Warning and advice about LCS Utility Investigation Civil Enforcement Debt Recoveries
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Hi all just had a quick scan over this thread after receving 2 letters from these lot. We moved in to our flat oct 2009 and moved out aug 2010 and the letter is charging from oct 2009 until 16/3/11!!! a total of GBP654.01! The problem is we think we may have left some bills unpaid (stupid i know). I would rather not contact LCS at all but am unsure what to do next? Im not really sure how much we do owe but its not as much as they claim and I know they will try for the full amount. Im thinking maybe ring british gas? Any advice please? Oh and how did they find us?0
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Hi Lee
They have numerous ways to find you: landlord, your predecessor or successor at the flat, the local authority. Indeed, if the utility account was ever in your name, the company themselves can track you in various ways. Its amazing what 'tracing' services are available and can achieve these days.
As per my earlier thread, the problem with these people like LCS, is they will not discuss anything. You concede in your post you might well owe something, but likely not the full amount they're asking for. Its these grey, pragmatic areas that companies like LCS cannot deal with. You either owe or you don't, you will either pay or you won't.
Strictly speaking of course, you should have paid your bills at the time and provided closing meter readings to the company the day you vacated the property. Your failure to do this does muddy the waters.
In the past when I've dealt with a similar scenario at work, I wrote to them, setting out the vagueness of the case and their lack of proof of exactly what you owe, but then making a 'without prejudice' full and final cash offer to settle.
I would pro-rata the amount they're asking for based on your period of actual occupation at the property. In my case they were asking for about 700 and I offered 200, which they accepted.
Good Luck.0 -
Hi all just had a quick scan over this thread after receving 2 letters from these lot. We moved in to our flat oct 2009 and moved out aug 2010 and the letter is charging from oct 2009 until 16/3/11!!! a total of GBP654.01! The problem is we think we may have left some bills unpaid (stupid i know). I would rather not contact LCS at all but am unsure what to do next? Im not really sure how much we do owe but its not as much as they claim and I know they will try for the full amount. Im thinking maybe ring british gas? Any advice please? Oh and how did they find us?
Lee.
If you moved out of your flat on August 2010,then you are not responsible for the gas or electric after the date in August 2010(you did not give an exact date)you moved out.
First of all when you move out YOU MUST tell British Gas that you are moving out.And give them the date you are moving out. And give the final metre reading on the day you move out,so they can close your account.
If you just moved out and never told them your account at your old address will still be open. And you will still be charge for gas and electric used at your old address.
But if you did tell British Gas or whoever your energy supplier was at your previous address you were moving out. And gave them the date of your move and phoned them up to close your account and they would have taken the final metre readings. Then the error is not your fault.
And at the time British Gas would have sent you your final bill for your old address to your new address. And you would have paid any outstanding balance for the time you had lived there.
So if you moved out in August 2010,as long as you told them and closed your account. You are not responsible for the gas or electric used after August 2010,because you are no longer living there. And have not since August 2010. Unless you moved out without telling them. But if you told them and closed the account.Then,no,you are not responsible for the gas or electric after that time.
If you think that you may have left some bill unpaid from the dates that you did live at your old address. You should talk to British Gas NOT LCS.
But REMEMBER,you are only responsible for gas,electric or other utilities used DURING the time that you lived at your old address. NOT after the date you officially moved out.
So if they are trying to bill your from August 2010 to 2011,then no you are not responsible any bills between those dates,at your old address. As you no longer live at that address and have not since that time.
Unless you moved out without telling them you were moving and you never closed the account.
But if you did close your account, and they are trying to bill you for those dates.You should seek help from the Citizens Advice Bureau or a Lawyer. Barbara.0 -
hi no we didnt close the account ourselves, the agency we rented off said they were doing all of that so we didnt know it was still open, does that mean we are still responsible even if we call up and tell them we were not living there? thanks for your reply0
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Lee.
