Advice Required - Relentless Debt Collector

Xordium said:
Wouldn't that in itself fall afoul of Data Protection laws and therefore make them liable?
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You could always pay the £10 after you've closed the account and see for yourself ;)

From their website :

7. Access to information
You have the right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to access the information we hold on you. You may submit a request to us in writing accompanied with the applicable £10 fee.

The Data Protection Act however does not enforce them to remove all traces of your details, nor do they promise to do that. It simply states that they will hold it securely and not keep unnecessary details. However this sometimes goes a bit wrong too :

http://www.eva-scotland.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=192

Most companies decide their own data retention policies and as long as they are reasonable, have no problems with the ICO. Infact the ICO guidelines state :

You may not need to delete all personal data when the relationship ends. You may need to keep some information so that you can confirm that the relationship existed – and that it has ended – as well as some of its details.

More info here :

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-5-retention/

The obvious processes are followed to conform to PCIDSS - payment card details are not stored. Payment history however, is.

The truth is - once you are a customer, you're forever in the system.
 
Haggisman said:
Good result, but: "I have cleared the standing charges as a gesture of goodwill for the time taken to resolve the issue"

So.. as a gesture of goodwill they're no longer going to hold you liable for the money you didn't owe them in the first place? :rolleyes:

That's not a gesture of goodwill, that's called doing your ****ing job properly! A gesture of goodwill would be to give you a credit on your current account (if you have one) or send you a high street voucher or something for the hassle they've caused you. I hate when companies try and claim they're doing you a favour by sorting out their own screw-ups!
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While I in now way side with the energy company here and don't wish to insert too much dispassionate logic, how exactly is it clear the OP didn't owe the standing charge between February and April 2013? Standing charges are due irrespective of usage.
 
Pudney said:
While I in now way side with the energy company here and don't wish to insert too much dispassionate logic, how exactly is it clear the OP didn't owe the standing charge between February and April 2013? Standing charges are due irrespective of usage.
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OP says that he's never had a contract with them.
 
Haggisman said:
Good result, but: "I have cleared the standing charges as a gesture of goodwill for the time taken to resolve the issue"

So.. as a gesture of goodwill they're no longer going to hold you liable for the money you didn't owe them in the first place? :rolleyes:

That's not a gesture of goodwill, that's called doing your ****ing job properly! A gesture of goodwill would be to give you a credit on your current account (if you have one) or send you a high street voucher or something for the hassle they've caused you. I hate when companies try and claim they're doing you a favour by sorting out their own screw-ups!
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Agreed. Admit fault, apologise properly, promise to learn from the errors. Then I'm cool with you. But if you just 'blame it on the system' then we're not cool.
 
Westyfield2 said:
OP says that he's never had a contract with them.
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But he did own the property and rent it out. A tenant could have chosen the supplier. If the last tenant left at the end of January 13, OP sold in April 13 then that would explain the standing charge.

Sorry, logic again :p
 
Well done OP for fighting and winning.

Parasite debt collectors rely on the fact that 9/10 people fall for there BS threats and cough up, even if they are not sure they owe the money or realistically cannot pay it back.

I don't condone anyone owing money and just refusing to pay, however debt collectors are ruthless and pray on the can't pays or don't even owes whilst the real debtors walk Scot free.
 
Wow.

6 months after the company rep writes to me confirming that I am not liable and owe them nothing, with a promise to remove my details from the account... I get a letter from a brand new debt collection agency demanding £516.63

I don't think I can stomach another month of endless phone calls, emails, denials etc. :mad:

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When SSE wrote to say they were writing the debt off as goodwill, I would have been onto them further. You didn't owe the money so it's not good enough them just writing it off as a goodwill, you wanted it cancelled because you did not owe it. Goodwill implies it was still your debt.
 
Somebody, somewhere has sold 'your debt' on, even if the figures do not correspond.
I think a complaint to the ICO as mentioned in that desist letter is called for.
Someone has made an error with information, and punishing them with an investigation might be appropriate.
You need to forward SSE both letters, their previous to you, and the new one, with a statement regarding the ombudsman, the ICO, and why they continue to harass you.

It is two letters, make no phone calls, two letters, send it onwards, and then the third letter of complaint to the various agencies. Spend no more time than this. Inform SSE of your wasted time, and inform them you now want compensated for the time they have wasted. Leave it in their court.
 
I used to work for a debt collection agency and this used to happen all of the time.

The debt collection agency will make the client aware of the dispute and usually the client will just withdraw the debt and send it to another agency
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
Somebody, somewhere has sold 'your debt' on, even if the figures do not correspond.
I think a complaint to the ICO as mentioned in that desist letter is called for.
Someone has made an error with information, and punishing them with an investigation might be appropriate.
You need to forward SSE both letters, their previous to you, and the new one, with a statement regarding the ombudsman, the ICO, and why they continue to harass you.

It is two letters, make no phone calls, two letters, send it onwards, and then the third letter of complaint to the various agencies. Spend no more time than this. Inform SSE of your wasted time, and inform them you now want compensated for the time they have wasted. Leave it in their court.
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Sound advice above :)
 
No one read the email did they? It stated there was NO USAGE for the period of which he was still liable. There is still, however, a standing charge even when you don't use anything and it is this that has been cleared. It's crap that they're chasing you again. As before, official complaint and consider claiming for harassment.
 
If you are leaving a property empty for an amount of time, it is best to switch to Ebico as there is no standing charge.
 
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