Topic: Can they make me pay ?

[Foldart]

Hello, I have tried searching this page but for some reason it will not let me.

I have asked my question to others elsewere but the ideas and suggestions have only made me more confused.

A company called Lowell's say they purchased a debt from TalkTalk that they say is mine. While I do not think I owe this debt I have not disputed it.

They have my name etc correct but the amount demanded is only a total.

I have asked them for a breakdown of this total but to date they have not done so.

I have made a Subject of Access's request to TalkTalk to see what information they have on file for me and am awaiting a reply.

So if they Lowell's are unable to give me a breakdown of what they say I owe can they still demand payment for the amount without me being able to challenge them by me seeing details of what is alleged.

Some of the information I have received advised that Lowell's are not bailiffs but are a company who purchase debts and have little powers to collect the debt but I find this advice strange.

If I ignored any correspondence from Lowell's would they eventually go away or could they for example take me to court. Very nervous about doing this.

If as I suspect my subject of access request from TalkTalk shows the alleged debt as a total and they do not have a breakdown of what this total is can I tell Lowell's to Go away or could they still try to make me pay.

If there was a breakdown of the alleged debt can I still tell Lowell's to Go away ?. And if I did what would or could Lowell's do ?.

Can Lowell's take me to court if I ignored any further correspondence from them.

So my main question is if Lowell's cannot give me a breakdown of the alledged debt and only a total do I have to pay ?.

All comments, ideas and suggestions gratefully received.
Very many thanks.

[Scrooge]

Hi, I don't think they necessarily need to give you a breakdown if they purchased the debt. How much is this debt? Is it £100 or £1000? Lowell's are a debt collection agency. I dealt with them 10 years ago and had more dealings with them a year or 2 ago. Their tactics seem to have changed over the years, as with many collection agencies I think. Previous tactics used to be threatening letters and nuisance phone calls. Nowadays they seem much more willing to accept what you can actually afford as repayments. If you write to them detailing your income & expenditure, they will probably accept what you can afford to repay even if it's only a few pounds a month. If you do nothing they won't go away, but if you set up an agreed repayment plan they probably won't bother you if you stick to it.


When you do your expenditure you can include a lot of things outwith food, rent, mortgage, council tax etc. IE: fares to work, motoring expenses, dental expenses, clothing expenses, pet food, vet fees, insurance policy costs, etc etc.

[Foldart]

Hi Scrooge,


Many thanks for the reply.


They are claiming nearly £750.


You say you don't think they necessarily need to give you a breakdown but surely them not doing so gives me no opportunity to contest the debt.

So is it possible for anyone to confirm if they have to give a breakdown of the alledged debt and not just a total to enforce.


Many thanks,

[Scrooge]

The debt of £750 has been sold to Lowell's. It's no longer anything to do with Talk Talk. As they have bought the debt of £750, I doubt they are under any legal obligation to provide a breakdown. I'm unsure what you mean by you don't think you owe the debt? If you do owe it, Talk Talk will have been sending you demands for payment for months before they would sell the debt to a collector. The reason it takes months is because creditors try to avoid selling debts because companies like Lowell's buy the debt for peanuts. In your case, they probably bought your debt for under £100, most probably even less. If you don't think you owe the debt for some reason then you will have to find out why you owe it, but I'm unsure why you didn't do that before it was passed to a collection agency? Have Talk Talk been unable to contact you to discuss the debt for some reason?


With regard to them being unable to collect the debt, it's not quite as simple as that. They can't get blood out of a stone. If your income and expenditure shows you are only able to pay £1 a week, they're not going to take you to Court to try and get more because the Court will just look at your I & E and give you time to pay what you can afford. However, if your I&E shows you have an income surplus each month, the Court could order you to pay more.