Debt collection of Cancellation fees

scairney

Hello,

I have just received a letter from a debt collection agency who are trying to recoup around £57 from me in relation to a home insurance policy I apparently cancelled nearly 2 years ago.

I vaguely recognise the policy but do not particularly remember cancelling it early, however lets assume they are correct and I did. Surely at the point of cancellation the company (Budget) should have charged me for the cancellation? I certainly do not recall any communication from them in an attempt to either inform me of this charge or to recoup it. It seems strange that nearly 2 years pass before I find out about this.

The debt company (Tenron) do not hold any evidence of Budget trying to contact me on this matter.

I would normally pay any charges quickly so this has come as bit of a surprise. Whilst I understand I will have entered into a contract with Budget and agreed to pay any fees, if they do not have any proof of trying to recover this debt should I be paying charges they have applied to it for late payment?

Thanks,

Steve

huckster

No you should not pay this, if Budget have not written to you.

You could send a written complaint to Budget with a copy of the debt collection letter, advising that Budget are in breach of obligations under the FCA Handbook e.g clear communications, accounting standards. Budget did not mention or ask you regarding cancellation fees. Suggest to Budget that they either write it off or issue a final response, so the complaint can be escalated to the FOS.

If you do that, i think Budget will write it off and you will not be chased by debt collectors. The amount involved makes it not worth it, even if Budget thinks they wrote to you.

scairney

Huckster,

Thanks for the response.

On the phone Tenron did say that this debt had been sold on, does that mean I can't go back to Budget with this?

huckster

scairney wrote: »

Huckster,

Thanks for the response.

On the phone Tenron did say that this debt had been sold on, does that mean I can't go back to Budget with this?

Budget still responsible for any debt they have sold on.

Tenron would have bought this for about £5 as part of a list of Budget debts. They understand the risk of not collecting on most of the debts.