HFC debt - lowells changed default date - **WON+£100 compo**

[DickyRobbo44]

I'm going to send the standard SB letter with the addition of,

 

Further to this, the default you have placed on my credit file was over 4 years after the default notice was sent and the default date recorded on my credit file as 30/11/2011. This is entirely inaccurate information and I refer you to the ICO guidelines below;

 

4. If you fall into arrears on your account, or you do not keep to the

revised terms of an arrangement, a default may be recorded to

show that the relationship has broken down.

 

As a general guide, this may occur when you are 3 months in arrears,

and normally by the time you are 6 months in arrears.

 

 

I require the unlawful default removing from my credit file or I will be forced to inform the ICO and begin legal proceedings.

 

Is that worded ok?

[DickyRobbo44]

I never received a response from my SB letter. What's my next move?

[dx100uk]

prob because the ICO guidance has since changed

[DickyRobbo44]

So what does that mean? What can I do?

 

Data that is reported on your credit file must be fair, accurate,

consistent, complete and up to date.

 

Its not accurate or fair.

[dx100uk]

why not have a chat with the ico

dx

[DickyRobbo44]

Ok I have issued all my info to the ICO to show the debt is statuate barred and the default was placed unfairly years after the default. How long does this process take? Is there anything I can send to Lowell to spend up the default removal?

[citizenB]

Ok I have issued all my info to the ICO to show the debt is statuate barred and the default was placed unfairly years after the default. How long does this process take? Is there anything I can send to Lowell to spend up the default removal?

 

Sadly it will take as long as it takes. Now you have sent the information to the Information COmmissioner it is in their hands.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Ok I have issued all my info to the ICO to show the debt is statuate barred and the default was placed unfairly years after the default. How long does this process take? Is there anything I can send to Lowell to spend up the default removal?

 

 

The ICO can take quite a while as it will have to investigate your claims 6 - 8 weeks may be longer

[DickyRobbo44]

Hi Guys,

 

This has been rumbling on for a while and forgot about it but now I'm determined to resolve this.

 

I took about a credit agreement for a TV from PC world on 27/12/2006.

I ran into financial difficulty and stopped paying on 27/11/2007.

I have not made another payment since.

 

Now the issue comes when I look at my credit file, it is on there,

defaulted by Lowell who the debt was sold but the default date is 30/11/2011.

 

So I raised a request with my credit file agency to query the default.

 

 

 

 

The response I got from Lowell read;

 

"HFC Bank Ltd have checked their records and have confirmed that the default notice was sent out on the 11/11/2008.

They state that if you do not respond within 90 days then it is registered at the bureau."

 

So in my eyes the default should have been around 6 months after that date?

I have all of this info via an SAR request,

sent the SB letter to Lowell but received no response.

 

 

What's my next step?

Follow up letter?

 

 

Threaten court action?

 

 

I have contacted the ICO but that seems like its going to take a long time to even get the facts from me.

 

Any help would be appreciated, the debt is 100% SB but its the default that I need to address.

[renegadeimp]

Lowell are known for changing dates

 

however make sure its the default date and not last updated.

 

Regarding SB it starts from your last payment and written acknowledgement of the debt.

 

If you think its SB and can prove it,

 

then its an absolute defence and Lowell's need to prove otherwise.

 

Keep an eye in case they say a small payment was made in 2010 or 2012. Normally. May or november

[DickyRobbo44]

I have an SAR which list all transactions from HFC,

 

do I need to SAR Lowell as well in case I did make a payment?

 

I sent the SB letter but got no response from it.

 

Shall I send a follow up?

[dx100uk]

old and new threads merged for history

please keep to one thread per debt

 

did you contact them all that time ago and ask

or did you leave it

 

no good sar'ing a dca wont help

 

dx

[DickyRobbo44]

Contacted Lowell and ICO in this thread. ICO took months to get back to me and asked for a load of information most of which I had already sent.

[dx100uk]

and so what happened when you sent these to the ICO?

 

 

dx

[DickyRobbo44]

I didnt,

 

just hought it would be a waste of time as I had already sent the information they requested it just seemed a fob off type of response.

 

I will send it all in the next few days

 

I was just hoping in terms of Lowell there was something I could do from that end to get them to remove the default.

[dx100uk]

I doubt the default marker was placed by lowells

 

it would have been HFC before the sale I bet.

 

what was the sale date of the Notice of assignment date to lowells?

 

there could be light if the ICO agree you made the complaint before the 'change ' in the guidelines.

 

though I've not seen them do this yet.

 

dx

[DickyRobbo44]

I cant find the date Lowell bought the debt.

 

Is it worth sending a SB letter to HFC?

 

How have the guidelines changed?

 

HFC may have placed the default but can they do it 4 years after stating they would?

[dx100uk]

ref post 53

 

 

dx

[DickyRobbo44]

In the SB i also added the statement below in relation to adding a default to my file

 

"As a general guide, this may occur when you are 3 months in arrears, and normally by the

time you are 6 months in arrears"

 

So the guideline is 6 months and mine was 4 years. Is there any joy in calling the ICO or does it have to be dealt with in writing?

[dx100uk]

there used to be a line that said they can make the defaulter put it right

 

that's now been removed

 

you did not get a complaint into the ICO before 1/1/2014

so I think its slim.

