Complete Novice dealing with Lowell, PRA & Intrum.

[pablo1411]

Hi Folks,

Hoping I can get a little advice or direction. Brief background, I was managing a few credit cards okay up until early 2018: then my mum was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease & given less than a year to live. Single dad at the time & my mum was the only mother figure my teenage daughter had really ever known. My mental health went nose dived: I effectively went into self destruct, developing an online gambling addiction which maxed out all of my credit cards. I took out a £12,000 loan & £3000 credit card with Creation Finance to try & wrestle back some control to pay off the other cards but I just maxed them out again - I ran up £40,000 gambling debt in just 12 months.
In 2019 I defaulted on all of my cards & loan, I reached out to Gamstop for help with my addiction, which now is under control & although mental health still has it's challenges, there is light at the end of the tunnel on that side of things. I've been on a DMP through Stepchange since November 2019, in hindsight, perhaps I should have gone bankrupt back then, but the shame of the gambling addiction prevented me going through that, even now it is something I've not been able to share with family or friends.

I'm a council tenant looking to but my home once the defaults come of my credit file at the beginning of 2026, I'm just looking for advice on the debts listed below, weather I should CCA them no or leave it a little longer, past the dates they come off my credit file & the debts are a little older.

Type of account - Barclaycard credit card
Date commenced - 4/6/15
Approx balance - £2400
Date last paid - June 2019
Default date - 16/9/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - default
Account owner - PRA Group (UK) Ltd.
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 1/3/23 - Annual summary

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender. (May 23)



Type of account - Barclaycard credit card
Date commenced - 3/2/2014
Approx balance - £700
Date last paid - June 2019
Default date - 16/9/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - default
Account owner - PRA Group (UK) Ltd.
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 1/3/23 - Annual summary

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender. (May 23)



Type of account - MBNA credit card
Date commenced - 20/6/16
Approx balance - £3000
Date last paid - July 2019
Default date - 19/11/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019 - Tomlin order obtained by PRA Group 10/2/21
Status - default
Account owner - PRA Group (UK) Ltd.
Current status: DMP - Tomlin Order obtained by PRA 10/2/21
Last contact: 10/21 - Copy of Tomlin order via Email

CCA Request sent regarding the debt 11/20, Received back from PRA was Reconstituted agreement with T's & C's, Notice of Default, Notice of Assignment & Statements. PRA then proceeded with county court action & offered Tomlin agreement as alternative to CCJ - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender. (May 23)


Type of account - MBNA credit card
Date commenced - 54/4/2017
Approx balance - £3000
Date last paid - JULY 2019
Default date - 17/12/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - default
Account owner - PRA Group (UK) Ltd.
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 22/11/23 - Annual summary

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender. (May 23)



Type of account - Capital One credit card
Date commenced - 16/9/09
Approx balance - £2800
Date last paid - June 2019
Default date - 16/9/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - default
Account owner - Capital One
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 29/05/20 - generic letter asking me to clear the outstanding balance - can't recall having any correspondence since.

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender.



Type of account - Tesco credit card
Date commenced - 24/8/16
Approx balance - £3500
Date last paid - July 2019
Default date - 10/10/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - default
Account owner - Intrum UK Finance Ltd.
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 5/7/23 - Annual Statement (Offer of 60% discount received every few months)

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender. (May 23) *I can still log in to the Tesco account for this card & still being offered cash advances*


Type of account - Tesco credit card
Date commenced - 30/11/2017
Approx balance - £2500
Date last paid - July 2019
Default date - 16/10/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - default
Account owner - Intrum UK Finance Ltd.
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 5/7/23 - Annual Statement (Offer of 60% discount received every few months)

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender. (May 23) *I can still log in to the Tesco account for this card & still being offered cash advances*



Type of account - Creation credit card
Date commenced - 26/10/2018
Approx balance - £3000
Date last paid - Aug 2019
Default date - No Default has been listed, Despite debt being sold to Lowell Portfolio. FCA advised that the account should have default to be sold on.
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - Unknown
Account owner - Lowell Portfolio Ltd
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 3/7/23 - Notice of sum of arrears

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation May 23 - No decision made due to Creation Finance failing to send any relevant information or respond to charge.
Complaint made to FCA regarding Lowell Portfolio marking credit file with continuous 6-month late payment markers & refusing to to amend credit file unless original contractual payments made. Lowell Portfolio ceased reporting on my credit file as of May 23, all information relating to the debt has since been removed. Lowell Portfolio continue to be paid by my DMP & debt is still live on the Lowell Portfolio web portal.


