Debt Collectors chasing my daughter

happy_bunny_2

Send them a written complaint stating that they are chasing an unknown debt without providing proof of the debt when reasonably requested.

Ask for a copy of their complaints procedure.

State that after 8 weeks, you will refer to the Ombudsman unless they provide proof of the debt of cease collecting it.

hohum

I used to work in the finance dept of a housing office.

We got 10 or 20 of these kind of letters a week. They are sent out by utility companies in high volume, to see if they find a 'hit'.

They really don't need to be taken that seriously. The major reason that they would send out the bills is because a final read was not provided, or the new tenant would not provide an opening read. This meant that the period the property was 'in void' - where the landlord is responsible for bills - was usually massively out.

They send these letters out to whoever they can get a data match on the property with. We got ones for a vacant property that mostly shared the same postcode as one of the housing association's properties. It had nothing to do with the housing association, and never had done!

By sending the prove it letter you have provided a 'hit', ie someone for them to talk to. The debt probably doesn't actually exist, but is an estimated read which they've recorded as a 'debt'. Don't get into corresponding with them, you've already muddled things.

Expecting utility companies to behave rationally or believe that debt companies take things personally is mistaken. Utility companies are mostly giant robots, only as good as the data they receive. And even then their systems can easily mess up the data. Debt collectors don't care if it's your daughter or the council, they will apply the same approach and systems. I once had a debt collector threaten to take my organisation to court over a fictitious utility bill. I invited her to go ahead: I was a temp and I really didn't care if she wanted to proceed with the collection based on fictional data. If I had been an individual the effect would have been different, but fortunately the job gave me the opportunity to see that most of debt collectors approach is hot air and bluff. Most, not all.

Get the facts from your daughter:
- was she named on any bills?
- did she or one of her housemates provide a closing read when they moved out?
- if only she moved out, she can just ignore and eventually they'll score another hit on whoever is actually liable

If your daughter wanted to sort it out, she could phone EDF and check they had the closing read from when she moved out of the property and confirm with them that she no longer lived there. Or she could write to them with the same info.

But seriously, don't get into corresponding with or complaining about this debt collection company. They haven't provided any info, the data is scarce and so they are trying to scare you into paying. Get the facts clear first. Don't send them a complaint at the moment, that will just confuse things.

Pat_Meister

Thank you all for your help.

My daughter was never named on any bills. Her housemate closed the account and nPower came and did a closing read (as you see they were not even with EDF). They all moved out but none of the others are being chased for any debt.

My daughter called Citizens Advice yesterday and was told that the onus is on the debt collector to prove a debt. They took the details and said they would report the company to some official body.

I told my daughter not to speak or correspond with the company further but to keep a log of each attempted contact so that she can refer it to the Ombudsman if needs be. I also told her to keep an eye on her credit report.

She is also trying to get any bill from her ex-housemate whose name was on the bill so that she would be able to prove (if it ever came to it) that the energy bill for that flat was paid in full and that none of them were even EDF customers.

hohum

Pat_Meister wrote: »

Thank you all for your help.

My daughter was never named on any bills. Her housemate closed the account and nPower came and did a closing read (as you see they were not even with EDF). They all moved out but none of the others are being chased for any debt.

My daughter called Citizens Advice yesterday and was told that the onus is on the debt collector to prove a debt. They took the details and said they would report the company to some official body.

I told my daughter not to speak or correspond with the company further but to keep a log of each attempted contact so that she can refer it to the Ombudsman if needs be. I also told her to keep an eye on her credit report.

She is also trying to get any bill from her ex-housemate whose name was on the bill so that she would be able to prove (if it ever came to it) that the energy bill for that flat was paid in full and that none of them were even EDF customers.

That all sounds sensible. When you have seen a lot of this letters coming through, with garbled names and really erroneous info it makes you realise that just because someone says you have debt, it doesn't mean you actually do! And if they can't prove that the debt is hers, I really don't think you need to worry about it.

You know I almost would lay money that EDF are chasing the landlord supply for the building if it was a flat and have just sent out bills to anyone and everyone. Whichever way, you and I don't have to worry about it as that's their problem!