The letter has a name you do not recognise at the top and a number you half recognise below it. Your stomach drops before you have read the second paragraph.
What to know first: Lowell is a debt buyer. If your debt was sold to it, you now owe Lowell, not the original lender, but the amount, the default date and your rights stay the same. Do not pay on the first letter and do not ignore it. Use the next seven days to check it is yours, check it is under six years old, ask for the agreement and the notice of sale, and only then agree a payment you can afford.
A payment on an old debt can restart the six-year clock, so test it before anything else.
Check the debt is not too old firstYour first seven days
The people who get the best outcomes are not the ones who argue loudest. They are the ones who do things in the right order, because the first payment and the first phone call can both cost you leverage.
| Day | Do this | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the letter, note the date, original lender and balance. Do not call and do not pay | A call can lead to a promise you cannot keep, and a payment can restart the clock on an old debt |
| 2 | Compare it with your own records and your free credit report | Check the original lender, the default date and the balance match what you remember |
| 3 | Write to Lowell: ask for a statement of account, the notice of assignment (the sale letter) and a copy of the credit agreement | Send it recorded delivery and keep proof of postage. Add £1 for the agreement |
| 4 | Run the six-year date test | If the debt is outside it, tell Lowell it is statute barred and do not pay anything |
| 5 | Write your budget: rent, council tax, energy, food first | You can only offer what is left after priority bills |
| 6 | Call StepChange (0800 138 1111) or National Debtline (0808 808 4000) | Free advice before you commit to a payment plan or a settlement |
| 7 | Choose: payment plan, token payment, settlement or a formal route | Reply in writing and keep a copy |
What Lowell has to show, and what it does not prove
A balance and a sale date feel official, but they only show what the debt buyer says. Debt Camel notes the FCA’s rules put the job of establishing that you are the right person on the firm, not on you, so you do not have to prove you never borrowed.
| What you ask for | What it shows | What it does not show |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of assignment (the sale letter) | That the debt moved from the original lender to Lowell | That the amount is right or the agreement exists |
| Statement of account | How the balance was built, including interest and charges | That the agreement allowed them |
| Copy of the credit agreement (£1, true copy) | Your name, the terms and the date of the agreement | Anything about the amount owed today |
| Default notice date and default date | Whether the six-year clock started where Lowell says | A reset of the clock, which only your own payment or written acknowledgement can do |
If Lowell cannot produce the agreement, the debt may be unenforceable in court, but it can still ask for payment. It should not suggest court action in that case. Debt Camel adds that older agreements are the ones collectors most often cannot find, and that agreements from before April 2007 can be replaced with a reconstituted copy.
Reply to a notice of assignment
“Dear Lowell, I received your letter dated [date] about account [number], originally with [lender]. I do not accept the balance until I have seen: (1) a statement showing how it was calculated, (2) the notice of assignment from [lender], and (3) a true copy of the credit agreement. I enclose £1 for the agreement. Please place the account on hold until you have sent these. [Name, address, date].”
National Debtline has a free template if you prefer to use theirs. Whichever one you use, do not say “I owe this” or promise a payment in the same letter.
If the letter says Lowell took over from Hoist
Lowell bought Hoist’s UK business in September 2022, and Debt Camel reported that over two million accounts were being moved onto Lowell’s systems in batches. If you have a payment arrangement with Hoist, Debt Camel’s advice was to keep paying it until told otherwise, to check that Lowell has set up the direct debit or standing order, and to ask Lowell to lower it if the amount is no longer affordable. The default date does not reset. That article is from May 2023, so confirm the current position with Lowell before you change anything.
A worked example with invented numbers
| Step | What happens | Money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A card is defaulted. The balance is £2,000. | £2,000 owed |
| 2 | The bank sells the debt. StepChange’s own example is a £100 debt bought for £70. At that rate Lowell pays £1,400. | Lowell pays £1,400 |
| 3 | Lowell’s letter arrives asking for the full £2,000. If you paid in full, it would keep £600. | £2,000 asked |
| 4 | You check the dates and the original agreement before paying anything. No interest can be added unless the agreement allowed it. | Nothing paid yet |
The £70 in the pound is StepChange’s illustration, not a Lowell figure. Lowell does not publish what it pays, and prices vary by debt. The point is that a buyer can make a profit on an offer below the full balance, which is why settlement offers can work. See our guide on whether Lowell accepts a discount.
