Never received a bill/statement for goods - been referred to a debt collection agency

katyb1234

Hi

I was wondering if any body has any advice or information, me and my partner moved in together last August and bought a lot of goods on finance. My partner ordered a fridge from Argos on his old Argos account, I'm in charge of the household finances (unlucky me!) and have paid every bill etc on time. Last week a letter was sent from a Debt Collection Agency called moorcroft on behalf of Argos asking for a payment of £300 for our fridge/ freezer, however I never received one bill or statement from Argos prior to this, and as ridiculous as it sounds totally forgot about the payment on the fridge, I had originally assumed that it must have been purchased on some form of buy now pay later scheme and figured I'd receive a bill at a later date. I rang Moorcroft to expain this and came to some arrangement for the repayment, I was told by the gy I spoke to there was nothing he could do as all they do is handle the accounts Argos send over to them, which I totally understand. However, I am pretty peeved that it has gotten to this stage without any prior warning (apart from the delivery note I signed I have no paper work whatsoever from Argos), it's also come at a time when my partners job is being threatened, does anyone know if I have any rights regarding this??

Thank you

The_Pedant

I would be inclined to take this up immediately with Argos, or whoever the finance deal was with.
It could simply be that there has been a mistake somewhere along the line which meant they did not have your correct address. If you can explain how you have not been given any notification of the amount being due, and you have had no notification of a failed attempt to collect any money, then it is reasonable to expect them to attempt to correct the problem before passing it onto the DCA.

Also, by dealing directly you might avoid the possibility of having to also pay any collection fees added on by Moorcroft.

maninthestreet

Could the Argos bill/account statement from your OH's 'old' Argos account have gone to your old address??