Energy provider passed a debt my father doesn't owe to debt collector

enthusiasticsaver

I have merged the two threads together. 

anonymous_poor_lady

I'm in a similar situation than OP (replace dad with husband). My husband received a letter charging him with electricity for a period that we were not living at the property anymore (we were renting the property before). Full story in this thread if relevant: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6318163/i-think-im-being-scammed-by-eon/p1

 We sent the standard Prove It letter (without adding any extra information) and got this as reply from the legal company:

"We note that you don't believe that you are responsible for the balance because you did not reside at the supply address for the period of supply we have contacted you about, or were not the bill payer. It would assist us in resolving this quickly if you could advise us of the name of the correct party if that is known to you.

Once this information has been received we will quickly be able to update our records to confirm you were not resident at the time of supply and close our account and will not contact you again"

Note that my husband did not say anything about not residing at the property or any additional information, I think they are just assuming this one.

I don't know who is/was living there, we were just tenants at the property.

What should we do? I could send them my lettings agency or past landlord contact. But I don't know if I have permission to share such info.

fatbelly

You could say that regretfully you are unable to help them with their enquiries.

Not your problem.

If they were stupid enough to start a court claim you could easily defend it.

uber1234567890

Hi All,

An update - I recieved another letter from BW legal saying they have no received any response from me about the debt collection and have extended the time for a discount to pay a lower amount.

I did sent them the 'prove it letter' by recorded delivery but I guess they are saying they havent gotten anythign thing. How do I responsed to this? They have an email shall I send them an email?

I will get in contact with the post office to confirm that it has been delivered and who signed for it. My question is how to I then responsed back to BW legal?

uber1234567890

I checked with Royal Mail, it was delivered at BW legal and signed by Bashir. I have taken a copy of Royal Mail's info such as dleiver coordinates, who signed, what date time, the tracking of the letter.

Plus I took a photo of the letter and the special delivery envelope showing the address.

EssexHebridean

A straightforward letter - reference the date of their correspondance where they say they've not had a reply - tell them they have, give them the details. Job done.  Personally I would keep things in writing by post at this stage - this one doesn't need to be "signed for" but I would get a certificate of posting if it were me. 

uber1234567890

EssexHebridean said:

A straightforward letter - reference the date of their correspondance where they say they've not had a reply - tell them they have, give them the details. Job done.  Personally I would keep things in writing by post at this stage - this one doesn't need to be "signed for" but I would get a certificate of posting if it were me. 

Thank you for your response. Should I send them the copy of the prove it letter again? Also how do I get a certificate of posting?

TripleH

Yes, I'd send the original letter as well. Just so they cannot claim no receipt.

Take the letter to a post office counter and pay for postage there asking for 'proof of postage' which will be a slip of paper giving postcode, property no./name, date of posting and size of item (so you can show it is a letter). Keep this bit of paper (looks like a shop receipt).

Anousha1978

Hi all,

So it looks like my saga continues. After sending Prove It letter my dad has received yet another one from BW Legal, where  they say:

' Please be advised upon the purchase of this debt our client has used credit reference agencies to trace the supply address in an attempt to identify who was resident during the supply period and the current residence of that individual.

 

The trace result returned showed that you were linked to the property during the period of supply which is why we have contacted you. This indicates that links were retained at the property for you during some or all of the supply period - even if you had moved out of the property. If this is incorrect, we want to resolve this quickly for you and it would be helpful if you could assist us by providing evidence of your move out or sale of the property.

 

In an effort to resolve this for you we would appreciate if you could assist us by providing evidence that you are not liable for this - such as a checkout report ,final council tax bill, new tenancy agreement or confirmation of property sale any email or correspondence providing or paying final meter reads.

 

Once this information has been received we will quickly be able to update our records to confirm you are not resident at the time of supply and close our account and will not contact you again.

 

We thank you in advance for any assistance on the matter we would also note this matter.

 

We also note, this matter concerns an unpaid utility bill not a regulated consumer credit agreement or consumer hire agreement as a result it is not within the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This is in accordance with the rules under which FOS operates (the DISP Rules) as said by the Financial Conduct Authority have (FCA). If you do refer to this matter to FOS they will be unable to assist you.

 

We note that you may wish to refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We hope the information we have now provided has put your mind at ease and explained how and why we contacted you with additional information available in our privacy notice on our website  (…) however if you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal data please contact us and allow us to respond in accordance with our complaints procedure published on our website should you require any further assistance etc etc.'

What do you recommend we reply with now. I am so annoyed with these chancers. This letter arrived on Thursday of last week and on Saturday, this weekend, another one again offering discount if he pays up...

Please advise, we are dealing with other very serious family matters right now and this could be just about the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Thank you in advance

Claireb2022

I am in the same scenario as a previous poster. I received the letter in December for a bill from a previous address that covers a period after we actually left almost 4 years ago. I was never an account holder whilst at this address and was named only on the council tax bill, all other bills were in my partners name as he lived there before me and he actually got a rebate from Eon after closing the account because he was in credit. When I initially approached Eon after getting the debt letter they said they wouldn't even speak to me as I was the not the named account holder! 
After the first letter I spoke with BW via their webchat explaining I did not live at the address and they just said they would get back to me. The most recent letter does not acknowledge this contact and says I have no responded to the previous letter. 
The initial letter said I could pay at reduced discount of 70% which expired on 30 December 21. The most recent letter says the same but the discount expires on 10th February. I've sent the Prove it letter today so we will see what comes of that. 

If it comes back like the previous poster where they want proof how on earth do I get proof I left an address when I wasn't on any bills? Is it on me to provide the proof? Will the council even give me a copy of my final council tax bill from Feb 2018?