LCS debt collection

Colonel_McG

Hi guys

I was shocked today to receive a letter from a debt collection agency called LCS looking for payment in regards to charges for a utility bill at a property I have recently moved out of.

I was sharing a two bedroom flat and around February last year someone new moved in. At that time our estate agent / landlord swapped our existing energy supplier to the one stated in the letter. I called them up and set up the account and then never received any bills from them for about 6 months when a different tenant moved in. I queried this with them at the time but was reassured over the phone that there were no issues. I remained with this energy company until moving out and have paid my final bill with them and everything. I have never heard anything about this matter up till now and am being asked for a sum of nearly £300.

My main concern is the impact this would have on my credit score more than anything else. I don't mind paying the bill - I believe I do owe the money. I think the mix-up behind all this is probably the address listed on the account for the property being slightly wrong in the way it's listed. It basically states: 'Building name,' 'Flat number + street' instead of 'flat number + building name' 'street.' Although the postcode is correct. This might explain why I never received any bills to begin with?

Is there any way I could go about resolving this to clear this up off my credit score or am I basically stuck with it until it goes away? Should I contact the energy company directly and would they be able to flag this up as an error?

sourcrates

Hi,

You mean your credit report, not your score.......does the utility company report on your credit file, not all do so ?

Best to check that first.

But if it is showing, and you admit you owe the money, then nothing incorrect has been done here.

Check all 3 credit reference agencies.

Colonel_McG

Yes thank you for your reply.

The energy company is Spark Energy - [edit] - According to their privacy info they do share with credit reference agencies.

I just checked my credit reports on noddle, clearscore and with the MSE credit club and, although noddle wouldn't give much information, I couldn't find any defaults etc showing. Does this mean it is unlikely to have been reported on credit file? Or would it take longer to appear on there? Is it something that will only appear on the record once I pay the money (being as the tone of this letter is more that they want me to confirm whether I'm responsible for the debt)?

As an aside I was quite surprised by how different the three scores were...

So... would I be best off hoping this was never reported and just calling this debt recovery agency up and paying the bill? Or should I contact Spark directly and try to explain the situation and that I never received any bill from them for this whatsoever up until the debt recovery people got involved likely due to an address error?

fatbelly

I'd send LCS a prove-it and see what comes back

There's a massive thread on these numpties here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2983648/warning-and-advice-about-lcs-utility-investigation-civil-enforcement-debt-recoveries

shakirashakira

My husband and I just received separate letters from this company.  They are demanding £456.77 for something they are calling Dual Tax Credits and are saying they are collecting on behalf of their client, wait for it HM Revenue and Customs!!! I highly doubt that HMRCS are employing debt collectors .  It is scam and I wouldn't go phoning or picking up any threads that might cause you to be highlighted to them.  They cant take anything off you or take any money either so I would ignore it.  Phone the source they say they collecting from.  However, I understand that they cannot make me pay, it doesn't mean that this hasn't caused me quite a bit of anxiety.  Of course I feel concerned and will probably fret until Monday when I can phone HMRCs myself but this kind of crap is circulating and will continue to cause unnecessary worry for people. 

fatbelly

I know it's barely believable but HMRC do use LCS

https://www.gov.uk/if-you-dont-pay-your-tax-bill/debt-collection-agencies#:~:text=HM%20Revenue%20and%20Customs%20(%20HMRC,1st%20Locate%20(trading%20as%20LCS)

so the correct thing here would be to request further information from LCS. In writing.

If you believe that you do not have overpaid tax credits (that would be Child Tax Credit and Working Tax credit) then a prove-it is the way to go. LCS must then  investigate and send you their findings.

sourcrates

This thread is over 2 years old, LCS are debt collectors, and are used by HMRC, they have a list of agencies they use on their website, that Fatbelly links too.
Good advice above.