Advantis Credit letter, how to respond?

[maria1983]

Hi all, thanks for reading. I would be very grateful for any advice on the following -

 

This morning I received a letter from Advantis Credit Ltd advising that they were acting on behalf of their client Lowell

and were seeking to recover a debt of £961.14 from me.

 

I have a vague idea that this may be a debt from more than 6 years ago although to be honest I cannot remember exactly when it was from.

 

Should I send a statued barred? letter or a request for the original credit agreement first?

 

I honestly cannot remember exactly what this debt is for?!

 

Thanks in advance:-D

[renegadeimp]

Dear sirs,

 

Bog off.

 

Sincerly.

 

 

 

I'm semi joking . Since they are acting on behalf of someone who bought a defunct debt, they have no rights, so can be told to go jump off a cliff.

 

Only deal with lowell who own the debt. The first thing you need to do is SAR them or get them to prove that a debt actually exists.

 

Again, dont correspond with advantis, deal with lowells. Once you get the info from them, SAR the original creditor. As you said, your debt might be SB'd, but you are still going to need proof of it. Just remember to make sure you state in any letters "alleged debt/account" and " i have no knowledge of any debt owed to you".

 

It is up to THEM to prove you owe anything at all. Not for you to prove you dont. Also, while the alleged debt/account is in dispute, OFT guidelines state that they must cease any attempts at collection until such a time the debt is proven.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi Welcome to Cag.

 

Have you made any payment or any written acknowledgment ot this debt in the last 6 years?

What do you think this debt might be?

 

Have you checked you credit reference files yet, if not please do so as soon as you can Equifax & Experian have free 30 day free trials there is also Noddle (Call Credit) which is free but is not always reliable or upto date imo.

 

You need to see if there is any debt showing which matches what is being chased.

 

Yes a CCA request is a good idea, there is a £1 statutory fee payable, they have 12+2 working days to comply, there is a template in the CAG library for you to use, this should be addressed to the Compliance Manager and sent by recorded delivery.

[maria1983]

Hi

 

Thanks so much for the quick replies!

 

I have just ordered my credit files to check whats on them, i hope that they haven't registered anything against me. I was getting a lot of answerphone messages, emails and texts from Lowell prior to this but I just ignored them to be honest. I have no idea how they got my contact details! They were referring to letters they had sent me but as I had moved I didn't know what they were talking about and when they called my mobile I refused to give them my new address so I guess they tracked me down via the electorol roll.

 

With regards to the actual debt, i think it is an overdraft from Natwest. To cut a long story short, I worked for Natwest and when I left i emptied my account and cancelled the overdraft and opened a new one elsewhere. Natwest said they had overpaid me in my last wage which i disputed and I remember at the time HR said they would deduct it from my Natwest account a month later. I told them where to go but i'm guessing that they did and since there was no overdraft facility most of it will have been unauthorised charges. That was in 2007 and I have never paid or acknowledged the debt since then. The reason I was unsure if it was this at first is because there was also a disputed bill with Vodafone for a similar amount which Vodafone said was sorted out. I can't remember if they sent me a letter to confirm at the time, my life was pretty chaotic to be honest so they may not have done! My fault I guess for burying my head in the sand and assuming that it would all be resolved if I ignored it! I'm pleased to say that i now live absolutley credit free and only buy what I can afford so I haven't even applied for credit in the last 5 years!

 

I will send a letter to Lowell directly and ask them to provide proof of the debt first and also check my credit file and write to anyone else on their that i dont recognise. If they come back and it is over the 6 year limit I will send the statute barred letter.... Wish me luck!

 

Thanks again

[renegadeimp]

Make sure you specifically state that you do not acknowledge any debt to them, and when referring to any accounts, make sure to say "alleged debt" or "alleged account". Also remember that some DCA's will lie through their teeth and claim a payment was made a few years ago, therefore resetting the SB time limit.

 

The easiest way to find out if you do actually owe them anything at all is check your Credit reports. If its not listed on there, chances are its SB. If it is listed, it will tell you the amount and owner. Then you can contest or enquire about it.

 

Again, the onus is on THEM to prove you owe any debt. Not for you to prove you dont. The latter is what these 2 DCA's like to make people think is wrong.

[ims21]

 

Only deal with lowell who own the debt. The first thing you need to do is SAR them or get them to prove that a debt actually exists.

 

 

This is probably a typo....I think he means CCA rather than SAR to Lowell. SAR to Lowell won't produce anything of value.

[renegadeimp]

This is probably a typo....I think he means CCA rather than SAR to Lowell. SAR to Lowell won't produce anything of value.

 

Yea i got the two mixed up.

[ims21]

Yea i got the two mixed up.

 

No probs.....easily done

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi

 

Thanks so much for the quick replies!

 

The reason I was unsure if it was this at first is because there was also a disputed bill with Vodafone for a similar amount which Vodafone said was sorted out. I can't remember if they sent me a letter to confirm at the time, my life was pretty chaotic to be honest so they may not have done! My fault I guess for burying my head in the sand and assuming that it would all be resolved if I ignored it! I'm pleased to say that i now live absolutley credit free and only buy what I can afford so I haven't even applied for credit in the last 5 years!

 

I will send a letter to Lowell directly and ask them to provide proof of the debt first and also check my credit file and write to anyone else on their that i dont recognise. If they come back and it is over the 6 year limit I will send the statute barred letter.... Wish me luck!

 

Thanks again

 

Hi maria1983,

 

If you'd like me to ensure that matters with us were resolved you're welcome to email me with the relevant details via the Contact us form here and quote the code WRT135 - CAG Forum in the subject line.

 

Once sent you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. To ensure that it reaches me could you update the thread with this and I'll get back to you as soon as possible?

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK