2013 Energy Bill

jankaan

I am with Octopus energy and yesterday they said they have taken over first utility bills, and I have one outstanding for over £300 , I was never with this company but google says they are to do with shell, I don't recall being with them either but its possible, I have always paid my bills and don't understand why this is just coming to light.  Where do I stand please I don't want threatening letters but can they seriously expect me to be able to prove I don't owe this from over 10 years ago 

wrf12345

Telephone them, I think there is a six year cut-off date for old bills

brewerdave

wrf12345 said:

Telephone them, I think there is a six year cut-off date for old bills

They cannot take legal action on a bill that old  However , it doesn't necessarily stop debt collection activities. .If you were in rented accommodation it's possible a subsequent tenant ran up a bill with First Utility and they have "attached" your name to the bill.
First Utility took over customers of Usio Energy in 2018 before themselves being absorbed by Shell Energy. Could you have been a customer of Usio  ? (altho' I don't think they were around in 2013) 
 I would look for a "prove it" style letter to send to Octopus asking for a full final bill including supposed dates and meter reads. Extremely unlikely to exist.

PRAISETHESUN

jankaan said:

I am with Octopus energy and yesterday they said they have taken over first utility bills, and I have one outstanding for over £300 , I was never with this company but google says they are to do with shell, I don't recall being with them either but its possible, I have always paid my bills and don't understand why this is just coming to light.  Where do I stand please I don't want threatening letters but can they seriously expect me to be able to prove I don't owe this from over 10 years ago 

The onus is actually on them to prove that you owe the money. Debts usually become statute barred after 6 years after you last acknowledge them, so if you've had no correspondence from them and not made any effort to pay the debt for at least 6 years then you should be okay.

In any case, the only thing you should do is send them "prove it" letter. This puts the onus on them to provide you with the information they need to enforce the debt, so you can then challenge it's validity. Don't enter into any other correspondence with them, especially in writing.

More info can be found on the DFW board: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6027800/debt-free-wannabe-sticky-provit-statute-barred-letters-defaults-help-and-guidance-all-here

Xbigman

PRAISETHESUN said:

jankaan said:

I am with Octopus energy and yesterday they said they have taken over first utility bills, and I have one outstanding for over £300 , I was never with this company but google says they are to do with shell, I don't recall being with them either but its possible, I have always paid my bills and don't understand why this is just coming to light.  Where do I stand please I don't want threatening letters but can they seriously expect me to be able to prove I don't owe this from over 10 years ago 

The onus is actually on them to prove that you owe the money. Debts usually become statute barred after 6 years after you last acknowledge them, so if you've had no correspondence from them and not made any effort to pay the debt for at least 6 years then you should be okay.

In any case, the only thing you should do is send them "prove it" letter. This puts the onus on them to provide you with the information they need to enforce the debt, so you can then challenge it's validity. Don't enter into any other correspondence with them, especially in writing.

More info can be found on the DFW board: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6027800/debt-free-wannabe-sticky-provit-statute-barred-letters-defaults-help-and-guidance-all-here

This is not necessarily correct in these circumstances. If you owe money to a company you have a business relationship with and they simply deduct the money from your account you are in the position of having to prove you don't owe the money. Its not that simple as the debt account may not be able to be linked to the active account for various reasons. In this case it may be possible. I would not send a prove it letter now, I would phone them and let them know you were never a customer of first utility and you don't know what they are talking about. See what comes back. Don't admit anything and don't say 'I don't remember'.

You might be able to see your bank statements from 2013 online. If you can, who were you paying for energy then?



Darren

  

PRAISETHESUN

Even if Octopus have a right to set off against the old debt, you still need to establish that the debt is real and is actually related to an old account they have now purchased. It could be that the debt never actually existed, belongs to someone else, was previously written off, etc. I'd still be inclined to send the prove it letter, unless a chat with customer service ends with them agreeing to write off the debt and OP gets written proof of that. They are written in such a way that they never acknowledge the potential debt, and asks the receiver to provide all the information they are relying on in order to enforce it. This can help to establish exactly what is going on here. Also crucially, it should pause any enforcement action while it gets looked into.

jankaan

Thank you all,  I have lived in the same house for 20 years, the actual bills don't show an address which I find odd, they also seem to overlap date wise, but 2 wont open, this is the first I have heard of it and have never ever received a a letter or demand for any money until now.   I will call them tomorrow and say I don't know anything about it and see what becomes of it.