Type of account - Creation Unsecured Loan
Date commenced - 19/10/2018
Approx balance - £9000
Date last paid - Aug 2019
Default date - 31/3/20
Status - Default
Account owner - Lowell Portfolio Ltd
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 22/10/21 - Notification of DMP payments being received but denial of agreed payment agreement in place with Lowell Portfolio (asking me to get in touch & make payment arrangement)

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation May 23 - Complaint upheld & all interest & charges refunded against outstanding balance. Confirmation email from Creation received 6/23 in relation to complaint - no further correspondence received since.
Complaint made to FCA regarding Lowell Portfolio marking credit file with continuous 6-month late payment markers & refusing to to amend credit file unless original contractual payments made. Lowell Portfolio ceased reporting on my credit file as of May 23, all information relating to the debt has since been removed. Lowell Portfolio continue to be paid by my DMP & debt is still live on the Lowell Portfolio web portal.

Hope all of the above is legible, apologies for the essay.

I'm just over a couple of years away from these dropping off my credit file, my credit score is improving hugely since Lowell stopped reporting & I'm a little concerned that if I start firing off CCA requests i might poke the bear and lose 4 years of progress.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Night Monkey]

Hi Pablo, welcome.

I won't offer any direct advice but I was with StepChange until I decided to self-manage and ultimately stopped paying; that may or may not be a choice for you.

You may find it helpful in the future if you drop each of the debts into their own thread, as time goes on that will make the history much easier to read and the updates manageable.

Good luck, you're in the right place and help will be along soon.

[pablo1411]

Thanks Night Monkey,

Something like below for each debt, keeping them separate & updating as and when?


Type of account - Barclaycard credit card
Date commenced - 4/6/15
Approx balance - £2565
Date last paid - June 2019
Default date - 16/9/2019
Are you on arrangement or not paying - DMP Stepchange since November 2019
Status - default
Account owner - PRA Group (UK) Ltd.
Current status: DMP
Last contact: 1/3/23 - Annual summary

No CCA Request sent regarding the debt - FCA ombudsman irresponsible lending investigation ruled no fault to lender. (May 23)

[Night Monkey]

Something like below for each debt, keeping them separate & updating as and when?

Perfect, getting them separate now will pay dividends in understandability down the line .

[Still Waving]

Hi Pablo, welcome.

I won't offer any direct advice but I was with StepChange until I decided to self-manage and ultimately stopped paying; that may or may not be a choice for you.

You may find it helpful in the future if you drop each of the debts into their own thread, as time goes on that will make the history much easier to read and the updates manageable.

Good luck, you're in the right place and help will be along soon.

Hi

I think Night Monkey meant to say keep each debt in a separate post, rather than thread. Still keep all the debts on one thread.

Something which stands out to me -

You don't say (in round terms) what the total DMP and Tomlin payments are monthly, but you have implied that there will still be debt outstanding when the accounts fall off your credit file in 2026. That being the case, the debt will still have to be serviced. On top of that, you are expecting to be able to raise a deposit for house purchase, and be able to service a mortgage? Also mortgage lenders ask for details of income and monthly outgoings to determine if you can afford a mortgage.

[Night Monkey]

I think Night Monkey meant to say keep each debt in a separate post

Yes! That's exactly what I meant, sorry about that.

[pablo1411]

Hi

I think Night Monkey meant to say keep each debt in a separate post, rather than thread. Still keep all the debts on one thread.

Something which stands out to me -

You don't say (in round terms) what the total DMP and Tomlin payments are monthly, but you have implied that there will still be debt outstanding when the accounts fall off your credit file in 2026. That being the case, the debt will still have to be serviced. On top of that, you are expecting to be able to raise a deposit for house purchase, and be able to service a mortgage? Also mortgage lenders ask for details of income and monthly outgoings to determine if you can afford a mortgage.

Thanks for the response.

DMP monthly payments are £71.00 in total, including £6.77 payment for the Tomlin.

