In September 2022, the debt collector Lowell bought Hoist’s UK business, with over 2 million defaulted accounts.
Most of these debts were loans, credit cards or overdrafts from lenders such as Barclays, Egg, HSBC, Newday and Santander.
Lowell is moving over the Hoist accounts to its system. With so many accounts to be transferred, this is being done in batches.
When yours is switched over, you should be sent a letter from Lowell. The first letters I heard about were in February 2023, and there have been a lot more in March and April.
Contents
What should happen
If this all goes smoothly:
- your account should be moved over to the Lowell system
- if you have a direct debit, that should be changed by Lowell so you do not have to do anything
- if you are making bank transfers yourself or paying by standing order you will need to change to paying a Lowell account
- your credit record should be changed to show that Lowell now own the debt, but the default date should be the same as it was before
- you will get a letter from Lowell with the details including your Lowell reference number.
Not paying? Lowell will want you to start
If you ignore any debt collector, you are likely to be taken to court for a CCJ at some point. Problem debts rarely just disappear.
Your options include:
- making a payment arrangement with Lowell. See How does a payment arrangement work & is one right for you? for details. Do not offer more than you can afford every month;
- offering a token payment or explaining to Lowell that you have priority debts and cannot afford to make any payment at the moment;
- making a settlement offer if you have some spare money. These do NOT mean the default will stay on your credit record for longer, it will still drop off after 6 years. See A Guide to Settlement Offers for details.
- if you have other problem debts it is better to look at your full situation, not try to sort debts out one at a time. Phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
You could also think about:
- asking Lowell to produce the Consumer Credit Act agreement for the debt, see How and when to ask for the CCA;
- whether you could make an affordability complaint to the original lender. If you win that it could reduce or clear the amount owed and improve your credit record.
Can’t afford your current payment arrangement?
If you have been paying Hoist £20 a month, say, this may have been affordable when you set it up a couple of years ago. But now the rising cost of living may mean that you really can’t afford that much.
See this transfer to Lowell as a good point to review the arrangement. You may need to reduce it to £5 a month, or even nothing if your mortgage or rent or energy bills are now much higher.
So talk to Lowell about this. All debt collectors have been told by the regulator that they have to be sympathetic to people in difficulty.
But also think about taking debt advice on your full situation. Lowell may be happy to accept nothing for a while – but it doesn’t actually resolve the debt problem.
Some questions and problems
“Is this legal?”
Yes, it is. You have no right to be consulted over this or to refuse to allow your debt to be sold. The money you previously owed to Hoist you now owe to Lowell.
This sort of sale is pretty common in the debt management world. Hoist itself bought Robinson Way and Compello some years ago.
“I’m still paying Hoist – should I stop?”
You don’t need to do anything unless Lowell tell you to.
The money you are paying to Hoist is not going to get lost, it will still be credited to your debt.
“Lowell has written to me about a debt that I never owed”
This may be some form of “mistrace” where you have been wrongly identified as the person that owes the debt.
You could send Lowell a standard Prove It! letter, but I suggest you add in any helpful other details. For example, “Hoist never contacted me about this alleged debt”, “I have never had any accounts with Santander” or “You say this is a Barclaycard account, but I have had a Barclaycard for more than 10 years and have never had any payment difficulty with it.”
Don’t ignore this, it is better to get it sorted out now rather than in court.
“I can’t make a payment on the Hoist page”
If you haven’t yet had the transfer letter from Lowell, you won’t know your Lowell reference number, so you can’t just pay Lowell.
This may feel worrying, especially if you are making payments after a CCJ. But in practice, Lowell is not going to get aggressive if you miss a payment in this situation.
If you are very concerned, you could email to support@lowellgroup.co.uk explaining your situation.
“I’ve only been contacted about one Hoist account”
This is probably because the accounts are being handled in different batches. Don’t assume one you haven’t heard about isn’t being transferred, or that it has somehow got lost so you can stop paying it.
“Hoist couldn’t produce the CCA in 2019”
If you have had a letter from Hoist saying the debt has been sold to Lowell, you can ignore this.
But if you get a letter from Lowell asking you to set up a payment arrangement, I suggest you reply saying what happened with Hoist. If you have the letter or email from Hoist saying they cannot produce the CC, attach that.
If Lowell persists, send them a new request to produce the CCA.
“Lowell has asked me to pay an old debt but it’s statute barred”
You may assume the debt is statute barred if it has been more than six years since you paid it. But it isn’t always easy to tell, see Statute barred debt – common questions. If you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about this, they have a template letter you can sent Lowell to say the debt is statute barred.
