Letter received for debt collection agency for broadband debt I don't think I owe

miniandfloss

Hi,

Have read so many posts on the subject I have ended up getting in a muddle so wondered if there was any one who had been through this before that could advise me what steps they took...

Backstory...

I moved in with my partner to a new property in December 2011. My flat was still on the market at this point and didn't sell and complete until May 2012 (so was empty from end of december onwards but i was still going bck every few days to pick up any post).

I cancelled all my phonelines/broadband and the final bills came out of my bank by direct debit in January 2012.

I have just received (at my new address I'm not sure how they found me) a letter from a debt collection company saying I owe TalkTalk money for broadband. Before I was with TalkTalk I was a long term Tiscali customer and seemed to just transfer over to TalkTalk when they took it over i.e. the name on the direct debit changed from Tiscali to TalkTalk and I think I had a standard welcome letter but nothing more.

I paid broadband monthly by direct debit and never defaulted on any payment - so i'm not sure where this has come from and want to dispute it as I remember phoning up TalkTalk to stop my broadband and my bank statements clearly show they stopped taking money from my account after the January 2012 payment. If I owed them money then they did not chase this for the next few months as I was still collecting post from my old address.

So after a bit of research think i need to send the debt management company a debt dispute letter???

Is this template suitable (I found it one here) and do I need to put in any more information saying that cancelled my service and full and final payment was taken.

thanks for any info anyone can offer....

Dear Sir/Madam

Ref: xxxxxxxxxxx

You have contacted us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by ourselves.

We would point out that we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to The Loan Company.

We are familiar with the ‘Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance’ which states that it is unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

We would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

We would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence as to our liability for the debt in question.

We await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise we will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

We look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

Buzby

They found out because your new address was linked to your previous one - no magic required. What you need to establish is prior to switching to Your new provider, had you given notice of your intention to cease,NAND had this acknowledged?

Assuming you had a final bill and this was paid, then you Han reject their claim that you owe anything. Paying by DD is not in itself proof you owe nothing. Some firms cancel the mandate and requie the last payment to be made by other means.

The kinky way to find out is to ask for all paperwork relating to the disputed amount and traced it back from that. You also might want to check your credit file for any defaults.