TRACE Debt Recovery UK with SHELL petrol station

Shaya · 17 June at 5:36PM

I hope you're well. I was wondering if I could get some advice, please. I've been trying to resolve an issue by contacting Shell Energy’s site manager and customer service, but unfortunately, I’ve had no success. Despite multiple attempts, I haven’t been able to get a proper response or resolution.

To make things worse, Trace Debt Recovery has been unwilling to even consider the dispute and has shown no interest in hearing my side of the story.

I’ve attached a copy of the email I sent, along with a summary of what happened. I would really appreciate any guidance you could offer on how best to proceed in this situation.

to make things more completed I was using my mothers car at the time and the letter is on her name but really it was myself that used the car and put petrol on the day not sure if this would be relevant.

Dear Shell Customer Service,

I am writing to urgently dispute a charge that has been escalated to TRACE Debt Recovery UK Limited, regarding an alleged unpaid fuel transaction at your Shell Pinner station (2 Elm Park Road, HA5 2AF) dated 11 September 2023. The amount now being claimed is £180.05, including additional fees.

This letter from TRACE was the first notification I received about this matter. No prior correspondence, reminders, or payment requests were ever sent to me. If I had been informed earlier, I would have resolved this directly with Shell.

After receiving this unexpected letter, I visited the Shell Pinner station in person to investigate. Despite several attempts to speak with staff, it took multiple visits before I was shown any evidence. Eventually, I was shown still images of me refuelling my vehicle and was told that the amount owed was £60.05. I asked to see CCTV footage to confirm that I left without paying — this was not made available.

To verify, I contacted my bank, who confirmed that on that date, a payment attempt for £49.99 to Shell was declined. This is significant because:

It shows I did attempt to make a payment, contradicting the claim that I simply drove off without paying.
The amount Shell claims (£60.05) is inconsistent with the bank record (£49.99), suggesting a discrepancy in your records.
As I frequently pay in cash, it’s entirely possible I completed the transaction in-store following the declined card.

Despite the lack of clear evidence that I failed to pay, I offered to settle the original amount directly with Shell in good faith — without the added third-party charges. Unfortunately, this was not accepted.

So I’m really unsure about what to do next and would appreciate your thoughts:

Should I just pay the amount, even though I believe it’s unfair?

Is there still a way to properly dispute this?

Would it help to try and find contact details for someone higher up at Shell?

Go to energy ombudsman?

I’ve also learned that many Shell branches are franchised and individually owned, so I’m not even sure how effective it would be to contact Shell directly or who the right person would be.

Any guidance you can offer would mean a lot.