Advice Required - Relentless Debt Collector

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 10:06

Short version of events as follows :

I owned a property. I leased it out from Oct 2010 and never lived there again. I sold the property in April 2013.

I have had a utility company demanding £800 for the supply of electricity and gas. I have never had an account with this company. The date of supply is from 16-12-2013 to 17-12-2013, yes you read that right... £800 for utility supply for 24 hours... 8 months after I've sold the property. :rolleyes:

I explain all this to the debt company. They put "my" case on hold. About a month later, the process repeats itself. This has been going on for around 9 months.

Question is, where do I stand? How do I get them to stop harassing me?

TIA

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** Edit **

Here's how the latest attempt to start all over again has panned out (I'll update as this pans out). Note how they have told me initially that the matter is urgent, I need to contact them by phone straight away. It's so urgent that I can provide a number and have them phone me. :eek:

Note also how they drip feed the "urgent" information over a period of almost 2 weeks... :rolleyes:

Them said:
This is an urgent message from BCW.

We have been attempting to contact you as we require to speak with you as soon as possible.

Could you please contact us on 0844 571 4070 quoting this unique reference number *********, or alternatively reply to this email with a contact telephone number and we will arrange for someone to contact you urgently.

Thank you
BCW

Me said:
If this is an urgent matter, please feel free to continue to communicate by email. Alternatively, you may write to me at my home address.

Thank you

Them said:
Thank you for your Email. We are acting on behalf of Scottish Southern Energy. Please do not hesitate to reply by return Email should you require any further assistance. Kind Regards Administration Department

Me said:
Sir / Madam,

This doesn't tell me much. Please feel free to elaborate.

Thank you

Them said:
Thank you for your e-mail. We are representing Scottish and Southern Energy in regards to an outstanding balance of £453.56 relating to supply at ****************. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us. Kind regards, Administration department

Me said:
Hi,

I haven't lived at that address since October 2010. I have never had an account with Scottish and Southern Energy.

Why are you contacting me about this?

Thanks

They've still to get to the part where they tell me it's for 24 hours worth of supply on a date when I didn't even own the property...

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 10:33

booyaka said:
Have you sent them evidence of the sale of the property in writing etc ?
Give them details of the new owners ?

I sent them evidence of sale when they first contacted. After that I'm thinking, why do I need to prove that I didn't live somewhere anyway? Surely the burden of proof is on them? So, yes they have had their proof. I also questioned how they could justify £800 for 24 hours supply, and that if I did live there I wouldn't be paying that bill anyway...

"Fair point, we'll put your account on hold and get back to you."

:cool:

One month later....
"We are contacting you because you owe our client £800 for the supply...."

:mad:

jakafitra said:
i think if you have complete proof.. go to your lawyer. let your lawyer solved your problem.

Would probably be cheaper paying the bill I don't owe, surely?

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 10:34

Housey said:
Do you know who the debt company is?

Yes.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 11:15

Housey said:
Who?

It will either be an outsourcer chasing on behalf of the utility provider or at the age of the debt something that has been sold to a debt purchaser more than likely who seeks to make anything they can from their purchased book.

I would probably approach them differently, hence the question.

"BCW Group – an arvato company"

I think you're right. They've bought the debt.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 11:21

Third Opinion said:
Try this forum, they have all the ways to keep them at bay.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/index.php

I damn near committed suicide when my business went bust with all the threats and harassment. Then I spoke to some people on that forum who gave me letter templates etc. It held them off till I could get myself sorted and pay the money back.

Sorry to hear of your trouble. I'll post on there.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 11:35

Rossi~ said:
I would just keep replying with proof that the property is not owned by you and was sold April 2013, over and over. Recorded delivery etc etc

Notify the necessary bodies of this harassment also.

I'm now refusing to communicate any way other than email, just so I have a record of what they're saying.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 12:40

Thanks Komedy, I'll use that for sure.

