Can I charge for sending letters, emails etc to debt collectors I don't owe money to?

Tracy_Moon

I getting fed up with having to contact incompetent companies and debt collection agencies due to errors on their part and want to know if I can charge for the letters, emails, phonecalls and wasted time these things chasing up without them getting resolved. It's all very well being told to write in, pass to OFT, trading standards etc but it's turning into a full-time job here.

E.g. 1: I received my first and final bill from E4B it was almost £53,000 for 6 weeks electric! I queried, it was put on hold while they investigated and I started getting letters from BCW. I told them the amount was in dispute but they still demanded full payment - ha (all the posts about BCW are true, they are incredibly rude and unhelpful, don't waste your time phoning them). Anyway, I spoke to E4B, the final amount was 20quid which I paid immediately to E4B (they wanted me to pay BCW as E4B would incur charges if they withdrew from BCW - do they think I'm mad? It should not have been passed to them in the first place).

E.g. 2: We closed our account with BT at a previous address in May last year, I have a copy of the final bill showing zero balance dated August. in Jan2009 we started getting debt collection agency letters saying we owed BT £169.

I complained online, got an email saying to ignore and have just got 2 more letters from solicitors/debt agencies. I've just had a lengthy online chat with BT but got nowhere. Have sent them all template letters about proving I owe the debt etc.

I have had several other issues like this over the last year with Talk Talk, OPUS energy, Gems Hygiene,Littlewoods - the list goes on (we lived in a pub for a while and it seems that every company is trying to get money from us for things we didn't agree to, sign up for and/or that we've already paid.

It really is starting to affect the time I have available (I'm self-employed working from home), am I legally allowed to charge these companies for my time etc? I'm quite happy to take them to small claims court if necessary.

Any help/advice much appreciated - this is my first post but I've got loads of useful info from the forums previously.

123oleary

i would think you have to tell them you are going to charge for any further letters and you would struggle to get the money out of them . what would you do if the company refused to pay and how far would you take it?
you might find it easier to charge for expenses for phone calls and postage etc and a well written letter of complaint to a firm like bt might result i9n a token payment . good luck

Butlers1982

wow, you must be really REALLY busy if this takes up your time. . .

Send them ONE letter with proof you owe nothing. total cost recorded delivery a whoping £1.08.

The longer you take to sort it out, the worse your credit file is going to get marked.

Do you really think the courts would look good upon someone trying to recover a few pounds through them . . . .

Tracy_Moon

Thanks for your comments.

It's the sheer number of companies involved and the number of times they each call. I have to answer my phone in case it's a business call, some of the numbers I recognise and ignore but they seem to use different ones - I've had four calls just from Littlewoods today (from two different numbers). They're holding up my line when clients could be trying to get through.

I'm not too worried about the ones I definitely don't owe money too. I learned a long time ago to keep a record of everything right from the start even when there aren't any problems. I'm worried about the ones I'm in dispute with - I'm now on my 10th incorrect bill from United Utilities in less than that number of months.

It takes ages getting through each time and then I have to explain everything all over again (shame they didn't send me a cheque when one bill said I was 10 grand in credit). It costs a fortune as I don't have a landline and there's not always an alternative number. It also means I'm spending far too much time phoning and writing to them all.

I don't bother phoning the debt agencies, I just send the template letter saying it's in dispute but this doesn't seem to do any good, the letters and phone calls keep coming.

I don't see why I should have to keep paying for their mistakes. The companies are quick enough to charge admin fees and letters etc. Why can't we if they're in the wrong?

AverageJoe_4

Yes I would make an official list of charges for time, commodities, phone calls, letters etc...

and send them an invoice - and phone them too!!!!

daska

One suggestion I saw, no idea of whether it would work and have never tried it...

When you write to the company telling them that you don't owe anything or that the amount is in dispute, provide the evidence to support this the first time. If you hear from them again take the time in to fill in a small claims form and send them a photocopy of it. Tell them that if you hear anything more from them you will be claiming to recoup the costs of dealing with them at x.xx per letter, x.xx per minute of your business time dealing with phonecalls etc. I think the theory is that if you show them that you already have the form filled in and ready to go, it'll demonstrate that you mean business...

As I said, I don't know the pros and cons of this...

vikingaero

I'm not sure on which forum this was but I recall someone sending a financial company/debt company a letter asking for no further contact about a third party's debt. They stated that they would charge for any further calls or letters sent. Of course the muppets continued to send letters and call them. They issued an invoice and when it was not paid they issued a County Court Summons. On the day of the hearing a solicitor for the defendant turned up with a cheque to cover the invoice and the summons fee. The defendants solicitor snottily stated something along the lines that the claimant was wasting Court time over such a trivial matter.

Tracy_Moon

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll add a paragraph to my template letters stating that I'll start charging if I have to write or phone again.

Will keep you posted

Waterwalker

vikingaero wrote: »

I'm not sure on which forum this was but I recall someone sending a financial company/debt company a letter asking for no further contact about a third party's debt. They stated that they would charge for any further calls or letters sent. Of course the muppets continued to send letters and call them. They issued an invoice and when it was not paid they issued a County Court Summons. On the day of the hearing a solicitor for the defendant turned up with a cheque to cover the invoice and the summons fee. The defendants solicitor snottily stated something along the lines that the claimant was wasting Court time over such a trivial matter.

BCW actually BUY debts, Sometimes they do not do the homework on these and buy them in bulk, then resort to the bully letter tatctics. Work out the stat's, ! If 50% of people pay up on threats, they probably make money. I have one big problem with these people, I have ended up sending recorded delivery letter saying if they intend to take it forward to the courts "DO SO" we will await the letter that has to come from the court for us to place our defence, no further corrispondance will be entered into.
You have just 'upped' the anti, but only do this if you have a good case and can prove you are in the right or there is a big discrepancy on thier part. You can counter claim and cost them a lot of money.