When there is already a CCJ, the debt will never become statute-barred, but it becomes harder to enforce, see next question. If Lowell say there is a CCJ, but you knew nothing about this and it doesn’t show on your credit record, ask Lowell to produce the details of the CCJ.
“Lowell has sent me a letter about an old Hoist CCJ I have never paid”
Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about this. A debt collector can only “enforce” a CCJ that is more than 6 years old which you have not been paying if it goes back to court to get special permission.
Have you had a problem with this transfer?
Leave a comment below this article!
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David Palmer says
@Diane what is apparent from the replies here and on other sites is that Lowell will try to persuade people to keep on paying a debt they have no legal right to chase. They seem to pull all kinds of stunts, like sending an application slip not a the CCA.
As for “Credit Agreement is unavailable ”
If they can’t produce it they can’t enforce the debt, see Sara’s message above re CONC 7.15.8.
Sara will advise you fully but why keep an SO going if there is a chance they have no right, change the SO to transfer to your Savings Account, then wait and see. You can always pay it to them later but you will never get it back if you pay them and they were not entitled.
Tony says
Hi Sara
Just want to relay my gratitude to you for this site you have produced and great advice with all different scenarios your readers are faced with ,which can be very stressful .
I followed your advice to the tee.Had 3 large debts bought by Lowell.Asked for the CCA for each .Still paid via StepChange my monthly payments for 2 months after the request .So this month there was no payment ,asked Step Change to cancel my plan ,they actually tried to advise against it . Anyway logged in to my Lowell account today ,and there was a note in each account saying fully paid off ,zero balance.
Just hold your nerve and follow Sara’s advice and strategies ,it works ,happy days ,thanks again.Finally I am confident my 2 debts with Cabot will go the same way ,as they have not produced CCA after 3 months .
Many thanks
Tony
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am very pleased this has worked for you and I hope the same approach will work for your Cabot debts. There is no guarantee that it will, of course.
Tony says
Thanks, of course ,will post if I get it over the line
Chris says
Hi Sara regarding my issues with Lowell that my debt should have been statued barred but wasn’t due to a mystery payment of £2.43 I took it further to the financial ombudsman and Lowell came back and offered to clear the debt and give me a £100 compensation so thank you with all your advice and help much appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is VERY good news.
Guy says
They have been doing exactly the same with me chasing a statute barred debt but like above stating I paid £0.53 in cash. Complete and utter nonsense, I have now been referred to there complaints team. I will be taking this to the financial ombudsman today and hope for a similar outcome. This is completely out of order and I feel sorry for anyone who is duped into paying because of these underhand tactics.
Tina says
12 years ago my ex partner ran up various debts in my name, I got a debt management company to take on these debts and paid monthly until 2018 when I was asked by the debt management company to pay a lump sum to clear the debt. Which I did so. 2 years later I got bombarded with letters, phone calls and visit from lowell and Cabot. As far as I’m concerned the accounts were closed. The debt management company aren’t answering me. And I’m still getting letters from companies chasing the debt. The last payment would have been in 2018 . What should I do? Ignore them ? I’m in a right state over this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who was the debt management company?
Tina says
Pegasus legal.
Based in Birmingham
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Pegasus Legal was previous band name of Pegasus Solicitors. Their contact details are (from https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/register/organisation/?sraNumber=618063#headingOffices):
288 Central Road, Morden, SURREY, SM4 5RG, England
020 8090 0811
rc@pegasussolicitors.co.uk
I suggest you phone them and ask about this.
Do you have evidence (emails, letters) that you were asked to settle these debts and paid the lump sum?
Tina says
Yes, I have all those, the person dealing with my account on the occasions I got a response said she had since left the company. She assured me the account was closed after I paid the lump sum. Since then I have had no response from her or pegasus.
Thank you for your swift reply
Ps. None of the debts show on my credit file
Diane says
Hi Sara
I am now beginning to receive letters stating debt collectors informing me that they have not got a copy of the CCA for the debt. I have been making small monthly payments to the debt collectors since 2015. They are no longer on my credit file and my credit file is now excellent. The debts will not be statute barred as I have had an agreement in place to pay them a monthly amount. Now that I have been informed that they cannot produce the CCA am I in a position to stop paying the monthly amounts it affecting my credit report or taking me to court or having a CCJ put against my name? I would welcome your advice
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did you ask for the CCA agreements?