What the Ombudsman has actually decided about Lowell
Most advice online says the same thing: demand proof and make Lowell prove the debt. So we read what happens when people do that and then take their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. We looked at three recent decisions about complaints against Lowell Portfolio I Ltd, the company that buys the debts. In all three the Ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, which means it sided with Lowell.
Three cases is a small sample, not a statistic, and every decision turns on one person’s facts. The reasoning repeats, though, and it is worth knowing before you write your letter.
Case 1: the old catalogue debt and the credit card
A woman disputed two debts and sent cease-and-desist letters. Lowell closed the first one, a 2007 catalogue account bought in 2014 for £456.37, because it was old and Lowell had no copy of the agreement. On the second, a 2011 credit card bought in April 2023 with a balance of £5,162.94, it produced a signed agreement and a notice of assignment (the letter that tells you the debt has been sold). The Ombudsman said that notice is enough to show who now owns the debt, and Lowell did not have to show the deed of sale between it and the original lender. The contact was factual and professional, so it was not unfair. Decision DRN-5431682.
Case 2: three debts he did not recognise
A man said he never received the notices of assignment and had never heard of the three debts. Lowell’s systems showed the notices were sent. The Ombudsman said it was fair for Lowell to keep writing once it had explained its position, and fair to ask security questions. When he refused to answer them, it was reasonable for Lowell to do nothing further. He had also never told Lowell which adjustments he needed because of his health. Lowell did apologise for failing to reply to one email in May 2022. Decision DRN-5909593.
Case 3: the full document demand
A man used sections 77 to 79 of the Consumer Credit Act to demand the signed agreements, statements, terms, notices and sale deeds for three accounts. Lowell suspended collection on two of them while it asked the lenders for papers. The Ombudsman said Lowell should have asked the lenders sooner, but it caused no real harm. Debt buyers do not usually hold every original document, and they only have to pass on what they get. Only a court can decide whether a debt is enforceable. An unenforceable debt still exists, but the buyer must not threaten court action on it. Lowell could keep reporting the accounts to credit reference agencies. Decision DRN-6165482.
Here is what that means for your own letter.
- Ask for the signed credit agreement and a statement of the balance. Of everything people ask for, that is the paper that decided things: in the first case Lowell closed an account it could not back up.
- Do not build your whole case on the sale deed. In two of the three decisions the Ombudsman said the notice of assignment is enough.
- If you are ill, or struggling, say so to Lowell in writing and send evidence. Two of the people never told Lowell what they needed, and the Ombudsman told one of them to start there.
- Answer the security questions. Refusing them gave Lowell a fair reason to stop dealing with the account.
- The Ombudsman cannot rule on harassment or on whether a debt can be enforced. Those are for a court. If calls or letters cross a line, read your rights with debt collectors, and if the debt is very old, run it through the statute-barred checker.
These are decisions about whether a firm acted fairly, not legal advice on your case. For free help with a letter from Lowell, StepChange is on 0800 138 1111.
What to offer once the debt is proven
If the debt is yours, in date and the amount stands up, you have four sensible options. Lowell says on its own site that it is “never too late to engage”.
- Payment plan: use the budget from day 5. Offer less than you think you can, not more, because a missed payment hurts more than a low one.
- Token payment: a small amount, such as £1 a month, can work when you have priority bills. See what happens if you ignore Lowell.
- Settlement: a lump sum below the balance can close the account. Lowell settlement offers shows what people have been offered.
- Formal route: if you have several debts, the bankruptcy and DRO checker shows what you may qualify for.
If your debt is old, read Lowell and old debts. If court papers have already arrived, start with can Lowell take you to court. Your rights during collection are in the know your rights tool, and every other route is in the UK debt help hub.
