No warning Debt Collection

minim55

Hi All,
Hope this is the right place to post.

Out of the blue, my Fiance got a letter from a debt collection agency last week threatening legal action etc if he did not pay this water bill. My Fiance and I have moved several times over the past 5 years. We had no idea why the bill had come and I checked my payment records to see when the bill was last paid. I discovered that we were paid up until the middle of 2007. The number on the debt collection bill was of course an 0870 number and I was having none of that. I called the water company directly and explained that we had paid our bills and could they explain this letter. We were told that they were not able to contact us which I found strange as we had always been customers.

They promised to investigate and sent a letter this week saying the bill was for 4 years ago at a different address. They said it was from Sept 2002 until Feb 2002(this is their actual date range given!!)

What is annoying is that the debt company threatened legal action WITHIN 7 DAYS of letter date even if the letter wasn't read by him!

He has been travelling out of the country with work for the past 2 months almost full time. Luckily he has asked me to check his mail for him. What if he hadn't!

We were annoyed too that the first we heard of a bill was through a debt collection company threatening legal action!

I have contacted the company again for clarification of the dates (Sept 2002 until Feb 2002???) and been told they can't tell me anything as I am not on the bill and data protection blah blah! Do these people want paid? ! ! ! ! I explained he was away and am awaiting

What should I do about the way the company has handled this with us?

HugoSP

Search the net for CC WATER and raise it with them straight away. You'll be best raising it with your local office.

I can't rate these guys enough. They are the consumer representatives for the Water Industry - linked to Ofwat.

I have had to take on South West Water over two issues and both times they came to my aid and couldn't have been more helpful. Both times SWW had to climb down.

richt71

minim55 wrote:

Hi All,
Hope this is the right place to post.

Out of the blue, my Fiance got a letter from a debt collection agency last week threatening legal action etc if he did not pay this water bill. My Fiance and I have moved several times over the past 5 years. We had no idea why the bill had come and I checked my payment records to see when the bill was last paid. I discovered that we were paid up until the middle of 2007. The number on the debt collection bill was of course an 0870 number and I was having none of that. I called the water company directly and explained that we had paid our bills and could they explain this letter. We were told that they were not able to contact us which I found strange as we had always been customers.

They promised to investigate and sent a letter this week saying the bill was for 4 years ago at a different address. They said it was from Sept 2002 until Feb 2002(this is their actual date range given!!)

What is annoying is that the debt company threatened legal action WITHIN 7 DAYS of letter date even if the letter wasn't read by him!

He has been travelling out of the country with work for the past 2 months almost full time. Luckily he has asked me to check his mail for him. What if he hadn't!

We were annoyed too that the first we heard of a bill was through a debt collection company threatening legal action!

I have contacted the company again for clarification of the dates (Sept 2002 until Feb 2002???) and been told they can't tell me anything as I am not on the bill and data protection blah blah! Do these people want paid? ! ! ! ! I explained he was away and am awaiting

What should I do about the way the company has handled this with us?

I'd not worry too much about 7 days to court action that's usual debt agency speak to put pressure on you to pay it. If they are stupid enough to continue anyway then you can get it set aside until they can speak with your fiancee.

Fruitcake

Ignore the debt collection agency, they have no claim to any money in law. Any debt, if it does exist, belongs only to the water company. Even if they sold the debt, your fiance's contract and therefore debt is with and only with the water company.
The debt collection company have no right to any money, cannot enforce payment, cannot enter your home. They have no rights. If they contact you, tell them over and over again that you do not acknowledge any debt with them. If they come to your door, do not let them in and scream for the police. The police do not take kindly to debt collection threatening tactics. They are on your side.

If the debt is real, the water company must write to your fiance with the dates and amount owed. If they do not, there is no debt. Do not contact the water company again. They must provide proof of the debt. From what you have said so far they have not done so and would be laughed out of court.
Keep all correspondence, espescially the original water company letter with reverse dates. From this you could even claim that they owe you money since you would owe less after the second date than the first.

You Only Listen To Me When I'm Wrong

Fruitcake

IvanOpinion

Fruitcake, I don't think that is good advice. Debt should never be ignored whether or not it is in dispute. Just because you ignore it will not make it go away and if you get a black mark on your credit reord it can affect your ability to get credit for many years.

The debt company is correct that they can not discuss it with anybody other than the person involved. he needs to somehow contact them and sort this out once an for all, IN WRITING, or authorise the OP to act on his behalf.

ivan

Bunnie1982

I agree with Ivan Opinion on this matter, do not ignore the debt as they can still take legal proceedings against your fiance which could as a result in a CCJ against his name, although I do have to emphasise that legally they cannot disconnect you.

I don't wish to be blunt but when you move property it is your fiances responsibility to inform the water company so you can be final billed and correctly billed for each property you live at.

The best thing I can suggest is to get your fiance to call them or write to them giving his authorisation for you to speak to them. You will be able to dispute the debt on the basis that you never received the bill and can request for a copy bill to be sent to you.

If you wish to complain you need to do it directly through the companies complaints procedure before contacting Ofwat.

HugoSP

Bunnie1982 wrote:

If you wish to complain you need to do it directly through the companies complaints procedure before contacting Ofwat.

Normally I'd agree with what you say above, but due to the stance they appear to have taken then contacting CC Water now would be a good idea, even if it's only to ask advice and let them know that a problem could occur.

I found that on both occasions I've gone to them they have specified who I should write to and what I should ask for. When I reached a communications stalemate with SWW I then forwarded copies of all the communication to them.

It worked - which is why I'm recommending it to the OP.

Turning_into_scrooge

Ivan is correct here. Ask on the debt free board as you will get all the advice needed on how to deal with this there.