Shell and debt

MWT

TGB2022 said:

I just need to know if a company can farm a debt out to a credit company without speaking to a customer first.

Yes, they can pass your debt on to an agency for collection without talking to you first, however, if you inform them that you are having problems paying then that will trigger a different response.

These are the relevant parts of their Terms & Conditions...

So you just need to tell them you are having problems paying to access the safety net outlined in 4.6.

If you simply don't pay and don't tell them why they can just pass the debt on to be collected...

I really do suggest posting on this forum instead though... https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/debt-free-wannabe

There are a lot of people there with experience on how and where to get the sort of help and advice you need, in a stress-free, non-judgemental way.

TGB2022

MWT said:

TGB2022 said:

I just need to know if a company can farm a debt out to a credit company without speaking to a customer first.

Yes, they can pass your debt on to an agency for collection without talking to you first, however, if you inform them that you are having problems paying then that will trigger a different response.

These are the relevant parts of their Terms & Conditions...

So you just need to tell them you are having problems paying to access the safety net outlined in 4.6.

If you simply don't pay and don't tell them why they can just pass the debt on to be collected...

I really do suggest posting on this forum instead though... /debt-free-wannabe

There are a lot of people there with experience on how and where to get the sort of help and advice you need, in a stress-free, non-judgemental way.

so far i have called literally every support service and literally no one will help me for one reason or another: geography, self-employment, age, etc. literally no one will help. i tried on the debt free forum but no one replied and step change don't help self employed people.

LADYXXMACBETH

So you're £60-70 in debt and it's been handed over to a debt collection agency? 
One thing you could do is speak to the debt collection agency and sort out a payment plan with them. They aren't anything like what they used to be and you won't get baliffs knocking on your door. So don't worry. 
Is there anyone who can pay it off? 
If not, the debt management firm will go through your income and expenses and come to an arrangement. 
You say you are underpaying your energy firm. If it's only by £10-20 then is there anywhere you can shave off a few pennies? I know it's hard. I am also on a low income and may find myself in your same position soon.
I'd say don't worry too much about it. IF it makes you feel better I'm £18k in debt and pay 5 debt collection agencies £5 towards my debts per month. Should be debt free in about 3000 years. 

pochase

You still have not  answered the question how much energy you really use. We have no idea if you are on electricity only or if you have a gas CH. If you really don't heat your home already your energy use will not decrease during summer and as mentioned cost has increased. 

So if you cannot pay now, what are you going to offer to Shell as a payment plan? Maybe you can offer to pay you debt off once you get the council tax rebate. Have you contacted your council now to find out when it is due and if you have to complete for example a form to receive it?

The organisations (including Shell) you are trying to contact will help you to reduce your energy use or help you budgeting, but they are not going to pay for it or reduce the cost of energy. 

You are saying you are on a low income, but don't have benefits. Do you not want the benefits or don't you qualify for them? Without one form of benefits you don't qualify for the WHD. 

Have you contacted Shell before they handed you over to a debt recovery that you are having trouble to pay? They cannot know if somebody is willing, but unable to cope with the energy bills or if somebody prefers to have a few drinks instead of paying his bill.

TGB2022

LADYXXMACBETH said:

So you're £60-70 in debt and it's been handed over to a debt collection agency? 
One thing you could do is speak to the debt collection agency and sort out a payment plan with them. They aren't anything like what they used to be and you won't get baliffs knocking on your door. So don't worry. 
Is there anyone who can pay it off? 
If not, the debt management firm will go through your income and expenses and come to an arrangement. 
You say you are underpaying your energy firm. If it's only by £10-20 then is there anywhere you can shave off a few pennies? I know it's hard. I am also on a low income and may find myself in your same position soon.
I'd say don't worry too much about it. IF it makes you feel better I'm £18k in debt and pay 5 debt collection agencies £5 towards my debts per month. Should be debt free in about 3000 years. 

i have been turning everything off at 9pm and reducing energy wherever i can. i knew that in a few months with no heating but the same payment amount, the debt would be gone. but shell farmed it out with no warning and before that could happen. good news is that mind are going to help me with shell and with getting pip. have an appointment next week.

is it okay that i laughed at 3000 years? 

MWT

TGB2022 said:

 i tried on the debt free forum but no one replied and step change don't help self employed people.

You've posted in a very specific thread over there instead of starting your own thread like you did here.

You will get a reply in that thread but it can take a few days and others will not respond there as it is specifically to get a comment from StepChange...

You'll get more general help and advice if you start your own thread over there.

TGB2022

step change already said they won't help me when i called them, so i don't think it matters, but thank you.

pochase

TGB2022 said:

step change already said they won't help me when i called them, so i don't think it matters, but thank you.

What @MWT is saying is that you posted in a thread that is used to get attention from StepChange, but will be ignored by most normal users, therefore no response from users.

You should open a new thread in the forum instead of adding to an existing one.

TGB2022

pochase said:

TGB2022 said:

step change already said they won't help me when i called them, so i don't think it matters, but thank you.

What @MWT is saying is that you posted in a thread that is used to get attention from StepChange, but will be ignored by most normal users, therefore no response from users.

You should open a new thread in the forum instead of adding to an existing one.

Aaah, I see. Well someone above already answered my question: yes, shell can farm off debts without discussing it with customers, so I have my answer. I’m !!!!!!.

Robin9

Here we have OP with a "small" debt  - very significant to him - and doing his best to seek a solution.  But on another post we have £8000 owing and not a suggestion of it being pursued.