Diane says
I have only recently requested the reports, approx three to four weeks ago
regards
Diane
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you can stop paying if you want, but if they then produce the CCA – whioch at this point may well happen – you will have to start paying again.
I usually think it’s easier to carry on paying for 2-3 months. At that point it is much less likely that the CCA will turn up.
Until it turns up, the debt is unenforceable in court and the debt collector should not start court action. These debts will devel reappear on your credit record.
Diane says
Thank you Sarah
Can I clarify are you saying these debts will never reappear on my credit report ?
Can the debt collector start court action if the CCA turns up?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These debts will never reappear on your credit record. If they do, you can complain and get them removed.
If the debt collector finds the CCA and you do not start repaying, they may well go to court for a CCJ. The CCJ would then show on your credit record.
If the debt collector finds the CCA and you do start repaying, the debt collector doesn’t normally go to court. See the comments below https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt/ – there are pages of them. I don’t think any of them show this problem.
Diane says
Who would I complain too and would it definitely get removed? I worry about doing this if there is a chance it would mess up my credit rating again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It should not reappear and if it does it is an error. This would be incredibly unusual – it is not a normal problem to have. You would complain to the creditor.
Lynne Gilchrist says
Sorry I didn’t know where to post this but out of nowhere I’ve had conte from Ophelos email saying I have an old debt with Diffetent Money? When did they fold please cos this must be 15 or 20 years ago!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about whether this very old debt is “statute barred” – if NDL think it is, they have a template letter that you can send Ophelos.
PS I will move this thread to https://debtcamel.co.uk/sold-to-dca/ in a few days.
Norma says
Hello
I have three debts with Moorecroft, the debts are 10 years old and I have been paying an agreed monthly amount for the last ten years. These debts are no longer on my credit file and I have a good with experian now. I have written and requested the CCA for each of the debts. I have received two letters informing me that they do not have the CCA and I have received a letter today for the third debt with a copy of the signed by me CCA. Please can I ask what my options are regarding this outcome. With regards to the two debts with no CCA can I stop paying the monthly amount ? With regards to the debt with for which they have produce the CCA shall I continue to ay the agreed monthly amount or am I in a position to ask then if they will accept a lower settlement figure. I am in a position were my parent may be able to help with this but they are retired so it won’t be the full amount which is £4500. Please can you advise
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So Moorcroft are collecting on behalf of which lender?
Norma says
Barclaycard,Egg and the lender which they have sent the CCA is Intelligent finance, all credit cards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And how large is the IF balance?
Norma says
the IF balance is £4500
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much can you afford to pay a month?
Norma says
I could afford £50.00 per month without involving my parents, if I involve my parents maybe a higher monthly payment possibly an additional £50 .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no reason why you parents should help you make bigger monthly payments.
You could tell Moorcroft that you can offer them £40 a month (if you are SURE you can pay that every month) or you parents could offer £1500 if that would settle the debt now.
Norma says
Thank you for your advice Sara
Susan says
Hi there
This looks like a great site and gives hope I can work things out. I have an IVA that has 4 months left to run. However, in the last 12 months, I have only made x 4 payments of £50 and I really could not afford those. My mortgage rose from £429 a month to £1078 a month. I am a single Mum and I am working every single hour possible just to keep my head above water. I have now been sent a breach notice. I have supplied everything that has been asked for and now waiting for them to respond.
I owed £13k but since I took out the IVA it seems that £6k of that was secured on my home. I raised this and made a complaint but nobody responded. I have paid about £5.5k already. I really need a decent credit score because my mortgage expires before I retire and I am worried they will make me sell my home.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is your IVA firm?
Is your mortgage repayment or interest only?
Susan says
Hi Sara
My IVA firm is Debt Movement. originally Jarvis. My mortgage sadly is interest only, with the exception of about 30k.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to urgently contact your Insolvency Practioner about this. This will be either laura.prescott@debtmovementuk.co.uk or Kate.cutler@debtmovementuk.co.uk – you should have been told the name of your IP when your IVA was set up or when it was transferred from Aperture.
Use the word complaint in the email title.
You need to say what has happened and ask for your IVA to be “completed on the basis of the funds paid to date” not failed. Explain you are only in breach because of the large mortgage increase.
Let me know what happens.
IainHL says
For completeness I should report that eventually, after a follow up letter chasing a response about the Hoist debt being statute barred, my partner has received a letter from Lowell stating they have closed the account and will not be taking any further action to pursue the debt.
Thank you Sara for the article and your response further up these comments.