Offer to pay debt balance

[dori2o]

Hi,

I have a problem.

I had a guy from British Gas call a few months ago, you know, the ' We can save you 25% on what your curently paying for Gas and Electricity..... balh..blah'

So I signed up just to get rid of the guy, he just wouldn't take no for an answer. I then cancelled the contract within 14 days of signing it.

Anyway, for some reason, even though I have a debt with Powergen totalling £450, they have transferred me to British Gas. Why, I don't know, especially as I cancelled the contract, but that is currently another issue hopefully being resolved.

I contacted Powergen to ask about this outstanding balance, and they said that they were sending me a bill, and the balance was payable within 14 days of the bill being issued, or , they would pass the details onto a debt collection agency.

I asked if the cal was being recorded and said I didn't want to go down that route, and wanted to sort this out in a civilised manner and see if we could come to some agreement to pay the balance, which I'm willing to do, I used the energy so I have to pay for it.

The advisor passed me to his manager, (who must have had a bad day from his attitude), he confirmed the call was recorded, but only for training purposes, and advised there was no agreement to be made, either pay up, or have a default notice served and then deal with a DCA.

I said that I felt this was a bit harsh and that I would like to agree to a payment of £15 per month, which when you consider that this debt started off at £750, and I have been paying £10 a month, over my gas and electricity to clear this would actually mean they are getting more than before.

He said he wasn't interested, and I would have to speak to the DCA when they issued their letters.

Surely, as I have made an effort to pay this amount, before they have issued any bill, I can object to this debt being sold to a DCA, and should have this dealt with between myself and Powergen, or am I totally wrong.

[buzby]

Isn't the easiest way to stop the transfer to British Gas? They are without doubt the most expensive energy supplier, so if you cancelled - Powergen need to be told that you cancelled the request within the deadline and should not be transferred. As an existin Powergen customer, you may find them more amenable to your paying off ther debt without reference to a DCA, but they'll still log the late payments...

[ozzywizard]

Buzby is right, phone powergen and tell them you wish to file the transfer of supply as an erroneous Transfer. They will file this to BG and bring back your supply. Then you can arrange to make payments over a period of time which suits you.

[dori2o]

Hi,

Have tried advising this is a mistake, but Powergen have said there is nothing they can now do, they have given the acount to BG. BG just don't care, but thats no surprise.

Now Powergen have said that as my current balance is £430ish, they want it at £95 per month.

I simply cannot afford this, I asked Powergen to send me a I & E form, but they just said no. They also said they will be charging intrast on the balance and if it is not paid within 21 days will be looking to the courts.

What can I do?

[buzby]

Have they said no for any particular reason? Explain that you are far from satisfied and you will pass the matter to Energywatch as you are far from happy at the way this matter has been conducted. (the website is energywatch: Home Page). The complaint form is here: energywatch: Make a complaint

Explain you're paying nobody until this mess is sorted out!

[StoneLaughter]

Originally Posted by dori2o

Hi,

Have tried advising this is a mistake, but Powergen have said there is nothing they can now do, they have given the acount to BG. BG just don't care, but thats no surprise.

Now Powergen have said that as my current balance is £430ish, they want it at £95 per month.

I simply cannot afford this, I asked Powergen to send me a I & E form, but they just said no. They also said they will be charging intrast on the balance and if it is not paid within 21 days will be looking to the courts.

What can I do?

First of all, immediately write to them and state that the amount is "in dispute" and you will pay them nothing until the dispute is resolved. They are NOT PERMITTED to pursue the debt (or register a default) until they have entered into a dialogue with you and resolved the dispute.

You are NOT REQUIRED to tell them of your income and expenditure. If you have made an offer to pay, they are REQUIRED to accept it - however they may ask you for more. You can simply refuse. If they went to court and you told the court that they refused your offer to pay, they would look really REALLY stupid.

Make your offer to pay in writing, and at the same time advise them that any action they take will be vigourously defended. Advise them further that you require that they register the transfer of account as erroneous and retrieve the account from British Gas. If they refuse to do so, you will be contacting OFGEM and the OFT immediately.

