Letter from bpo collections, prove it or pay?

chelseablue

At the weekend my partner received a letter from bpo collections about £275 owed to Virgin Mobile.


He cant remember being with Virgin, but that doesn't mean he wasn't!


The account doesn't appear on Noddle but is on his Clearscore file with the following information:


Account opened: 30 May 2011

Balance: £275


The payment history on Clearscore only shows as far back as 2013 and there have been no payments made (I met him in 2012, he definitely hasn't made a payment to them since then)


It doesn't say anything about being in default.


What do we do? Just pay up or send a prove it letter?

sourcrates

Hi,

Send the "provit" letter as a first step.

See what they come back to you with.

Then take it from there.

StopIt

Can't be any harm surely in sending a Prove-It letter?


Use the time it takes for them to respond to put the money aside if you can and if it turns out the DCA was just fishing and hit the wrong target, you have a little bonus!


Edit: As above, beaten by the far more experienced Sourcrates!.

chelseablue

Thank you, this is the only bad thing on his credit file now, will be good to get it sorted.


Obviously if they can prove he owes it then we will pay in full.


But if they cant, what happens? Does it stay on his credit report or do they have to remove it?

StopIt

chelseablue wrote: »

Thank you, this is the only bad thing on his credit file now, will be good to get it sorted.


Obviously if they can prove he owes it then we will pay in full.


But if they cant, what happens? Does it stay on his credit report or do they have to remove it?

If it isn't his debt, then yes, you can apply with the DCA to remove it from the credit files. After all, if it isn't his, why should he suffer for it?

chelseablue

Just a quick update; sent the prove it letter via email on 8th March.


They acknowledged they have received the letter but have not sent a response yet.


Is there a time limit they have to respond by?

sourcrates

chelseablue wrote: »

Just a quick update; sent the prove it letter via email on 8th March.


They acknowledged they have received the letter but have not sent a response yet.


Is there a time limit they have to respond by?

No, not really, just sit tight.

They will have to obtain proof of liability from the original creditor, which may take some time.

Give it a month, if they have not responded by then, chances are they won't bother you again, but they may pass it to another collector.

chelseablue

Thank you Sourcrates, helpful as always


If we don't hear from them again, what can we do about getting this debt removed from his file?


I don't think its listed as a default, it just says 'telecoms account in arrears"


Can they put it as a default after all these years?

sourcrates

Difficult one that, defaults vanish after 6 years, since it's not defaulted, it may show as delinquent for a long time, and be difficult to get removed.

chelseablue

To get it off his file is it better to just pay it?

I thought it was a bit odd that he received a letter when the account has been open almost 6 years, surely he would have received a letter before now

sourcrates

Paying it won't remove it.

However, it will show as settled, and be moved to the "closed accounts" section of your file.