

1, Don't sign anything you Don't understand or can incriminate you or admit anything to these people, they are trying it on mate..after you have informed them that the Alleged debt is statute barred they can no longer chase about after it. It is up to them to prove that you owe them anything, not for you to prove you don't..relax enjoy Christmas and don't worry..They can't come and smash your door in and start taking your things.

 

2, if you believe that someone has taken out a Loan in your Name with out your knowledge or has tried to use your Identity to obtain anything without your knowledge or Consent its is Fraud plain and simple, Phone the Police and inform them of the situation they will either ask you to make a statement or give you a crime number to inform Lowells that they are investigating the matter.

 

3, Most important... RELAX..Lowells have as much authority over you as a street sweeper, they have no powers of entry to your property with out your permission, they Obviously are trying it on, chancing that you will be scared into complying with their requests, which is all they are or can be(requests).

 

Please remember. Debt is a Civil matter it is Not a criminal Offence to be in debt and as long as you remain honourable when you are dealing with these Thugs you will be fine. Send them a letter informing them that any implied right of access to your property is withdrawn, that will stop any chance of Unlawful door-knockers.

 

Let us know how you get on but PLEASE don't worry about these bullies..

 

All the very Best ...Kniggs.

[andrew1402]

I understand what your saying but it's not statue barred it was apparently 2009 november 18th please read my post i want this matter closed for my wife shes worrying about it help with the letter would help it's a certify of disclaimer