Utility warehouse debt collector has come with an offer to prevent ccj

Savvy101

Hi, I have been back and forth with Utility warehouse regarding a debt, which I disputed.
The latest debt collector has now come up with a reduced offer, that I can pay in 3 instalments and prevent a ccj.
It comes across as a negotiation offer. 
What is the best way to move forward with this offer?

Brie

Has the dispute been resolved?  Or is the offer sufficient to make the dispute immaterial??  

I mean if you say you don't owe the money at all because you've never signed up with UW then why pay them anything?  If it does get to the point that you get sent paperwork from the court to say there is a court date and you have sufficient proof that their claims are unfounded why pay?  I'd just respond to the court query and see if they actually show up in court.

If on the other hand you think you owe £500 and they say £600 then that's a different situation but I'd still want to them to provide a final letter to say the money is owed before considering your next move.

Savvy101

Brie said:

Has the dispute been resolved?  Or is the offer sufficient to make the dispute immaterial??  

I mean if you say you don't owe the money at all because you've never signed up with UW then why pay them anything?  If it does get to the point that you get sent paperwork from the court to say there is a court date and you have sufficient proof that their claims are unfounded why pay?  I'd just respond to the court query and see if they actually show up in court.

If on the other hand you think you owe £500 and they say £600 then that's a different situation but I'd still want to them to provide a final letter to say the money is owed before considering your next move.

Hi Brie thanks for your response,
Sorry I think I have not been clear.
I was with Utiltily warehouse and I was sure I had paid them.
However they came back with a couple of bills they said I had not paid.

Even more confusing was at one time they had said that the payment was to do with Cashback Card Arrears
Anyway we have been back and forth is it the cashback card arrears or is it energy consumption.

Then the debt collectors sent a final letter before going to court.
I sent them a Formal Request for Debt Verification & Dispute of Amount.
They responded with Utility warehouse sending an unpaid energy bill

Included in that was the offer to settle

sourcrates

Savvy101 said:

Hi, I have been back and forth with Utility warehouse regarding a debt, which I disputed.
The latest debt collector has now come up with a reduced offer, that I can pay in 3 instalments and prevent a ccj.
It comes across as a negotiation offer. 
What is the best way to move forward with this offer?

Don`t really understand what your asking, do you agree you owe the money?

You either accept or decline based on that.

Savvy101

sourcrates said:

Savvy101 said:

Hi, I have been back and forth with Utility warehouse regarding a debt, which I disputed.
The latest debt collector has now come up with a reduced offer, that I can pay in 3 instalments and prevent a ccj.
It comes across as a negotiation offer. 
What is the best way to move forward with this offer?

Don`t really understand what your asking, do you agree you owe the money?

You either accept or decline based on that.

Thanks for the reply.

Got to the point where I agree
Since they have given me an offer for  the payment terms.
Should I counter offer?

sourcrates

Does the collector own the debt, or are they just managing it for their client?

Its likely there will be more wiggle room.

Savvy101

sourcrates said:

Does the collector own the debt, or are they just managing it for their client?

Its likely there will be more wiggle room.

Thanks @s@sourcrates
Sorry for the late reply
I don't know who owns the debt.
Should I just conter offer, or how should I go forward?

sourcrates

If they refer to "their client" they are only a hired help.

If you accept the debt is yours and want to avoid a CCJ, take the deal.

There is a legal process to go through before they can take legal action, they must send you an LBA with a 30 day return form, you can admit/deny or ask for further info at that point, but it seems they may already have done most of that.

Put it to bed, take the deal if your happy with it.

DankVielen

Savvy101 said:

Hi, I have been back and forth with Utility warehouse regarding a debt, which I disputed.
The latest debt collector has now come up with a reduced offer, that I can pay in 3 instalments and prevent a ccj.
It comes across as a negotiation offer. 
What is the best way to move forward with this offer?

Slow down, first of all when someone talks Court at the doorstep it is a scare tactic.

As others have said, first thing is did you owe it.

UW charge for numerous utilities but they still have to comply with Energy Rules for back billing, for example if they are claiming you owe money for a period beyond 12 months ago then that is not allowed.

Whichever type of utility there is, they have to prove the liability and there will be an ombudsman you can appeal to if the company has behaved in an unfair way.

They would not be negotiation if they had a solid case, they have to give you time to pay but if the usage of energy is from a period more than 12 months ago then they lost the right to bill for it.

It happened to a neighbour of mine who had a smart meter that stopped working properly, the energy company tried to bring the usage forward, but when it was audited and compared to when it last worked it was established that it went wrong (not recording gas increments) nearly two years before. My neighbour paid a direct debit and when he was going to switch that is when they got their act together.  However, his partner had been taking manual reads by photo of both meters, they did not compare them they just wanted in the event of a dispute.

So first of all get the basis for the charge and check for proof by doing a subject access request of all reads from both meters.

Broadband companies also have a habit of slipping in charges on upgrades when they fail to carry out an upgrade.

These are just two examples, whatever the bill is for, drill down and verify it is owed.