UPS chasing for payment - we've never used them

Blondetotty

For the last year or so we've been getting regular letters and statements chasing for payment for a booking made on UPS in July.   We started sending them back as not known at this address because it's addressed to a company that operated from this address years ago.  We kept on getting the statements and letters so we've called them now on multiple occasions and have been assured that we won't get any more.  We kept on getting them.  According to the last statement received today it's now 242 days overdue and the tone has become increasingly threatening.  I've got a pile of letters that keep growing but we're not paying them the £294 they want because we never used UPS! 

What are our options here.  Returning them makes no difference.  Calling them has made zero difference.  We're spending time on hold, being bounced from person to person for a debt that isn't ours.  We did jokingly consider making up an invoice and sending it to them for the time spent wasted trying to sort this out but I'm starting to think this is a legit option now.  Does anyone else have any idea what we can do before we get a court summons or bailiffs turning up?  It's driving us crackers

Aylesbury_Duck

If you're not the name on the bill, just ignore them.  Any court summons or bailiffs will be for the company you mention, not you.  If anyone ever turns up to speak to you about it, just simply point out that you're not ABC ltd.

Engaging them by trying to be clever with invoicing is a bad idea, it may just encourage them to keep corresponding.

user1977

I very much doubt anybody will bother turning up to the address or taking it further without a sanity check that they've got the right address. It costs them pennies to churn out letters, just ignore them.

Brie

I agree with what the others have said but would like to add that you might be able to find ABC Ltd's new address and could forward the bills to them or even say return to sender adding the new address somewhere on the off chance UPS takes notice.

pinkshoes

I would write once more stating that the business ceased operating from this address X years ago, you have no connection to this business, and any further correspondence from them will be deemed as harassment. Send with proof of postage. 

Just bin any further letters and don't bother phoning them. They cannot take an address to court. You take a business or a person to court. Bailiffs have no jurisdiction without a court order. Ignore them.  

Could you look up the new address for the business to point UPS in the right direction?! 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Their main address on on the website:

https://www.ups.com/gb/en/support/contact-us.page

Perhaps return the next letter there with a cover note to say the person they are looking for is no longer at your address. 

user1977

pinkshoes said:

I would write once more stating that the business ceased operating from this address X years ago, you have no connection to this business, and any further correspondence from them will be deemed as harassment.

Though I doubt it constitutes "harassment" to send letters to your address if they're not addressed to you.

OP, is the problem that the address is still the registered office for the company? If so then I think you can ask Companies House to sort that out.