Spoken with a mortgage broker regarding the right to buy my council home, due to my discount being around 50%, a number of lenders will take my discount as a form of deposit. Broker has said that whilst being on a DMP would not stop me getting a right to buy mortgage, it would be better to address my debts before making an application.

I've had one or two suggestions to simply ditch my DMP when they debts drop off my credit file & CCA them all. Deal with the enforceable ones & ignore the unenforceable. The Tomlin order, I know I'm stuck with until it's paid off - I don't know though if PRA can change the amount I have to pay in the future or if it's fixed until it's settled.

I'd be interested if someone could look over what PRA sent through to me originally, to assess if it was indeed enforceable or if I simply got duped into accepting the Tomlin order.

[Still Waving]

I'd be interested if someone could look over what PRA sent through to me originally, to assess if it was indeed enforceable or if I simply got duped into accepting the Tomlin order.

No point in beating yourself up about the Tomlin Order - it's a done deal. It is legally binding on both parties, and is normally filed at court.

I hadn't made the link between your council accommodation and your wanting to buy a house. That does clear up the point - sorry if I appeared intrusive.

Going by the starting dates of your accounts, I would think it likely that the majority are enforceable. Would I be correct in thinking that they were mostly taken out online with a digital signature?

[pablo1411]

No point in beating yourself up about the Tomlin Order - it's a done deal. It is legally binding on both parties, and is normally filed at court.

I hadn't made the link between your council accommodation and your wanting to buy a house. That does clear up the point - sorry if I appeared intrusive.

Going by the starting dates of your accounts, I would think it likely that the majority are enforceable. Would I be correct in thinking that they were mostly taken out online with a digital signature?

Thankfully, the Tomlin order is something that doesn't show up with the CRA's, I can live with paying that for as long as it's around.

Yes, all applications were completed online.

I've seen references to Intrum not being FCA registered, so I'm tempted to stop paying them once the entry drops off my credit file & see what they do from there. Lowell Portfolio are the interesting one, they don't contact me, they no longer report to the CRA's. Judging by the difficulties that the FOS had obtaining information from Creation in relation the the irresponsible lending investigation, I'm wondering if it's worth sending a CCA when the time comes the debt can no longer be reported to the CRA's.

PRA have offered me 50% settlement via email for my other MBNA debt, but only send annual statements for the two Barclaycard debts.

[pablo1411]

Thankfully, the Tomlin order is something that doesn't show up with the CRA's, I can live with paying that for as long as it's around.

Yes, all applications were completed online.

I've seen references to Intrum not being FCA registered, so I'm tempted to stop paying them once the entry drops off my credit file & see what they do from there. Lowell Portfolio are the interesting one, they don't contact me, they no longer report to the CRA's. Judging by the difficulties that the FOS had obtaining information from Creation in relation the the irresponsible lending investigation, I'm wondering if it's worth sending a CCA when the time comes the debt can no longer be reported to the CRA's.

PRA have offered me 50% settlement via email for my other MBNA debt, but only send annual statements for the two Barclaycard debts.

UPDATE:

I really wish I'd have known this forum existed 4 years ago, I've just checked the paperwork for the PRA debt on the Tomlin agreement (PRA MBNA DEBT 1). The address for the claimant is PRA GROUP (UK) LIMITED in Bromley, the FCA website states that they are not an AR since 2017. They were pursuing a CCJ against me, and I was persuaded to accept a Tomlin agreement as an alternative - Should they have been allowed to do this if they were not and AR with FCA?

Also have dug up all of the paperwork on the other PRA (MBNA DEBT 2) Debt. It turns out also sent a CCA for this one in Sept 20 art the same time as the one above, but what I was sent through for both was completely different. I received a letter for Debt 2, advising they regarded the debt as UE, then a couple of weeks later sent another letter enclosing what can only be described as a table of contents/Terms & Conditions.

The response to the CCA for Debt 1 (Tomlin order) contained, Default notice, what looks like an agreement, but print is so small you need a magnifying glass to read it, some statements & typed up letter dated 6 weeks after the CCA request on MBNA headed paper stating the debt had "now been assigned to PRA GROUP (UK Limited"

Questions:

1. Have PRA acted wrongly in any way in regard to how they've obtained the Tomlin Agreement - If so where do I stand?

2. Should I send the agreement for Debt 2 to Niddy to look over to see if it's UE?

TIA.