BW legal- chasing for debt from 2012

mmw92

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some advice from you. At the start of this month I received a letter from BW Legal that I owe money for an unpaid internet bill in 2012 when I was in student accommodation. This is the first time I am hearing about this, and for the last 8 years I received no verbal or written communication which would inform that I do indeed owe any money- if I received anything, I would have paid, but I'm always on top of everything. Having read the letter and having had two panic attacks later, I phoned BW legal later that very same day asking what is this and why they haven't let me know before about this- bear in mind, the letter says to pay by end of May 2020 or else it will go up by 25%. I have requested that they send me in writing proof that I owe any money, and proof that they and the internet provider have tried to get in touch with me regarding this in the last 8 years. They told me they only received the case in April 2020, so I asked that they send me proof/ statement of the account showing that I owe money. The advisor told me he will request that. This is what followed: 

- That very same day I also spoke with the citizens advice bureau and they recommended that this debt is now likely statute barred- they gave me a template of a letter/ email asking them once again for the documentation and if they cannot provide that they then would need to cease contacting me to try to recover the money. 

- That very same day I checked my credit report, as I monitor this monthly because I am hoping to buy a property this year, and shock horror- I see BW Legal have conducted a search on my credit file. So now lenders will be able to see that a debt recovery company is looking for me. 

I have not heard from BW legal since I received the letter via post and they have not responded to my email. I have just this morning called financial conduct authority, but they said that as this is a law firm I am dealing with, they cannot give advice and I have to contact solicitors regulation authority to see if they are acting lawfully. I have not heard anything back from them yet as expected but I am really really stressed. I've been having panic attacks almost daily now over this, because I am terrified that they will take me to court and impact my chances of buying a property that I had been working so so so hard to save up for. Whilst I can try and dip into my savings to pay off this bill, I am wondering if this is a scam? How can they claim I'm liable for a bill from 8 years ago, that I had no clue I had? has anyone had any experiences with this company trying to recover debt from long time ago? Should I just pay it and be done with it? On the other hand, they are asking for £180, and they claim there were two months unpaid bills from 2012- when my tariff was £26 per month- how can it suddenly be £180? Furthermore, I checked my bank statements, and there were no bounced transactions or anything like that and I had not changed my account since 2010, so if the internet provider tried to take money, they could've done that very easily. Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

TripleH

Hi, relax. You did the right thing contacting citizen's advice and should you hear from BW Legal again send the statute barred letter. The letter you received was designed for you to make contact and for BW Legal to persuade you to pay out of panic (but fortunately you didn't). The onus is on them to prove firstly that you owe the debt and secondly that it isn't statute barred (they rely upon an element of ignorance).
I wouldn't worry about the search they did, for all it means, they could have searched the wrong person's record in error, lenders will only be bothered about what you still owe and if you have any 'recorded defaults'.

mmw92

TripleH said:

Hi, relax. You did the right thing contacting citizen's advice and should you hear from BW Legal again send the statute barred letter. The letter you received was designed for you to make contact and for BW Legal to persuade you to pay out of panic (but fortunately you didn't). The onus is on them to prove firstly that you owe the debt and secondly that it isn't statute barred (they rely upon an element of ignorance).
I wouldn't worry about the search they did, for all it means, they could have searched the wrong person's record in error, lenders will only be bothered about what you still owe and if you have any 'recorded defaults'.

Thank you for taking the time to respond! I am just concerned if I don't pay before the end of this month I will have to pay more and it will just keep increasing. Tbh- I stopped myself in the last minute when I was on the phone with them- I had my card in hand ready to give them details over the phone. So glad I didn't. It's just hanging over my head which I really hate. 

[Deleted User]

mmw92 said:

I see BW Legal have conducted a search on my credit file. So now lenders will be able to see that a debt recovery company is looking for me. 

No, they won't.

It sounds as if it's either mistaken identity or statute barred, so you have little to worry about. Just monitor your files in case anything is added and await their reply.

mmw92

Deleted_User said:

mmw92 said:

I see BW Legal have conducted a search on my credit file. So now lenders will be able to see that a debt recovery company is looking for me. 

No, they won't.

It sounds as if it's either mistaken identity or statute barred, so you have little to worry about. Just monitor your files in case anything is added and await their reply.

I mean it's very unlikely that it's mistaken identity- I have a very very unique name. I just don't understand how they can be chasing old debts and their only excuse is 'we only got this case in April 2020'. It almost feels like it should be illegal. 

eskbanker

mmw92 said:
I have a very very unique name

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between 'unique', 'very unique' and 'very very unique'?

mmw92

eskbanker said:

mmw92 said:
I have a very very unique name

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between 'unique', 'very unique' and 'very very unique'?

Haha so unique i spell it incorrectly sometimes 🤓 

TripleH

BW Legal are trying to panic you into paying a bill. At this stage, they don't care if the debt is statute barred or even if you are the correct individual. They will tell you all kinds of nonsense particularly over the phone when the voice at the other end is probably on commission based on the amounts they collect in (I am cynical about whether they will add a 25% charge on at the end of the month, this sounds more like someone out to achieve their targets).
Stick to your guns and insist they prove you owe the debt and that the debt is not statute barred. They hope you don't know your rights.
It is up to them to PROVE you owe the money, not for you to prove you don't. If in doubt about the actions to take, please ask here, but sending the statute barred letter is your best course of action. Also, from now on, only communicate with them by letter, do not talk on the phone. They can and will say anything by phone but have to be more 'honest' by letter.

mmw92

TripleH said:

BW Legal are trying to panic you into paying a bill. At this stage, they don't care if the debt is statute barred or even if you are the correct individual. They will tell you all kinds of nonsense particularly over the phone when the voice at the other end is probably on commission based on the amounts they collect in (I am cynical about whether they will add a 25% charge on at the end of the month, this sounds more like someone out to achieve their targets).
Stick to your guns and insist they prove you owe the debt and that the debt is not statute barred. They hope you don't know your rights.
It is up to them to PROVE you owe the money, not for you to prove you don't. If in doubt about the actions to take, please ask here, but sending the statute barred letter is your best course of action. Also, from now on, only communicate with them by letter, do not talk on the phone. They can and will say anything by phone but have to be more 'honest' by letter.

Thank you for the reassurance, it’s really helping my mental state right now. 

[Deleted User]

I would follow the advice above.  Send them a letter stating that the debt is denied and statute barred.  If you haven't acknowledged any alleged debt or paid anything towards it in the last six years, you are safe.  They are just chancers hoping you will be intimidated and pay.  Don't let that happen .

mmw92

desktop said:

I would follow the advice above.  Send them a letter stating that the debt is denied and statute barred.  If you haven't acknowledged any alleged debt or paid anything towards it in the last six years, you are safe.  They are just chancers hoping you will be intimidated and pay.  Don't let that happen .

Yep so I sent them the email that citizens advice bureau recommended in which I said I take no responsibility for the debt and that I received no communication from them in the last 8 years regarding this. Also asked for proof but got nothing. Was wondering if I should follow up on it at all