How to deal with Lowell

Who are Lowell?

Lowell (Lowell Financial Ltd / Lowell Portfolio) is one of the biggest debt purchasers in the UK. They buy portfolios of defaulted consumer debts from the original lenders for a fraction of the balance, then collect them in their own name. Because they own the debt, it’s Lowell you’ll deal with — and their solicitors, Overdales, if it goes to court.

What debts do Lowell deal with?

Lowell buy and collect a wide range of everyday consumer debts, including:

• Credit and store cards
• Personal loans and overdrafts
• Catalogue and mail-order accounts
• Mobile phone, broadband and utility accounts
• Payday and short-term loans

How Lowell make contact

Lowell typically make contact through:

• Letters, including “letter before action” or “letter of claim” notices
• Text messages and emails with online payment links
• Phone calls, sometimes frequently
• Occasionally a doorstep “collection” visit — but this is not a bailiff, and you do not have to answer the door or let them in

What happens if you ignore Lowell?

Ignoring the letters doesn’t make the debt go away, and it removes your chance to sort it on your own terms. If a consumer debt like this is left unpaid, the usual next steps are:

• A letter of claim warning of court action
• A County Court Judgment (CCJ) if a claim is issued and not answered
• Only if a CCJ is granted and then still not paid can the creditor apply to send bailiffs (a county court warrant of control, or transfer up to High Court enforcement)

So bailiffs are a last resort at the end of a long road — not something Lowell can do to you out of the blue. Acting before a CCJ is granted keeps your options open and protects your credit file.

Your rights when Lowell contact you

You have real protections here, whatever the letters imply:

• You can ask them to prove the debt is yours — request the original credit agreement and a statement (a “prove it” / section 77–79 request for regulated credit)
• If a debt is more than six years old and you’ve not paid or acknowledged it in that time, it may be statute-barred and no longer enforceable in court
• They must treat you fairly under FCA rules, consider affordability, and stop if you’re disputing the debt while it’s investigated
• You can ask them to only contact you in writing

How to deal with Lowell and get back in control

The debts behind Lowell’ letters — credit cards, loans, catalogues, overdrafts and similar — are exactly the kind of unsecured debts a formal debt solution is designed to deal with. You have more options than just paying whatever they ask:

• Check the debt is right first. Make sure it’s yours, the amount is correct, and it isn’t statute-barred.
• Offer what you can genuinely afford. A one-off arrangement can work if this is your only debt, but it won’t fix the wider picture if you owe several creditors.
• Look at a formal debt solution. If this is one of several debts, a formal solution can deal with them all together and give legal protection a casual arrangement can’t.

How an IVA can help

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a formal agreement with your creditors. Once it’s approved, the creditors included in it are legally bound: interest and charges are frozen, they must stop contacting you directly, and they can no longer take court or enforcement action for those debts. You make one affordable monthly payment, and any qualifying debt you still can’t afford at the end can be written off.

Debts held by Lowell are almost always qualifying unsecured debts that an IVA can include — alongside your other credit cards, loans and catalogues. If an IVA isn’t right for you, a Debt Management Plan, Debt Relief Order or bankruptcy might be, which is exactly why free, tailored advice matters before you commit to anything.

Common questions

Free, independent debt advice is also available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice.