Southern Electric - Debt collectors call after leaving them 2 1/2yrs ago!

joanneg_2

:mad:Hi,

Have just had a phone call from some debt collection agency on behalf of Southern Electric claiming we owe them £259.81.

the story is.... I signed up with them in June 2006 after their rep turned up at my door stating we could have a fixed monthly payment of £45 for so many yrs (I can't remember exactly how long now) so I went for it. Few months later I cottoned on that we would probably be facing a hefty final bill when we did leave them as we use more than £45 gas and elec per month easy.

Called them up and after a few months of haggling they admitted they had basically conned us, sent a written letter of apology, £50 high street voucher and wiped the account clean. This was in August 2007.

Tonight I get the call from the debt collectors and I am livid.

Why has it taken them over 2 yrs to chase us if they believe we owe them money? What will happen now?

Obviously I can't proof what happened after all it was more than 2 yrs ago.

I have no intention nor ability to pay them. The agency will be 'looking in to it' in the meantime I'll be calling Southern Electric, Energy Ombudsman and Consumer Direct and anyone else I can think of.

Would appreciate any advice or opinions? Thanks.

Cardew

Have you still got the written letter of apology?

Are you still at the same address?

From many posts on MSE it is often the case that the customers understanding of how the problem was resolved, is different to that of the Utility firm.

If you are quite confident of your grounds, then take Southern to the Small Claims Court.

Personally I wouldn't deal with the DCA, they won't 'look into it'(albeit they will say they have) but will just come chasing you for the money.

You need to check that there isn't a black mark on your credit record.

Premier_2

joanneg wrote: »

... they admitted they had basically conned us,

I very much doubt that

joanneg wrote: »

...Obviously I can't proof what happened after all it was more than 2 yrs ago...

Now if you had only kept that letter. Why didn't you? I know I would have.

joanneg_2

Ok,

Sorry Premier don't really like to tone ... asked for help and advice not what I take to be sarcasm ... but thanks.

Yes they admitted we had been conned and lied to. Again admitted that today when I finally got to speak to someone in the company.

They inform me that they are getting the a/c back from the dca to deal with as they again admit faults their end for never contacting us before they wrote off the debt.

Apparently the amount claimed we owe them is from the usage above the £45 pm we were paying them. Now my view of this is they admit we were missold/misled into signing a contract with them without being aware we would eventually have to pay for extra usage above the £45 per month and as soon as we became aware this was the position we complained and we left .... all of which they agree to.

Whilst this problem was being sorted out we withheld 2 payments so we admit we owe them £90 which we're happy to pay but why should we pay the extra usage when we weren't aware that this was part of the contract (it was not in any of the documentation they gave us which was how I got out of the contract with them)? Were would we stand with this argument?

Any constructive input gratefully received. Thank you.

Fire_Fox

Rightly or wrongly you have debt collectors on your back which is risking your credit rating, making phone calls is not the way forward. Write formal letters disputing the debt to all and sundry, send recorded delivery and keep the receipts. If a bailiff shows up on your doorstep do not let them in, and don't even leave any doors or windows open while you look for ID.

Cardew

joanneg wrote: »

Ok,


Apparently the amount claimed we owe them is from the usage above the £45 pm we were paying them. Now my view of this is they admit we were missold/misled into signing a contract with them without being aware we would eventually have to pay for extra usage above the £45 per month and as soon as we became aware this was the position we complained and we left .... all of which they agree to.

Any constructive input gratefully received. Thank you.

It really boils down to what you, and they, consider to be 'missold'.

A Direct Debit payment is not, and never has been, payment in full for gas and electricity. How can it be as nobody, not even you, know how much you will use.

The agreement you sign is to receive the gas and electricity at a set price per kWh. The initial DD is payment on account nothing else.

Whist I have absolutely no doubt that you were misled by the salesman, did you genuinely believed that the £45 a month would be "fixed for years" and would cover your gas and electricity costs regardless of how much you used and any increase in prices?

However unless you have in writing that £45 would cover your bills, regardless of how much you used, it is certainly not misselling.

