Advice on inflated costs from third-party debt collector

redpanda20

Hi all (cross-posted from phone & tv - newbie and not sure where best this belongs!)

Seeking advice...

Not one for direct debits, any kind of debits or debt and now received a letter from 'Past Due' - debt collectors by the sound of it, in relation to Plus Net. The only thing I can think is they're trying to slap some kind of cancellation fee when I left a good 8 months ago. There was an issue at the time as during a call to notify them of cancellation, I couldn't give them some secret bizarre number reference, even though I had their letter, even though I could provide security details of my own information etc. I paid upfront in full for my 12 month (I think) contract, and I don't believe - and of course they couldn't / didn't discuss with me - whether there were any outstanding charges. Honestly, because I paid upfront there was never really any need for letters etc, so I was used to not really hearing from them.

 I moved, which is part of what I was trying to notify them of as well, so I've never received any letters if they sent any. It's really frustrating as the day I called, I said I'd removed the modem entirely - i.e. there is not a single byte of data being used at the address any more - and let them know I was moving.

Anyway, flash forward now and I'm getting debt collector letters for nearly £100 (inclusive of 'admin fees') - the whole time I've been happy to pay up with PlusNet but because of this darn number I've never been allowed to confirm my *own details* nor received their letters about what I need to pay, how much, and why. I suspect it's going to be a BS, but 'pay it rather than fight the toss' £30 random fee. Frustrating, but manageable. However this debt collector is clearly inflating the original "debt" as well as adding bogus admin fees that I assume, in a typical leech-y fashion, they'll just increase over time to scare people.

So I guess my question is, is it too late to approach Plus Net directly and explain? If it is, what is the best course of action with 'Past Due'? I was always told just to ignore such letters, but I don't know if they have a legal stance to continue adding 'fees' to this bill -- or is this exactly the kind of scaremongering that gets them the extra bob?

PS - writing from Scotland, if that makes a change...

sourcrates

Hi,
Past due don’t add charges or interest, they can’t, they don’t own the debt, they just chase accounts on behalf of their clients.

Any fee will have been passed on from the OC.

Your issue is with the original creditor, and you should send them a written complaint outlining your concerns.

monetxchange

Definitely contact PlusNet about the original debt and charges.

It sounds possibly a bit like you didn't complete their cancellation procedure to their satisfaction and just thought of it as cancelled when it wasn't. Did you have any confirmation of this? Were you still in contract at all? Could have been early cancellation fees if so.

When you say you're not one for direct debits, does that mean you prefer to pay up front or just pay as and when? Direct debits month on month are a good way of budgeting and keeping an eye on what's live and going out of your account.

AmeliaRobertson

How did your story end? Did you manage to contact Plus Net? I have a similar situation now, but the amount of debt is much larger and I absolutely do not know what to do. Most likely, your way of solving this problem will help me.