You are responsible for all of the utility bills in any flat,including a rented one.Not the landlord or the letting agency. Unless the bills are included in the rent but in most properties they are not.
So it is you that has to register for the utilities when you move in and you have to get in contact with the energy supplier yourself. Not the letting agent. So when you moved out you should have phoned and wrote to British Gas or whoever your energy supplier was yourself,NOT the letting agent.
So it could be that because you left it to your letting agent to close your account and you did not do this yourself,which you should have done. That the letting agent forgot to close the account.
If that is the case then if you moved out without telling British Gas and so you did not close your account. Then as far as they are concerned,you are still living there and therefore you are responsible for the gas and electric. Because you did not close your account.
It is your responsibility to let your energy supplier know you are moving and you must close any accounts yourself. Not the letting agents. So you should not have left it to the letting agent.
It is the tenants responsibility to register for the utility bills,council tax,etc and pay all of the bills not the landlord or letting agents. And it is the tenants responsibly to let your energy supplier,water board etc know the dates you are moving out. And it is you the tenants responsibility to close the accounts yourself. Which from from you are telling me you did not do.
So I would advise you to go back to your old letting agent and ask them if they did close your accounts at your old address. If they did not,then you need to see a solicitor or lawyer or go to citizens advice bureau right away. As you could be libel to pay the gas and electric bill from your last address. Because you did not tell them you were moving and because you did not close your account. Barbara.0 -
I have just received a letter from LCS - it says they are chasing a debt. it doesn't have my name on it, nor the previous occupiers name. in fact it doesn't have any information at all, just asks me to provide all the details by various routes i.e. email/web/post/phone
I am reluctant just to provide information. I know the debt definitely isn't to do with me, so must be the previous occupants- who I don't have a forwarding address for anyway.
Should I ignore this? I'm just concerned there may be more letters/ people knocking on my door!0 -
I have just received a letter from LCS - it says they are chasing a debt. it doesn't have my name on it, nor the previous occupiers name. in fact it doesn't have any information at all, just asks me to provide all the details by various routes i.e. email/web/post/phone
I am reluctant just to provide information. I know the debt definitely isn't to do with me, so must be the previous occupants- who I don't have a forwarding address for anyway.
Should I ignore this? I'm just concerned there may be more letters/ people knocking on my door!
Keep ignoring the letters unless they make a specific demand from you by name.0 -
Yes,fatbelly is right. I sometimes get bills from other companies addressed to the previous tenant who was living in my flat before me.And in my last flat I got a lot of letters with my address on them but no name.And others addressed to my landlord.
Chances are they are bills that either the previous tenant or your landlord has not paid. And so are nothing to do with you. And so if they are not addressed to you by name,then don't open them. As they are not your bills. And it is likely they are either chasing the landlord or whoever was living at your address before you moved in.
So if they are not addressed to you I would not worry. Barbara.0 -
British Gas use two companies that I know of LCS and SRJ. I was contacted by both over debts I didn't owe. Their tactics are as described by others eg bullying etc but also on the verge of illegality. Be careful if you get 'a cold call' from them asking for secure information before they will speak to you - they record outgoing calls from their office - so your private details will be recorded on their system. Best tactic is to simply tell them you have logged a dispute, and then do so through British Gas. I have also reported them to the OFT etc. You can get the names of their directors from company register sites and their home addresses which you can check on google maps. Writing direct to the directors really annoys them. Godd luck0
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I have just received my second letter from LCS addressed to my dad at my address (he has never lived here) about a British Gas bill he allegedly owed on the housing association property he lived in when he died in March last year. The dates are between 13/04/2009 and 05/10/2011. All I have done so far (unfortunately before I looked at this forum) was to email them and ask them where they got the association of my father from in relation to my address. I am awaiting a response. I was unaware of any debt my father had with any utility or any other company and I was not the executor of his will so what right have they got to write threatening letters to my dad, at MY address?0
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