Lowell. I hate these people

[malcindebt]

Got a letter from Lowell in November last year regarding an old Barclaycard debt, so used the advice on here and sent a CA request.

 

They received this on 21/11/06, heard nothing from them since, until today.

 

They have sent the original application form which I have signed dated 05/10/1984.

 

I have not had a Barclaycard for about 19 years, never heard anything from Barclaycard in about the same time.

 

What letter do I send to them. Does the fact that they have now sent the agreement mean I'm now liable for this 'debt'?

 

Please help.

[payingonlyencouragesthem]

"They have sent the original application form which I have signed dated 05/10/1984."

 

Frightening record keeping but thankfully not good enough. If the debt has not been acknowledged by you within the last 6 years it is Statute Barred and cannot be enforced. Ignore them.

[malcindebt]

I was thinking of sending this

 

 

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO YOUR COMPANY OR YOUR CLIENT.

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Acc/Ref No XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

You have contacted us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by ourselves.

 

We would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 “an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.”

 

We would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that “it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period”.

 

The last correspondence regarding this agreement was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that “continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970”.

 

Also on 22/11/06 you received a letter and a £1 cheque from me by recorded signed for delivery. The letter was dated 17/11/06. The cheque was a statutory payment for supply of these documents under the CCA 1974 and has been cashed.

 

The letter specifically advised you that you have a legal obligation whether you are the original creditor or not to supply certain documents under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Failure to supply these documents within the timescales set out in the CCA 1974 is a criminal offence.

 

Lowell Financial Ltd had until 8th December 2006 to supply the original executed agreement. As your company has failed to supply the agreement within 12 working days of the offence, as per the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77-s.79) Lowell Financial Ltd defaulted and could no longer collect or attempt to collect on this alleged debt unless the original agreement was supplied within 1 calendar month of the date of default. Attempting to do so is a criminal offence under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The agreement was not supplied before 8th January 2007, you have therefore committed a criminal offence. Notice of this offence has been passed to the Trading Standards, and The Information Commissioners Office.

 

In addition to the above requested document your obligation also extended to supplying:

 

a) Full statement of account including alleged payments and charges. NOT RECEIVED

 

b) Deed of assignment of alleged debt. - NOT RECIEVED

 

c) Express written authorisation that Lowell Financial Ltd can process my personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998. - NOT RECEIVED

 

 

Lowell Financial Ltd has failed to supply any of these documents.

 

We await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed and that no further contact will be made concerning the above account after that last letter.

 

We look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

 

 

Mr A N Other

 

Please feel free to pull it apart.

[djweeble]

b) Deed of assignment of alleged debt. - NOT RECIEVED

 

I'd remove that line, they are under no obligation to supply you with it.

 

However, they would have to present it to the court, if they ever get that far with the collection, which they won't if you stick to your guns

[runtothehills]

I had the same letter from Lowell claiming they had bought my account from Barclaycard in Nov 2006. I knew I did not owe Barclaycard any money and pursued Barclaycard. Apparently, mine and other accounts were mistakingly sold to Lowell and other debt collecting agencies. Barclaycard are now chasing Lowell to return the documentation back to Barclaycard and to stop harrassing me.

 

Lowell do not take a blind bit of notice to the letters you send to them. I would just send the letter stating you don't acknowledge the debt and ignore any of their (and you will get them) letters/phone calls pressurising you to make a payment.

 

Get in touch with Barclaycard 0151 549 7621 and check to see if your account is one of the ones they sold by mistake. Get them to sort out their mess!

[lookinforinfo]

The original agreement has to be signed by you and countersigned by them

to be considered an executed agreement. Also if there is a reference to any other documents in the contract [the T&Cs for example] they must supply a copy of those too.

 

However if you have not yet sent the letter of complaint to TS about their

CCA lack of compliance, it is probably better if you don't. As it stands, they

are unlikely to pursue you for the debt because they now require a Court Order. to get it, they will first have to admit the their criminal offence and

face a hefty fine. If you force their hand by going to TS, once they have paid the fine they can then apply to the Court to restart your debt. At the

moment you have a stand off. So unless you are sure that by the time your

unlawful charges are recovered that your debt to Lowell will either cease to exist or be so small that you would happily pay it in order to see them squirm in Court [it is very tempting] it is maybe as well to let things stand.

 

Any failure with Data Protection compliance however, and off to the Information Commissioners Office

whenever you want.

 

PS DJweeble is perfectly correct about the deed of assigment.

[malcindebt]

The original agreement has to be signed by you and countersigned by them

to be considered an executed agreement. Also if there is a reference to any other documents in the contract [the T&Cs for example] they must supply a copy of those too.

All they have sent is a copy of the application form signed by me, does this constitute an agreement?

 

...........

So unless you are sure that by the time your unlawful charges are recovered that your debt to Lowell will either cease to exist or be so small that you would happily pay it in order to see them squirm in Court [it is very tempting] it is maybe as well to let things stand.

Threre are no charges to claim back, as I say, before this letter from Lowell it must be 19/20 years since I last heard from Barclaycard, and it's not because I've moved house or anything as I've lived in this house since 1982. So any charges would be statute barred.

 

PS DJweeble is perfectly correct about the deed of assigment.

OK, will amend the letter to remove this, although it was requested in the CCA I sent.

 

Thanks

[lookinforinfo]

Malc, it is so long since I last applied for a credit card that I have forgotten

how it starts. You seem to have the application form rather than the actual

agreement which requires signatures from yourself and the company to be

accepted as an executed agreement. If anyone knows that what I am saying is wrong, please let me know.

 

As the debt is that old, do you know the last time you paid anything off the

debt? Do you think it could be statute barred-ie no movement or acknowledgement of the debt in the past six years? If that is the case, then

the agreement question is irrelevant.

 

There is no mention of the deed of assignment on the forums official CCA

request, though I believe that some members have posted alternative

requests that do ask for the deed of assignment.

[malcindebt]

Malc, it is so long since I last applied for a credit card that I have forgotten

how it starts. You seem to have the application form rather than the actual

agreement which requires signatures from yourself and the company to be

accepted as an executed agreement. If anyone knows that what I am saying is wrong, please let me know.

 

As the debt is that old, do you know the last time you paid anything off the

debt? Do you think it could be statute barred-ie no movement or acknowledgement of the debt in the past six years? If that is the case, then

the agreement question is irrelevant.

 

There is no mention of the deed of assignment on the forums official CCA

request, though I believe that some members have posted alternative

requests that do ask for the deed of assignment.

 

It is the application I have received. There is no mention on it of the CCA 1974. It is signed only by me and my wife. I acknowledge that I did have a Barclay card, but like I said, it must be at least 19 years ago since I (thought) I had paid it off/ corresponded with them/ paid any money to them.

[DanP1973]

If they havent spoken to you about the alleged amount oustanding for close to 20yrs I'd just ignore them mate. They'll get laughed out of court