 

dx

[DickyRobbo44]

Ok guys, decided to email directly and not use a template when contacting Lowell, got the following back. Too good to be true????

 

Dear (removed)

 

Lowell Complaint Reference: removed

Lowell Reference: removed

Original Creditor: HFC Bank Ltd

 

Thank you for your email dated 4 March 2015 to Mr James Cornell, Chief Executive Officer. I have noted your comments and will respond on behalf of Mr Cornell.

 

Summary of your Complaint

 

You state that the default date for the account is incorrect, as it is should now be subject to Section (5) of the Limitation Act 1980 and you have evidence to support this. Therefore you ask that Lowell stop any legal action to recover this debt and supply evidence that the debt is valid.

 

You are unhappy that we have not responded to your complaint previously regarding the default registered for the above account.

 

Our Findings

 

I was very concerned to learn that the default date for this account may be reported incorrectly and that you had not received a response to your previous complaint regarding this matter.

 

For background information, Lowell Portfolio I Ltd is a specialist debt purchasing company. We purchase customer accounts from various companies and then work with each customer to build realistic and affordable repayment arrangements. In this case, we purchased the account from HFC Bank Ltd on 23 December 2011 and our letter of assignment was sent to you advising you of this. Please be aware that we purchased the above account in good faith believing it to be valid and due.

 

Our records show that this account was opened at PC World on 27 December 2006. The last payment date was 27 November 2007 and HFC Bank Ltd registered the default on 30 November 2011. Once we became the legal owners of the account we were required under the Data Protection Act 1998 to update the default entry to our name.

 

In view of your comments and the above information, it appears that this account is now subject to Section (5) of the Limitation Act 1980 and as such I have requested that the account is returned to us from our outsource agents Fredrickson International Ltd. I can confirm that we will take no further action to recover this debt and once the account is returned I will arrange for it to be closed. In the meantime I have requested for the default to be removed from your credit file. Please allow up to five working days for this administrative process to take place.

 

In regards to your comment that your previous complaint had not been answered, I can see that we disputed the default information with HFC Bank Ltd in February 2014, following a query received through the credit reference agency Callcredit, and a response was sent to you on 20 March 2014. In this response we confirmed that HFC Bank Ltd had issued the default notice to you on 11 November 2008, and had given you 90 days to respond before the default would be registered. However, in view of this information, we did not take the necessary steps to correct the date of the default on your credit file and I apologise for this.

 

Whilst I am satisfied that only since 11 February 2015 has the account become subject to Section (5) of the Limitation Act 1980, I appreciate that we missed the opportunity to correct the reporting of the default date.

 

On this basis, I feel it appropriate to make a payment to you in recognition of your complaint and for any distress or inconvenience this may have caused. I would like to make a payment to you of £100 in full and final resolution of your complaint. I believe this is fair and reasonable, and if you feel able to accept my offer, please advise me by return email so that I can arrange payment.

 

I hope that this response concludes the matter to your satisfaction. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me on the telephone number 0800 5420 058 or reply to this email.

 

The Financial Ombudsman Service provides a dispute resolution service to assist customers who feel their complaint remains unresolved. You have a right to use this service for up to six months from the date of this letter. For more information please visit the Financial Ombudsman’s website using the following hyperlink: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/consumer-leaflet.htm.

 

Should you require a paper copy of this leaflet, please let us know and we will arrange to send one to you.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Annie Cunningham

Customer Relations Officer

complaintsresolution@lowellgroup.co.uk

0800 542 0058

[dx100uk]

blimey are Lowell feeling ok..........

 

that's great news.

 

don't like this bit though

 

Please be aware that we purchased the above account in good faith believing it to be valid and due.

 

so until someone complains they make no checks and their PC spews out letters and fleeces people

 

they should be made to check every debt

before they are eve allowed to chase anyone.

 

disgusting industry

[DickyRobbo44]

Completely agree with the industry, for a few years I've been back and forth with this account. Can someone confirm to me how I should word the reply? I will gladly except as settlement but was thinking of putting the following as stipulations;

 

1. The default is removed

2. A copy of the email is sent in writing (do i need it?)

 

Anything else?

 

The £100 makes me curious, is it because I likely have PPI to claim? The debt is only £500 so cant think it would be worth chasing.

[dx100uk]

looks like the default is being removed to me

 

 

write back thanking them and accepting the £100

[this will be nowt to do with PPI, not their bag]

 

 

asking that they confirm that the default will be removed

and thus the whole account will no longer show

as the default is now passed 6yrs and under ICO rules

the account should not be showing

 

 

dx

[DickyRobbo44]

I just wrote

Thanks again for the response. After consideration of your response and the points you made, I have decided to accept your offer outlined in the email you sent. I only request that it is also put in writing to me for my records. To confirm;

 

1. Lowell will take no further action to recover this debt and the account will be closed

2. The default will be removed from my credit file

3. A payment to me in recognition of my complaint and for any distress or inconvenience this may have caused of £100 in full and final resolution of my complaint.

 

To be honest I would have been over the moon with the default gone let alone £100. Its just intriguing as I didn't ask for compensation and companies like Lowell will only pay if they have to. I now offically have no defaults, no CCJ's not even a late payment once this goes through! Considering 2 years ago I had 5 defaults and a CCJ and constant threats its a big step for me and thanks to everyone on this forum.