Old Utility Point Account, Scam debt collection emails Barrett Smith & Brown

Dr_Wu

Hi

My in-laws who are in their 80's and not tech savy are getting regular emails seemingly from a company called Barrett Smith & Brown who are apparently collecting debts on behalf of the energy company Utility Point who folded a while back ( now in admin) stating that monies are due and each email increases the amount due. My in laws state that there although they did previously have a Utility Point account there has never been any debt. A quick bit of research indicates that this is fairly a common problem and that BSB actually had a data breach a while back and that scammers are now sending out these emails. I am aware of the 'Prove it' letter to debt collection agencies but in all honesty if this is a scam caused by a data breach I would rather my in laws did not send their actual address (they have never had a physical letter) and not get deeper into the mire.

My question is this: Would a legit debt collection company send only emails? Surely they would put it in writing and the emails are a sure sign that this is a scam and can be safely ignored?

Any thoughts would, as always be very welcome

Cheers

Steve

EssexHebridean

An email is not a legitimate way of chasing a debt for collection. This sounds like a classic fishing trip to me. If your in-laws get a letter in the post it might be worth engaging with it by way of a “Prove It” letter, but there is no need for them to respond to these emails at all -  I’d be inclined to block the email address from their account to reduce any further anxiety being caused, with their agreement of course.