It is impossible for anyone to accurately set a DD, so by your contention, everyone on a DD payment scheme has been missold.

I really would be amazed if any Utility company would write and admit you have been missold.

Interested to hear the outcome of this saga.

Premier_2

joanneg wrote: »

Ok,

Sorry Premier don't really like to tone ... asked for help and advice not what I take to be sarcasm ... but thanks.

Yes they admitted we had been conned and lied to. Again admitted that today when I finally got to speak to someone in the company....

No sarcasm intended. Genuine question. Honest advice given.

If I had received a letter from a major company that anulled an invoice because they had admitted they had conned and lied to me, I would certainly have had retained it ... and probably posted it here on MSE for all to see!

Did you record the call just made? If not, ask for a copy of that call. They might charge you a tenner, but it'll be worth it.
They often send it as an MP3 recording. Perhaps you could host it somewhere for everyone to hear?
With evidence like that, I'm sure you'll end up with a lot more than a tenner in goodwill/compensation once you take the matter higher.

joanneg_2

Thanks. I honestly feel like a bit of an idiot by firstly not keeping the letter and secondly believing what the salesperson said.

I find gas & elec very confusing and had just had a new baby so being told it'll be fixed at that price appealed to me naturally. It wouldn't and didn't for about 8 months occur to me that this was wrong. When the salesperson turned up at my door he asked what I was paying at the time which was £60 pm and told me I can beat that ....... that was me hooked .... thought I had a bargin.

Am actually quite scared at the seriousness of this from reading the posts.

Southern Electric (the lovely Sarah) said yesterday she'll be getting the debt back from the debt collectors and would call me back that day..... unsurprisingly no call yet and no call from the DCA.

I thought that when a company wrote off a debt a dca brought the debt from them and tried to get it back from the customer (me). So how could Southern electric be able to get the debt back to them.

Didn't record the call but she did say I wasn't expected to call them and she'll call me so I'll wait. When, and if, she does call back I'll request a copy of payments, all bill and correspondence and a copy of the calls made. Will they still have copies of the calls made over two years ago?

Have had plenty of dealings with the CSA so guess I need to treat these people the same.

I do have a question. Is there a time limit in which a energy company can chase up a debt? This call was 3 weeks off 2 yrs so just wondered?

Will update whenever I hear anything back ..... am not holding breath as this took two years!

Thank you.

Cardew

They can chase a debt forever, once they have notified you that you owe money.

You are possibly thinking about the 12 month back-billing rule, where they can only back charge for 12 months gas/electricity if they didn't raise any bill and it was their fault.

Everything hinges on getting a copy of this letter from the Utility Company. If the content is as you recall you are in the clear.

However I honestly cannot see them ever putting such a statement in writing, and to then start proceedings to recover the debt seems to confirm that at the very least that one department wasn't aware of the letter.

There can surely be no doubt it was not company policy to admit liability and write off bills(with a £50 voucher) simply because a DD was set low initially.

The one thing you haven't stated is if you are still at the same address?

Premier_2

joanneg wrote: »

...I do have a question. Is there a time limit in which a energy company can chase up a debt? This call was 3 weeks off 2 yrs so just wondered?...

Typically 6 years (5 in Scotland where a different law applies). But note:...

...The time scale mainly depends on the type of debt and can be extended at the courts discretion. The time limit begins when you last admitted owing the money or made a payment.

Should the creditor fail to maintain contact with the debtor, for a period of 6 years or more, it is possible to claim that the outstanding debt is "Statute Barred" under the conditions of the Limitations Act 1980...

http://www.payplan.com/debt-library/joint-and-several-liability-the-limitation-act-1980.php

marmitedog

Southern offered me a fixed price £45 deal too. I took them up on it and then installed the heated outdoor pool. That'll learn 'em!:rotfl:

More helpfully, it should be a simple matter for Southern to recall the account from the DCA and write the balance off on their systems.

The issue obviously wasn't correctly dealt with (or dealt with differently to your recollection) 2 years ago.

The fact that the account was passed to the DCA probably meant the default was passed to Experian at the same time.

When you get it sorted, request your credit file and check there are no "black" keys ie defaults.