Utility Point - Barratt Smith & Brown phishing scam

FreeBear

brewerdave said:

BSB have "form" for this; there are literally thousands of ex Together Energy customers being chased by them for supposed debts with no supporting evidence.

On top of that, BSB suffered a major data breach a few years back. This resulted in quite a few people being contacted by scammers claiming to be "owed" varying amounts. On the back of that, I would be demanding anyone claiming to be from BSB proof of who they say they are. Do bear in mind that identities can be easily falsified, so up to you as to the level of proof you deem acceptable.

Tuffsley

I have the same problem. I paid Utility Point £80 a a month and when I left them in June 2020, I also paid an extra £159.36 as requested by UP in final settlement yet BSB insist that I still owe £52.80 but have shown me no proof. They are extremely difficult to get any reply from and the telephone is rarely manned. I suspect a scam and will pay a genuine debt but, as yet, I have not been shown any actual proof of this. How many others are still having problems with this?

TomMurray

I too have been getting emails, for about £36.  I did contact them asking for proof of debt as it does not match any bills I have which show me as fully settled at the point Utility Point went into adminsitration.  They did not provide any proof.

Thanks for the Ofcom suggestion above, I have reported there and to the governments phishing email that Ofcom give as well.

TomMurray

I got a reply from Ofgem.  EDF Energy took over the accounts and it is up to them to process any refunds or to chase debt.

"Once EDF Energy receive your account details from Utility Point, they should be in contact with relevant instructions regarding any credit/debit on your Utility Point account."
and the adminsitratirs are:
"Utility Point's joint administrators are Mark Firmin, Joanne Hewitt-Schembri, and Paul Berkovi, each of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP."

BSB are not mentioned here at all and their scam emails do not mention they are working on behalf of EDF, which they are required to do as EDF would be the creditor.  I shall be ignoring they phishing emails and hope others do to.  Search bsbco on trustpilot for more people in the same position.

EssexHebridean

Netexporter said:

On the balance of probabilities, you most likely did owe some money when they went bust. Is it worth the time, or the risk of impairing your credit record, for the sake of £46, to pursue the matter?

Never pay a debt you don't believe you owe.

For what it's worth, emails and texts can be safely ignored in any event. If something arrives in the mail, then send the "Prove It" letter (can be found in one of the sticky threads on the Debt Free wannabe board) and wait and see if they can. 9 times out of 10 it's probably a fishing trip - they send out letters to as many folk as they can find with the right name or other factors which mean they think there is a chance they will pay up. If they send 50 letters, there is a surprisingly good chance that someone will say "Oh, it's not worth the time, or the risk of impairing my credit record for the sake of £xx - I might as well just pay..." - and then they are quids-in.