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debt collectors
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Well I live in a house share with 4 other people and all the bills are in 1 persons name apart from the phone bill which is in my name. Anyway on saturday I got a letter from debt collectors saying that british gas had appointed them to collect and outstanding bill ammount. As far as I know the bills are up to date and aren't even in my name so don't know why I got this letter. Any suggestions on what to do?
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Comments
hope you get it sorted.
I thought they'd just cut you off and send letters before calling the debt collectors...?
I then phoned British gas and was put through to 4 people who couldn't help me as their system was down and phoned again and their system is down again.
They've probably messed up, but DO NOT RING THEM. If you ring them they have your telephone number, and will use it to harrass you. Write to them saying that you do not have any bills in your name, and that you do not owe them a penny. They can't deny that you told them if you sent a letter.
As for the collective house, you are not the billholder, you have been paying money to them, and you are not liable.
As for disconnections, they threaten it straight away, and whilst they have certain rights to do that, it is only ever as a last resort.
Edited to add: don't ring them again. Your calls will not be recorded. They company will lie in court and say you never rang them. Debt companies- private ones or ones part of the utility company- are liars and can never be trusted.
If the bill is not in your name then you do not owe money. It is likely that this is an administrative error on the part of British Gas, and you should WRITE to them explaining your position as the presence of your letter cannot be denied, but telephone calls are frequently denied. You could ring to find out quickly if it is an administrative error, but do ensure any agreement is written.
DCAs will always lie if it makes them more money.
Chase down the person who pays the bills though and make sure everything is up to date just for your peace of mind.
They tryed it with me, when someone frauded in my name. :mad:
Emails disappear too. I'd sent a letter by special delivery-they can't deny receiving it then :thumb:
According to the law a letter is deemed to have been received by the other party one day after being sent by first class post. Special/recorded delivery is not needed if you get a certificate of postage (which is free) from your post office- the postmaster just fills out a little form to say you posted the letter to x address on x day through his post office, and he takes the letter from you and posts it.
If the OP is not on the bill then she does not owe the money, provided that a resident of the property is on the bill. If no resident of the property is on the bill then the OP may have a "deemed" contract, but it seems unlikely in this case if her flatmate set the account up. In any case, for there to be a "deemed" contract the supplier must clearly bill you.