Letter received from debt recovery company about outstanding energy balance from previous address

dale22483

Today (06/01/23) I received a letter in the post from Capital Resolve chasing me for a payment of £190.95 that they say was owed to EDF Energy.

In September 2020, I signed up to a 12 month fixed rate deal with Green Network Energy and on February 1st 2021 I received an email informing me that GNE was to cease trading and OFGEM was appointing EDF Energy to take over the account.

Whilst this was all going on we were informing GNE that we were due to move house and the 'house move' process was started.

We moved house on 5th March 2021, submitting closing gas and electricity readings (cant remember if this was to GNE or EDF.  On 18th March 2021 I received an email from GNE confirming the 'House Move' process was complete and that as all account information was being moved over to EDF, I would hear from them if there was any outstanding balance on my account.

There has been no correspondence sent to my new address from EDF informing me of an outstanding balance since we moved in on 5th March 2021, yet today I receive this letter from the debt collectors.

Having spent all afternoon on the phone to EDF to find out what has gone on, I was told that there is no record of an account set up in my name and the National Grid database shows that EDF did not actually start supplying my previous property until June 2021.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before?  Am I still liable for this balance of £190.95 or is there any way I can dispute it and avoid paying it.

My concern is that now the debt is with the debt collectors, I may be facing severe action such as court or CCJ etc.

HELP!

ariarnia

Hi dale. 

first to help your worry court and ccj wont happen at this time and you are doing the right thing in asking edf what records they have about you on the account.

but if the debt is being chased by capital resolve on behalf of the administrators for gne then edf might not have anything. 

to formalise that a bit. over on the debt free board theres a template letter you can send to capital resolve asking them to basically 'prove' the debt. in response to that they should send you the info you need to work out if you owe edf any money and if you do how much. 

theres also a lot more info on that thread that might be helpful. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter

reading your op i dont know but wouldn't be surprised if you owe standing charges for feb and march.

then were there any early exit fees from your fix (you signed up for 12 months in september then left in march before being set up with edf so i dont know if the adminstrators would try and argue you owed those fees) 

then theres making sure your account with gne was fully settled as you said you didn't get a final bill from them. if you have your old statements from around that time and your final meter reading then those will be helpful if theres a dispute over the final bill amount. 

but if you are activly discussing and disputing the bill and they've not sent you anything to prove you owe the debt then you dont need to worry about a ccj at this time

hope thats helpful. 

jenbrooks1990parker

I have also received a letter saying I owe them money from over a year and half ago ! I can’t get hold of them but I’ve never had any communication previously saying that I owed or had to take any action 

ariarnia

jenbrooks1990parker said:

I have also received a letter saying I owe them money from over a year and half ago ! I can’t get hold of them but I’ve never had any communication previously saying that I owed or had to take any action 

hi jen. 

you would need to send the same 'prove it' letter from the link. 

that will help you work out if you do actually owe money or if if there maybe getting your account mixed with someone else or you can prove you paid the final bill. 

they have 6 years to chase a debt so good to get this sorted if you can  

jenbrooks1990parker

Ok thanks so much !

Gerry1

@dale22483 @jenbrooks1990parker Welcome to the forum.

Overcharging can certainly occur after a supplier goes bust, even if you had left them well before they ceased trading and had not been switched to the SoLR.  A failing company may not have kept brilliant records, and their experience and local knowledge  will have disappeared when most of the staff left after they went bust, so the administrators will have a difficult job sorting out the mess.  I was quietly overcharged in this way four times by British Gas.

Rather than wasting time trying to explain matters to poorly trained staff overseas whose first language may not be English, keep everything in writing (preferably via Royal Mail) so that you have a clear audit trail should you need to go to the Ombudsman.  You can do this upon receipt of a deadlock letter or after eight weeks if they don't send one.

ariarnia

Gerry1 said:

Rather than wasting time trying to explain matters to poorly trained staff overseas whose first language may not be English, keep everything in writing (preferably via Royal Mail) so that you have a clear audit trail should you need to go to the Ombudsman.  You can do this upon receipt of a deadlock letter or after eight weeks if they don't send one.

completely agree (assuming this is an old but not bust supplier chasing a debt. the ombudsman can't do anything with suppliers that have lost there licence). only difference of opinion is i would say email is better.

then you have the record it was sent but also a copy of exatly what was sent and any replies. and there all already digital so easy to attach to the ombudsman case without having to faff with scanning or taking pictures. (and you dont have to pay for a stamp or leave the house!)

jenbrooks1990parker

Thanks all, I have checked on the Ofgem website also as I was sent and email a year and half ago with this balance but it stated that I didn’t need to take any action and I didn’t need to respond and I have had nothing since. 

