being chased for a bill I don't owe.

Cannorn

Hi all,
Long time lurker first time poster.

A few weeks ago I got a Debt Collection Letter from Advantis Credit saying they wanted £500ish off me for an unpaid bill at my address owed to Scottish and Southern Energy for a period in 2012.

Now I only moved into this address in Jan 2013, and it's a PAYG meter with a different company..so sufficed to say I was confused.
It was addressed to me and my ex wife but her name was misspelled.

I contacted them to dispute this and they asked for proof I only moved in Jan 2013.
I provided this.

Today they have gotten back to me saying it's not good enough I need to send them proof of address and lots of documentation for the period [FONT=&quot]18/04/2011 to 18/09/2012.....

I have spent the last few years homeless and moving from place to place, this is the first place in years I've been at long enough I've had to start paying council tax as I'm not longer simply "sleeping on the sofa" here. (10 months)

Now I have no idea where I was for this time period as this was around my separation from my ex so we were living apart, or rather I was crashing with whoever could put a roof over my head at the time.

Regardless I KNOW I have NEVER had a contract with this company anyway so that's by the by.

The Debt collectors say they can't give me any information, obviously the Energy company won't speak to me as I have no idea what any of the account details are supposed to be...so what am I meant to do here?

I Know I don't owe the money, best I can guess is the ex (who doesn't know anything about this debt) may have left her last place with unpaid bills but given I was not living with her for this period nor was I legally liable for her debts...surely I can tell them to go away?
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StuC75

Does your tenancy agreement show when you moved in?

Would also go with the route that in this country, the onus is upon them to prove that it is your debt rather than you to prove innocence..

Although what exactly did you mean by 'Not longer 'sleeping on the sofa' here'..

I assume your ex never lived at the address you are at now? so is the debt actually for where you are now? or is it chasing for the previous address that you did live at with the ex?

Cannorn

I've just seen the sticky on this one actually (Sorry!) so will be going back to them to ask for proof of debt as per the template, I've already sort of done that but the letter is far more thorough so no harm in using that too.

The odd thing is they are saying in the original begging letter it's for supply to my current address for the final quarter of 2012.

Now I've proven I didn't live here then, they are saying ACTUALLY it's for the period 2011 to 2012...That's quite a difference, though they still claim it's for power supply to this address.
I've confirmed with the land lord this address has NEVER had supply from this company, and it's been PAYG meter for many years, so this claim is totally bogus.

I replied that they were changing their claim significantly and I want to see a signed contract and EXACT details of the alleged debt before I dealt with them any further or I'd consider it harassment and lodge a complaint with the Financial ombudsman.

I then came to these forums for advice and just realized there is a sticky with pretty much the same idea but for more precise, so I'm sending that also.
Lets see what they say.

Cannorn

So I've sent the PROVE IT letter and they've simply replied saying they will put my account on hold for 14 days to give ME time to prove to THEM where I lived between 2011 and 2013....

I assume I should tell them to get lost and that as per my previous mail I am now reporting them to the financial ombudsman?

rizla_king

Not your debt so why waste the effort? Just tell the idiots to f*** off.