How did red get mobile number?

qwertyjjj

So, I moved back to the UK recently and all of a sudden have started receiving letters from Red about a debt with a mobile phone company that I cancelled the contract for 3 years ago.
Then all of a sudden, they start texting me and ringing me with automated messages (all went through to answerphone).
How did they get my number for starters (as I have a new number with a new phone company)?
I'm assuming something came up on my credit report as registering at a new address.
I don't owe this bill (£200) and it's for an amount that I doubt they'd bother taking me to court over so should I just ignore it? They did nothing for 3 years so why now?

NeverEnough

When you register on the Electoral Roll or do a Credit Search, DCAs find addresses and contact details........the CRAs "share" information that you place on file, supposedly to "reduce fraud". That's often how it happens.....

qwertyjjj

NeverEnough wrote: »

When you register on the Electoral Roll or do a Credit Search, DCAs find addresses and contact details........the CRAs "share" information that you place on file, supposedly to "reduce fraud". That's often how it happens.....

There should be no telephone numbers on the credit report, surely?!
Anyway, so best just to continue ignoring them. If they haven't done anything for 3 years, I'm sure they won;t for another 3 and then it will just time out.

fermi

There are 'tracing' services run by the main CRAs amongst others. Telephone numbers are among the data sources that they use.

Example: http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer-information/autotrace-plus.html

qwertyjjj

fermi wrote: »

There are 'tracing' services run by the main CRAs amongst others. Telephone numbers are among the data sources that they use.

Example: http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer-information/autotrace-plus.html

Either way, there's not much point contacting them for £200 as a court case is likely to cost them more. May as well let it time out, they waited 3 years already.
I assume they have some kind of system that tells them if the number they call answered or not, still doesn't prove whether it's me on the other end.
It's a pain for me to prove because I contacted the phone company cancelling my service but they say I never received it and I was out of the country so they let the contract carry on for 8 months with no payment and then shut it down themselves and now they want that 8 months.

qwertyjjj

Is there a minimum amount that these companies go to court over? I would have thought it would have to be in the £1,000+ to even bother?

paulmapp8306

Depends. If they claim court costs on top of the debt it wont cost them anything to chase.

Do you still have a copy of the letter you sent them?

qwertyjjj

paulmapp8306 wrote: »

Depends. If they claim court costs on top of the debt it wont cost them anything to chase.

Do you still have a copy of the letter you sent them?

No, sadly not. I did it all by email and it was 3 years ago.
If I start communicating again it's going to open up even more problems whereas I think if I just kept quiet they would chase other fish as they don't even know if I am around.

Gordon_Hose

Just means they will spam your phone with messages for the next 3 years.