Here's how the latest attempt to start all over again has panned out. Note how they have told me initially that the matter is urgent, I need to contact them by phone straight away. It's so urgent that I can provide a number and have them phone me. :eek:

Note also how they drip feed the "urgent" information over a period of almost 2 weeks... :rolleyes:

Them said:
This is an urgent message from BCW.

We have been attempting to contact you as we require to speak with you as soon as possible.

Could you please contact us on 0844 571 4070 quoting this unique reference number *********, or alternatively reply to this email with a contact telephone number and we will arrange for someone to contact you urgently.

Thank you
BCW

Me said:
If this is an urgent matter, please feel free to continue to communicate by email. Alternatively, you may write to me at my home address.

Thank you

Them said:
Thank you for your Email. We are acting on behalf of Scottish Southern Energy. Please do not hesitate to reply by return Email should you require any further assistance. Kind Regards Administration Department

Me said:
Sir / Madam,

This doesn't tell me much. Please feel free to elaborate.

Thank you

Them said:
Thank you for your e-mail. We are representing Scottish and Southern Energy in regards to an outstanding balance of £453.56 relating to supply at ****************. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us. Kind regards, Administration department

Me said:
Hi,

I haven't lived at that address since October 2010. I have never had an account with Scottish and Southern Energy.

Why are you contacting me about this?

Thanks

They've still to get to the part where they tell me it's for 24 hours worth of supply on a date when I didn't even own the property...

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 13:22

stopper said:
This is what I would do.

It's quite clear that have taken details from the electoral register as it doesn't always update for quite a while after changes.
You should have evidence that you didn't live there at that time so just send them a copy of that evidence with a notice stating you will now be charging them £500 for each reply you make to them.
If they ignore your notice and continue to chase you for the debt, they enter a tacit agreement to pay those charges, and it will stand in court.
That's what banks do to us.

But that's the thing. Why should I prove I don't live somewhere? They could literally repeat the process for every house I've ever lived in.

Surely the burden of proof is with them?

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 14:40

Technically, I haven't informed them that I dispute the debt as far as this particular email chain goes. I'll wait for them to present the dates again, and then I'll copy and paste that response.

Many thanks for the replies.

Oh, and the poo in an envelope response was maybe funny up to the 100th time it was posted in a thread. People posting that response now are the type of people that were saying...

"Guess what"

"... what"

"Ew, good guess!"

... All the way into their 30's.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 15:34

I already sent them a copy of the proof of sale months ago. I also sent them a copy of my council tax bills for the property that I actually live in. They are ignoring all this as I have already pointed out in the OP.

And really, I don't see that it's up to me to prove I didn't live somewhere... it's up to them to prove I did.

I'm not being stroppy, but I don't see the point in folk criticising others for bad advice when they haven't actually read the OP before steaming in with their own advice.

To recap: I have provided proof that I didn't own the property at the time. The DCA have continued to press me for money regardless.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 16:29

bledd. said:
The debt company or the utilities company?

Send it to the utilities company, strike at the source.

The debt company.

Thing is, I don't even want to acknowledge the utility company. They haven't contacted me once. It annoys me that they expect me to do all the running, contacting solicitors for proof of sale documents and the like. I don't see why a company can appoint a debt collector on false information, and then sit back and expect me to do all the proof of this and that.

I know you're trying to help me here, and I don't want to sound as if I'm having a go. I think I need to kick back and let the emails to and fro, it's only emails after all. I didn't own the property on the date they claim I used their services, and I can prove I lived elsewhere since 2010. They can demand until they're blue in the face, but I'm pretty confident none of this would stand up in a small claims court.

The fact that I'm replying to them every time they contact me is reasonable behaviour, IMO. I'll use that template that was posted earlier, and use it as grounds to ignore all future contact with a canned response.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 16:34

Amnesia said:
not read the thread but have you contacted the gas/electric company and told them about the previous occupant moving out ?

FFS

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 16:50

TheBDog said:
Pretty much exactly this. It doesn't matter about your personal feelings about the company at this point, all that matters now is getting it cleared up in the fastest time surely?

