Threatening Letter from BG Adressed to occupier

fairladyzxgirl

Normally I do not open mail addressed to "The Occupier"

This one I did for some reason.

It is a threatening letter demanding payment from when I was not even in the property, they are threatening to take action against "the occupier"!!

Now I know the obvious step would be to call them, however Im damned if Im giving them my personal details as i have no account with them (my supplier is Ebico) therefore really should not have to.

What I do not want is bailiffs etc, I am assuming that they can not force entry and change my meter to pre pay as im not their customer? so what would be the best course of action to take?

Cheers

Quentin

You legitimately opened the letter (as you are the occupier), so treat it in the same way you would if it was addressed properly to you.

To save the matter escalating, contact them and explain their error.

Ken68

Did read somewhere, Fair, that if you open the door to a bailiff that is an invitation for him to enter.
Also, if and when replying, do not give your name, call yourself 'occupier'.

icefall

Contact British Gas and explain that you are not with them.

If things arent resolved in a couple of weeks, try Energywatch

Voyager2002

Don't telephone: respond by letter. They are likely to treat the letter more seriously, and also you are in control of exactly what you say and what information you give them.

Oh: bailiffs are unlikely to come unless they have a court order, and BG are unlikely to issue court proceedings because that costs them money.

fairladyzxgirl

the letter is from a collection agency, I have tried to ring BG before but could never get through so i shall address this by letter. They have caused me more problems!! This happened when i first moved in however I changed supplier and all seemed well, now a year later im confronted with this letter from a collection agency!!

Infact so much so i really do not want to give them any of my personal details!

mymatebob

fairladyzxgirl wrote: »

the letter is from a collection agency, I have tried to ring BG before but could never get through so i shall address this by letter. They have caused me more problems!! This happened when i first moved in however I changed supplier and all seemed well, now a year later im confronted with this letter from a collection agency!!

Infact so much so i really do not want to give them any of my personal details!

Tell them you are the occupier and that you don't owe any money. Don't give them anymore details than that.

Larumbelle

1) Firstly, you are perfectly entitled to open mail addressed to 'the occupier'. So don't worry about that.

2) Ignore talk of bailiffs etc. Bailiffs cannot be sent around unless a court judgement is made against you. For that to happen the supplier would have to prove that you owe the money. Since you don't owe, there is no way they could do that. A prepay meter could not be installed for the same reason.

3) Gas and electricity companies do not sign a supply contract with 'The Occupier'. They sign them with a named person. The debt company are being lazy and figured they could scare the current occupier into paying instead of persuing someone who is long gone. DO NOT BE SCARED OF THEM! You have more powers than you think.

So to go forwards: Do you rent or own your house? Either way you will be able to prove when you moved in through paperwork for your current and previous addresses.
Send a photocopy of each, blocking out ALL personal data (including your title and first name) along with the following letter:

Dear xxxxxxxxxxx

I refer to your letter dated xxxxxx, reference xxxxxxxxxx

You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself.

I would point out that I have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to xxxxxxxxxxx. I did not move into this property until xxxxxxxx

I am familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my liability for the debt in question.

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

Ms XXXXXX (PRINT DO NOT SIGN) If you really want to be cheeky, just sign it 'The Occupier'.

What this letter means:

You are informing the company that the debt is not yours. You are also making it clear to them that you know your rights and are not going to be scared by their techniques. I can give you a thorough runthrough of your rights and the rules if needs be.

Don't be tempted to deal with them by phone. It is not documented what has been said, and also these companies can be quite persistant calling you back harrassing you for other peoples debts.

Just to add further that I had the same problem with British Gas a few years back. It seems to be a fairly stnadard practise and it makes my blood boil!

Cardew

Silvercharming,
Excellent post, but can I make one comment re this quote below.

3) Gas and electricity companies do not sign a supply contract with 'The Occupier'. They sign them with a named person. The debt company are being lazy and figured they could scare the current occupier into paying instead of persuing someone who is long gone. DO NOT BE SCARED OF THEM! You have more powers than you think.

Everyone is making the assumption that the debt is not valid, but this may well not be the case.

Under the government's Gas and Electricity acts it is both legal and normal for bills to be sent to The Occupier and, if they use any gas/electricity, you are bound by a 'deemed contract' even if the company do not have your name. The alternative would be for the gas/electricity to be cut off when the old occupant left.

In fact nobody 'signs' a supply contract these days do they?

What is not clear from the OP is when she(I assume fairladyxxgirl is female!!) moved to Ebico.

Surely BG must have been supplying the old occupant and it is normal practice to send a bill to 'The Occupier'

Therefore is it not possible that BG were supplying the property when she moved in, and until she moved to Ebico? In fact this quote from the OP indicates that this may well be the situation:

have tried to ring BG before but could never get through so i shall address this by letter. They have caused me more problems!! This happened when i first moved in however I changed supplier and all seemed well

If that is the case, then the OP is indeed liable to BG for any electricity/gas she used and the bill/debt is valid(provided it is accurate)

Perhaps the OP can explain how/when Ebico became her supplier?

Larumbelle

You're right Cardew, I just took at face value that OP was not responsible for the debt - possibly coloured by my own experience!

Did you take meter readings when you moved in? Who was the supplier then / can you prove you paid the bill?

Someone else I remember helping had a bill that a small amount belonged to her, but the majority was probably the responsibility of the former tenant who had unfortunately passed away. The company (seem to remember it was Cambridge) wrote the whole bill off.

Unless I was sure that the full amount was my responsibility I would send the letter, maybe change the wording at the top if you think you might be responsible for some but not all of it.