Who do I pay? Debt collection or original company?

laurajanejones

I had some trouble not getting bills from Greenstar. They also send people round to read my meteres then lose the readings.

So I have a £800 bill which they've passed to debt collection. But they said they will still chase me for the debt as well.

Who do I pay?! The debt collection, or Greenstar?

[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

sourcrates

Hi,


Had to Google Greenstar, never heard of them before, it appears they are a utility company, they, just like many others, farm out outstanding bills to collection agencies, who just act on the clients behalf.


It makes no difference who you pay, you may as well pay the original creditor and ignore the DCA.

Just_Di

laurajanejones wrote: »

I had some trouble not getting bills from Greenstar. They also send people round to read my meteres then lose the readings.

So I have a £800 bill

I see you have had trouble getting bills, or at least accurate bills, from your energy provider so can you say a little more about that in case the Back Billing Code applies to you.

This Ofgem Rule can prevent a company charging you for more than the previous 12 month's supply if there have been billing and/or meter reading issues.

If you Google "Ofgem Back Billing" you'll see what I mean and see if it helps your situation (sorry I'm not able to post the link on your thread).

Maybe you need to make a formal complaint about the random meter readings etc which you can escalate to the Ombudsman Services - Energy if it's not resolved. That should buy you some time to pay if nothing else

Di

laurajanejones

Hi there. Thanks for that. Yeah they don't even change my bill based on readings. They haven't reflected the electricity reading into this bill, even though I asked them to.

If I complain to the Ombusman does that mean I don't have to pay until it's resolved? Is that what you mean by buying me time?

Thanks.

sourcrates

Link here for you :


https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/who-contact-if-its-difficult-paying-energy-bills/energy-backbilling-your-rights

Just_Di

laurajanejones wrote: »

they don't even change my bill based on readings. They haven't reflected the electricity reading into this bill, even though I asked them to.

If I complain to the Ombusman does that mean I don't have to pay until it's resolved? Is that what you mean by buying me time?

I can't really answer that since I know nothing about your actual consumption or why/how the bill has been calculated etc. I assume you're not disputing you have an electricity supply to your home?

If you don't pay anything there's a real risk they will issue a county court claim.

Does this bill seem abnormally high based on previous bills at previous properties etc? You may need to consider if the meter should be checked for accuracy.

If hardship is the issue then see if they'll spread your backlog payments over several months while you keep up with the 'real' cost of the supply.

Di

Willing2Learn

laurajanejones wrote: »

If I complain to the Ombusman does that mean I don't have to pay until it's resolved?

You need to make a written complaint, about the random meter reads to Greenstar first. If Greenstar do not provide a satisfactory resolution to your complaint, then you can escalate to the Ombudsman.

TokSik

It DOES make a difference who you pay. If you pay the original owner of the debt, you won't owe any additional fees. If you pay the debt collector, then more often than not, they will add on their own collection fees. It's only when a debt has been bought by a debt collector (usually at £0.06p in the £) will this not work. Whoever "owns" the debt, cannot refuse to accept payment OF the the debt.

sourcrates

TokSik wrote: »

It DOES make a difference who you pay. If you pay the original owner of the debt, you won't owe any additional fees. If you pay the debt collector, then more often than not, they will add on their own collection fees. It's only when a debt has been bought by a debt collector (usually at £0.06p in the £) will this not work. Whoever "owns" the debt, cannot refuse to accept payment OF the the debt.

Hi,


Debt collectors cannot add fees unless the original agreement allows them to do so.


In this case the collectors are only acting on behalf of the client so only the outstanding balance is payable.