Decision made, I'm going to phone them (utility company) now...

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 18:03

After speaking to the supply company, I've written to them enclosing proof of sale at their request. I've CC'd the DCA.

Sir / Madam,

I am receiving requests for payment from a debt collection company who claim to be acting on your behalf. I would like to point out the following:

I did not own the property during the supply period.
I did not live in the property during the supply period.
I held no such account during the supply period.

I have attached a copy of the original request from the debt collection agency, and I have also attached a copy of my sale acceptance letter for the property. As you can see, the property was sold many months before the supply period. I had submitted this information to BCW Group months ago, and I am very disappointed that they continue to harass me on your behalf for a debt that I have continually stated that I do not owe.

I would point out that I do not acknowledge any debt being owed to you by myself. I feel I have taken reasonable steps to demonstrate this beyond any doubt, both to your appointed debt agency in the past and to you on this date.

I would ask that no further contact be made by you or any third party appointed by you concerning the above supply address unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 18:37

Energize said:
Just ignore them?

Why when you have a business of renting properties are you playing cat and mouse games with a debt collection company for nine months?!

That wasn't quite the case. I rented one property for a couple of years, and I binned it because I couldn't be bothered with the hassle any more.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 19:43

bainbridge said:
Tell them your grow was too big for the place so you had to move it elsewhere.. plus you aint payin nowt!

The guy who posted the poo in the mail post should take note : This is a proper irreverent heckle from the sidelines.

Respect.

Dirk Diggler · 9 Dec 2014 at 21:48

Reaper 392 said:
I know this isn't strictly on topic, but would it even be physically possible for them to supply £800 (or £453.56) worth of gas in one day to a normal house?

Only if there was a gas leak.

Dirk Diggler · 10 Dec 2014 at 05:22

Energize said:
You haven't answered the question. The responses that you give seem to indicate that you enjoy the social interaction with them.

Which question have I not answered?

As for "social interaction", what on earth are you blabbering on about?

Dirk Diggler · 10 Dec 2014 at 05:52

Boycey0211 said:
...its surprisingly stressful being chased by debt collectors for no reason!

Totally agree.

Dirk Diggler · 15 Dec 2014 at 15:54

I have received a response from the email that I sent earlier, which was basically a cut and paste of the text posted earlier in this thread (see second quote below).

It seems when you point out the regulations to them, they do indeed act...

In reference to your recent emails, you expressed dissatisfaction regarding the collection activity for the outstanding balance on the above mentioned account. I regret that you had to contact us under these circumstances and I would like to apologise for any upset or inconvenience that may have been caused by this matter. I am keen to resolve this matter to your satisfaction therefore it is important to let you know about our Complaint Handling Statement and Procedure, which can be found on our website (paper copy available on request):

http://www.hydro.co.uk/HelpandAdvice/ComplaintsProcedure

I would like to confirm I have place a hold on all collections and will conduct a full review of the account. I aim to contact you no later than 29 December 2014 to attempt to resolve the matter to your satisfaction. Should you require to contact me before this date I can be contacted on the details listed above. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

The above was in reponse to this email sent a few days ago...

Sir / Madam,

I am receiving requests for payment from a debt collection company who claim to be acting on your behalf. I would like to point out the following:

I did not own the property during the supply period.
I did not live in the property during the supply period.
I held no such account during the supply period.

I have attached a copy of the original request from the debt collection agency, and I have also attached a copy of my sale acceptance letter for the property. As you can see, the property was sold many months before the supply period. I had submitted this information to BCW Group months ago, and I am very disappointed that they continue to harass me on your behalf for a debt that I have continually stated that I do not owe.

I would point out that I do not acknowledge any debt being owed to you by myself. I feel I have taken reasonable steps to demonstrate this beyond any doubt, both to your appointed debt agency in the past and to you on this date.

I would ask that no further contact be made by you or any third party appointed by you concerning the above supply address unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

So, a step in the right direction it seems. Fingers X'd...