Lcs

KirstyO

Hi Folks,

In need of opinions. A letter was received today to my parents address with the names of my flatmate and myself from LCS. This surprised me. Of course my initial reaction was 'oh my god i've only just got debt free', but this letter isn't asking for money...see below

Dear NF and KO

Our case ref: xxxxxx
RE: [Your address]

Please contact us urgently

We are attempting to contact the above named person regarding a personal matter and we have been provided with your address as a possible address for our enquiries.

If you are the person named above, please contact us on 0844 543 9130 so that we can discuss this matter.

If, however, you are not the person named above, please accept our apologies for this contact. If you are able to supply us with information on where the above named person may reside we would welcome contact from you so that we may update our records accordingly.

Please note that all information received is regarded with the strictest confidence.

Yours Sincerely,

R Carter
For and on behalf of LCS

So I guess my questions are:

1) Why have they tried to contact us at my parents address when we both currently live at the property (no letters from these guys previously, or phone calls that we are aware of)?

2) Do they want money or information? I've searched the boards here and they seem to try and track people down as well as ask for money. There is no balance owed on the letter, nor does it give the name of a client that they are working for.

3) Do I do anything about it?

Thanks in advance MSE-ers. I know I can count on you guys for experience and advice!

happy_bunny_2

Normally chase outstanding utility accounts I think.

I've had a letter looking for someone responsible for electric before we moved in.

happy_bunny_2

I would ignore for now, until they write and tell you what they want.

KirstyO

Thanks for fast response happy. What you suggest is similar to other threads I've read on here. It just baffles me how they have got my parents address and not tried to contact us at the address they are investigating...


My initial panic has passed - I don't think they are chasing us for money. There is no amount quoted, no request to pay, and no mention of them working on behalf of [a client]

KirstyO

So this wasn't as clear cut as I thought! I spoke to LCS and they informed me that it was a debt to Eon. I explained that we don't use Eon and she said it may have been from a switching period. Anyway I didn't hand over any cash.


Housemate spoke to Eon and they said that the energy for the property had been paid for the period in question but that the account for our property was registered to someone else's name. We assume this is our landlord (we deal with letting agents), but it baffles me as to why Eon sold the debt on in the first place if they think that there is no outstanding debt for the property, and 2ndly why wouldn't our landlord or letting agent say 'oi, do you realise that you need to pay this yourself?'


The only reason I can see for any confusion is this...


When I moved into the flat it was because one of the two girls living there was moving out. After I moved in we continued paying Eon bills for a couple of months and then the direct debit stopped being taken from my housemates account.


Then we decided that we were going to switch anyway and went with Eon.


I think somewhere in the middle there were a few months where, from our perspective, nobody charged us for energy. I am thinking now that Eon charged this period to the landlord as it is his name on the deeds of the property.


Please do not think for one minute that I am trying to shirk the responsibility for paying this bill, I am more than happy to pay it now that we know what's going off. I'm just really confused as to why Eon reissued the entire bill for the period to us (via LCS) instead of saying to whoever it is who has been paying 'its been paid so it's none of our business now, if you need to chase tenants, do it yourself'.


Another baffling thing is why they have sold this on seemingly without contacting us. We have had no letters from Eon, not even ones addressed generically to 'the occupier'.


Now I have to email LCS to tell them that we have queried it with Eon who are satisfied that the people names on LCS's letter don't owe them any money. Looks like LCS will end up out of pocket on this one...

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi KirstyO

Sorry for the confusion. This sometimes happens where responsibility for properties changes hands, particularly if we're not told about certain changes. Another difficulty is where we don't have forwarding addresses.

The letter from LCS sounds like part of a search to find out the occupiers of the property during certain periods. These searches often turn up a number of different people associated with a property. This might include former residents, letting agents, landlords etc. LCS will send letters to all those identified asking for information.

I'd ask for copies of the bills where we're asking for payment. Make sure the dates involved match the time you were responsible for the energy at the property. Let us know if there are any discrepancies. A copy of the Tenancy Agreement will help here.

If it helps, talk to us about setting up a payment arrangement. This will stop debt follow up.

Hope this helps KirstyO.

Malc