Debt collector chasing debt I was never asked for

peaches2_2 · 9 February at 8:26PM

Not sure where to post this so hope it’s okay!

I received an email from a debt collection agency advising me I owed an insurance company £41. I checked the agency was legit and asked them to prove what it was for.

The debt is a cancellation fee for contents insurance which was cancelled prior to moving home in 2018. I cancelled this by telephone and was not advised of any cancellation charges that would be taken at a future date so cancelled the direct debit.

The debt collection agency forwarded me a letter the insurance sent to an address of a property I left in 2015(?) but they had my email address and telephone number, why wouldn’t they use these methods?

I also don’t have any outstanding debts on my credit file?

I really don’t want to pay it out of principal, I’m waiting for them to send the insurers t&cs but surely it’s the insurers admin/customer service error and I shouldn’t have to pay?

I don’t know if anyone has any advice or if it’s not worth the aggro?

sourcrates · 10 February at 6:22PM

A debt of £41 quid doesn't buy much DCA time.

You might get a couple more reminders, but then it will soon be forgotten.

fatbelly · 10 February at 6:52PM

In 2024 this will go statute barred. I can't imagine they would go to the bother of a court case for £41

EssexHebridean · 10 February at 10:45PM

The thing that baffles me is why the insurance company wrote to your previous property, rather than the one the policy was for?!

tacpot12 · 11 February at 7:25AM

It's only an error if they charged you the cancellation fee when they should not have. If you owe them the cancellation fee, this doesn't change if they made an errorin sending the demand for payment to an old address.