Help - bills for unknown person

attritioner

I have been receiving bills from Sky to my home for an unknown person for the past few months. I have lived at my home address for the past 10 years and never had sky ever.

At first I just returned the bills marked as 'not known at this address'. As they kept arriving I wrote a letter to sky explaining that this person they where billing did not live at my address and has never lived at my address. I received not acknowledgement, but the bills kept coming. I wrote a second letter and still no acknowledgment.

Yesterday another letter was sent to my home from sky to this unknown person. I opened it as I was getting fed up and it seems sky are referring the debt to a collection agency.

I feel I have done all I can to inform sky. Can I just ignore the letters? Can this affect my credit rating. What can I do. Help.

Little_Vics

we have the same problem with our gas bill - I phoned our supplier and asked to speak to the legal team. They had records of us stating that the person didn't live here, but because the 'old account wasn't closed down properly' there was nothing they could do to stop the letters. I'm now seeking advice on what our position will be if the baliffs turn up. I suggest you call Sky....

Valli

and when you DO phone sky write to them confirming what has been said in your telephone call and reiterating that the addressee does not and has never lived at your address.

If bailiffs turn up do NOT let them in.

Keep copies of all correspondence and keep an eye on your credit report.

cleo1299

Tell Sky you were considering subscribing but all this trouble has put you off the idea. Often it's only the thought of losing/gaining a subscriber that kicks them into action.

trevormax

My mother was having a similar problem with a DCA asking for money when the account had been settled and they had sent a confirmation letter to say it was settled.

I did a little research and found a case where a lady is sueing British gas for harassment. BG had done exactly what Sky are doing to you.

A link to a news story is here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/4591212/Woman-sues-British-Gas-for-harassment-over-repeated-letters-and-bills.html.

I wrote a letter to the company telling them to stop the letters or I would sue them and one week later we had a groveling apology letter promising no further letters would be sent.


I told the DCA that they were in breech of [FONT=&quot]Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. I would suggest writing a final letter to Sky with the threat of court if they continue to pursue you for this debt. Also you could mention the court case against BG as precident.
[/FONT]

The_Pedant

I would suggest writing a final letter to Sky with the threat of court if they continue to pursue you for this debt.

The big difference here is that they are NOT chasing the OP for the debt, they are chasing an unknown person that they have on file at that address. Such a claim would therefore not get very far, especially as the letters are addressed to someone else.

The chances are that someone has inadvertantly put an incorrect address somewhere. You might be able to write back, recorded delivery stating how nobody has ever had Sky at that address in the past 10 years, inviting them to check their records. I would then add that any attempt to pursue a debt against a party not at the address could be construed as harrassment.

In many cases, simply returning to sender is not enough as they prefer a signed statement from the household, stating that the addressee does not live there.

Not sure if it's worth having a word with the post office. They can sometimes get post for a recipient blocked at the sorting office. They will then be returned to the sender by RM.

4743hudsonj

i have a similar case,

lived at my current address for nearly 8 years now, yet for the whole period i have received numerous letters and bills from hsbc for the former owners credit card that they stopped using.

numerous attempts to contact hsbc has just lead me to " contact the account holder to rectify" despite me quite frustratingly repeating that the former owner actually committed suicide shortly after moving to another address and so i cannot possibly contact her.

ive just given up on it now

cleo1299

Somewhere I read that you can arrange with Royal Mail so that only mail addressed to a particular surname will be delivered to your address. It's done through the Mail Redirection Service. You have to pay for it. If there are various surnames among the residents of your address, you have to pay for each one.

custardy

cleo1299 wrote: »

Somewhere I read that you can arrange with Royal Mail so that only mail addressed to a particular surname will be delivered to your address. It's done through the Mail Redirection Service. You have to pay for it. If there are various surnames among the residents of your address, you have to pay for each one.

nope no such service