Put every debt in one place and see your debt-free date.
Build your debt payoff planWhat does a Lowell solicitors letter mean?
It usually means Lowell has moved from asking nicely to the step before court. The letter is normally called a Letter of Claim. Lowell says on its own website that the first step is usually this letter, and that if you ignore it, legal action might follow. A court claim, and then a County Court Judgment (CCJ), comes after that, not before.
The rules for these letters are set out in the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, the official code creditors must follow before suing. Under it, the letter has to tell you what you owe, whether interest and charges are still building, and details of the agreement. It must come with a Reply Form, an information sheet and a blank Financial Statement.
- You have 30 days from the date at the top of the letter to send back the Reply Form. A reply posted close to the deadline still counts.
- You can tick one of four boxes: you agree you owe it, you owe only part, you are not sure and want debt advice, or you dispute it. A separate section lets you offer to pay, either now or over time with the Financial Statement.
- You can ask for documents, such as a copy of the agreement. The creditor has 30 days from your request to send the document or explain why it cannot.
- Before suing, the creditor generally should wait at least 30 days after it receives your reply or sends the documents you asked for, and give you a reasonable time to get debt advice if you say you are doing so.
The mistake that costs people most is not opening the envelope. If you send nothing within the 30 days, the creditor is free to start a court claim. If you do reply, even partly, it is treated as engaging, and the creditor should come back to you. If you are not sure the debt is yours or is under six years old, tick the box saying so and ask for the agreement. Do not tick the box saying you agree you owe it until you have checked.
If a court claim form ever arrives, that is a different and more urgent document. It has its own deadline printed on it and you must respond in time. Our guide to whether Lowell can take you to court covers that stage, and our debt collector rights guide shows what they can and cannot do while you sort it out. Free advice from StepChange or National Debtline can check the debt with you before you reply.
Questions people ask
Is it legal for my debt to be sold to Lowell?
Yes. Lenders can sell unpaid debts, and you have no right to refuse the sale. What changes is who you owe. What does not change is the amount, the original default date on your credit file, and your rights under the original agreement.
Do I have to pay Lowell?
If the debt is genuinely yours, in date and the amount is right, yes, you owe it. But you do not have to pay on the first letter. Ask for proof, check the date, and only then agree a payment you can keep up. A payment on an old debt can also restart the six-year clock, so test it first with the statute barred checker.
Can Lowell charge more than I owed?
Not unless the original agreement allowed it. A debt buyer steps into the original lender’s shoes, so interest and charges have to be justified by the agreement. Ask for a statement showing how the balance moved from the date of sale.
What if I cannot find the original agreement?
You do not need to. Lowell has to show it. Write and ask for a copy of the credit agreement, enclosing £1. If it cannot produce one the debt can be unenforceable in court, though it may still ask you to pay, and it must not suggest it will go to court.
Will Lowell’s letter hurt my credit score?
Usually not on its own. The default stays dated from when the original lender recorded it, and the entry may now show Lowell as the owner. Paying or settling does not make the default last longer than six years from that date.
What if I ignore the letters?
The letters change from “call us” to a letter of claim and, if nothing happens for 30 days, a county court claim. Can Lowell take you to court shows the day-by-day steps and what each reply does.
Who do I complain to if Lowell gets it wrong?
Complain to Lowell first, then wait up to 8 weeks for its final answer. If you disagree, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free. The Ombudsman only covers regulated consumer credit debts.
Disclaimer: DebtShift is an educational platform operated by H Ali Logistics Ltd, which is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This article is general education, not financial or legal advice. For free, impartial debt advice, contact StepChange on 0800 138 1111 or National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
Sources
- StepChange: debt collection
- Debt Camel: if a debt collector cannot prove the debt
- Debt Camel: Hoist debt sold to Lowell (May 2023)
- Lowell: what happens if I ignore a debt company
- Financial Ombudsman Service decisions as cited above. Checked 4 November 2026.
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