Me V's 1st Credit (powergen)

[blueeyedboy1980]

I have CCA'd this company and they have called me to advise that they have no copy agreement as it is a utility bill. They have also told me that they do not need to prove a debt as they can send me a bill and utility debts are not the same as credit agreements. is this correct and I am in the wrong or are they trying their luck? also I told them that all correspondence in future should be in writing only and they informed me they do not personalise letters and they only speak on the phone.He asked why I am disputing and I politely declined to answer his question. In the end I asked him to in future only contact me by writing and not to call me again and politely hung up while he was still talking.

I know I shouldn't have answered but you all know what curiosity does.

[pmhcfc]

Originally Posted by blueeyedboy1980

I have CCA'd this company and they have called me to advise that they have no copy agreement as it is a utility bill. They have also told me that they do not need to prove a debt as they can send me a bill and utility debts are not the same as credit agreements. is this correct and I am in the wrong or are they trying their luck? also I told them that all correspondence in future should be in writing only and they informed me they do not personalise letters and they only speak on the phone.He asked why I am disputing and I politely declined to answer his question. In the end I asked him to in future only contact me by writing and not to call me again and politely hung up while he was still talking.

I know I shouldn't have answered but you all know what curiosity does.

They are right, everything's different when it comes to utility bills.

[blueeyedboy1980]

so gotta pay up and shut up then? :o

[tooth_fairy]

The CCA doesn't apply to Gas, Electricity or Water meters.
Are you disputing the bill and if so, why, ie, incorrect meter readings, was your meter taken over by Powergen in error, did you move out and Powergen haven't actioned the home mover process?

Are you still with them for the utility they are sending the demands for? I ask because if you are, it is possible for them to obtain a warrant to enter your property and removed the meter, if you are in, they will install a pre-payment meter and collect the debt that way, or if you aren't in, they may leave you without gas or eletricity.

[blueeyedboy1980]

I'm not with them now. different house. tbh i cant afford to pay so was trying to get out of it.

[tooth_fairy]

OK, well that pretty much rules out them taking your meter away, so that's good.
How much do you owe (approximately?).
My plan of action would be this
CCA requests are no use in this situation, so I would write directly to Powergen, 1st Credit are awful to deal with in any case, so I truly think you'd be wasting your time and energy with them.

Say to Powergen you are finding yourself on hard times and you would like to come to an agreement to pay, be sure about how much you can afford, if you can only afford £1 a month, you can only afford £1, it is worth going through all your income and expenditure and only offering what you can really afford.

If they will not accept the offer, get Energywatch involved, I say this because I fell on hard time, I was ill after major emergency surgery and hubby was made redundant and we fell behind and British Gas (our Gas supplier) would not let us pay £15 towards our bill every month but energywatch managed to come to an agreement with BG, it took a few weeks but it was worth it, allbeiti we had to go up to £25 and meet in the middle.

[blueeyedboy1980]

thank you for the quick reply. I literally dont have a penny. I am on income support and i struggle to have enough to buy food let alone pay my debts.

its only £230 i owe but thats bad enough when its 1 of 7 and i owe 22k in total.