Ofgem states that if it is over a year ago I can’t be billed, do you think this is correct as I find it hard to believe they have never contacted me since April 2021 and now i receive a bill for over £200 which I can’t pay !
what do you think? 

Thanks so much 

ariarnia

jenbrooks1990parker said:

Thanks all, I have checked on the Ofgem website also as I was sent and email a year and half ago with this balance but it stated that I didn’t need to take any action and I didn’t need to respond and I have had nothing since. 

Ofgem states that if it is over a year ago I can’t be billed, do you think this is correct as I find it hard to believe they have never contacted me since April 2021 and now i receive a bill for over £200 which I can’t pay !
what do you think? 

Thanks so much 

back billing rules are really complicated so it might be you dont need to or that you do. really the only way you'll know is by asking them for a prove it letter and seeing what they come back with. 

if you wanted you could add a paragraph to the letter and quote what ofgem (or citizen advice) say about back billing so the letter would be more like: 

Dear Sir/Madam


Account No: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

I would point out that I have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to CREDITOR

I am familiar with the Consumer Credit sourcebook of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which states the following rules.

"A firm must not ignore or disregard a customer's claim that a debt has been settled or is disputed and must not continue to make demands for payment without providing clear justification and/or evidence as to why the customer's claim is not valid." 7.5.3

"A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds." 7.14.1

"Where a customer disputes a debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds, the firm must investigate the dispute and provide details of the debt to the customer in a timely manner." 7.14.3

"Where there is a dispute as to the identity of the borrower or hirer or as to the amount of the debt, it is for the firm (and not the customer) to establish, as the case may be, that the customer is the correct person in relation to the debt or that the amount is the correct amount owed under the agreement." 7.14.4

"A firm must provide a customer with information on the outcome of its investigations into a debt which the customer disputed on valid grounds." 7.14.5

"Where a customer disputes a debt and the firm seeking to recover the debt is not the lender or the owner, the firm must:
(1) pass the information provided by the customer to the lender or the owner; or
(2) if the firm has authority from the lender or owner to investigate a dispute, it must notify the lender or owner of the outcome of the investigation." 7.14.6

I am also aware of my consumer rights in relation to 'back billing' by energy companies. As explained by Ofgem: 

"[Customers] can’t be charged for gas or electricity used more than 12 months ago if [they] have not been correctly billed for it, or informed about it via a statement of account, before."

In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore, ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above accounts unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the FCA of your actions.

If appropriate I will also take this matter forward as a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman, Financial Ombudsman Service and Information Commissioner's Office.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

[anyone reading please tweak the letter if i've messed something up. doing this on a tablet and its fiddly! ]

jenbrooks1990parker

Ok great I will try this thank you ! 

dale22483

ariarnia said:

Hi dale. 

first to help your worry court and ccj wont happen at this time and you are doing the right thing in asking edf what records they have about you on the account.

but if the debt is being chased by capital resolve on behalf of the administrators for gne then edf might not have anything. 

to formalise that a bit. over on the debt free board theres a template letter you can send to capital resolve asking them to basically 'prove' the debt. in response to that they should send you the info you need to work out if you owe edf any money and if you do how much. 

theres also a lot more info on that thread that might be helpful. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter

reading your op i dont know but wouldn't be surprised if you owe standing charges for feb and march.

then were there any early exit fees from your fix (you signed up for 12 months in september then left in march before being set up with edf so i dont know if the adminstrators would try and argue you owed those fees) 

then theres making sure your account with gne was fully settled as you said you didn't get a final bill from them. if you have your old statements from around that time and your final meter reading then those will be helpful if theres a dispute over the final bill amount. 

but if you are activly discussing and disputing the bill and they've not sent you anything to prove you owe the debt then you dont need to worry about a ccj at this time

hope thats helpful. 

Thanks for your help with this.

Today I have spoken on the phone again with EDF (a lovely lady who has been trying to help me solve this problem) and they have confirmed they have found a closing balance statement from GNE on their system.

Everyting tallies up so I am not disputing that I owe the money and will look to get it paid.

Now though, my concern is should I pay the debt collection agency or EDF as the lady said I could make the payment to them.

I am worried what paying the debt collection agency could do to my credit report and score.

Any advice?