You seem to be in a very strong position; let us know how it goes. Forget the 'phone though - it's just another opportunity for them to try and intimidate you.

[dori2o]

OK, got another letter from powergen, basically it does not refer to my letter I sent last month, but basically says I have a fuyrther 14 days to make the payment before they pass to a DCA.

Do I write again or just go straight to Energywatch.

They are insisting in the balance being paid by an amount of £95 per month.

If I send the letter again, what should I say in it?

[dori2o]

Can someone please check this letter and if possible amend to make it better.

Dear Sirs,



RE: Outstanding balance of £XXX

Please be advised that following your latest letter dated 5 December 2006, I am now advising you that I dispute the amount due.

May I take this opportunity to advise that I will be making no payment towards the balance of this account until this dispute is resolved.

The remaining balance on the account has arisen due to a fault that I feel is partly due to your negligence in the running of the account, and partly due to myself.

The problem started in 2003 whilst I was paying a monthly payment to you of £XX per month, the quarterly bill would arrive and although I was using more gas and electric than the monthly payments would cover, your statements carried a message that indicated that I was paying my bill by way of a monthly direct debit, and that I didn't need to do anything to change the amount, or make payment towards any balance.

This went on until February 2005 when I received a demand for over £XXXX.

I feel it would be in all our interests if you would accept liability for part of this outstanding balance.

I am willing to pay whatever is outstanding but I cannot pay this all in one go. I will be able to offer you a maximum of £15 pounds per month. This is all I can afford to pay considering the other financial commitments I have.

I hope to receive a positive response from you soon, this will help to resolve the situation.

Yours Sincerely

[StoneLaughter]

Too nice but it will do to start with. Once they start with the threatening, you can stop feeling that you should be respectful. Believe me, they have absolutely no respect for you; and they have earned none from you.

[patdavies]

Originally Posted by dori2o

The advisor passed me to his manager, (who must have had a bad day from his attitude), he confirmed the call was recorded, but only for training purposes, and advised there was no agreement to be made, either pay up, or have a default notice served and then deal with a DCA.

I said that I felt this was a bit harsh and that I would like to agree to a payment of £15 per month, which when you consider that this debt started off at £750, and I have been paying £10 a month, over my gas and electricity to clear this would actually mean they are getting more than before.

He said he wasn't interested, and I would have to speak to the DCA when they issued their letters.

Surely, as I have made an effort to pay this amount, before they have issued any bill, I can object to this debt being sold to a DCA, and should have this dealt with between myself and Powergen, or am I totally wrong.

If you really want to wind them up, then demand a copy of the recording under the Data Protection Act. In legal terms a recording, audio and/or video, is a document.

The statement about training purposes only is totally irrelevant. They have a recording containing your personal data and you are entitled to a copy of it.

[dori2o]

OK had a response today to my letter, basically it advises they are not willing to reduce the balance, and have refused the offer of £15 per month. They have sent me a I & E form to complete, but I was under the impression that they had no right to this information.

Also I thought that they could not continue to demand payments of more than I can reasonably afford.

What do I do now?

Read through the sites for Energywatch and OFGEM but they don't seem to be of any help, they seem to be more related to the actual suply of energy.

Please help, I have not got the money to pay these people.

(And the day started so well after getting my money back from GE Money)

[buzby]

A supplier has no right to this information - I'd ignore it. However, they can demand you pay any debt, whether you can afford it or not. It is easier to work with them than against, and I think to end the brinkmanship you respond by saying that to unfortunately if they do not agree your only option is an IVA and they may get considerably less than you are offering. There's no magic solution to get the debt to disappear, but at least an offer to replay is better than none.

[StoneLaughter]

Start paying them £15 per month. Don't bother replying to their request for I&E info - they have no right to it. Demands for payments you cannot afford can amount to harrassment. Remind them of that, and also remind them that any action taken against you will be vigourously defended. Do this in writing; forget the phone now. In fact - you could include something in your letter requiring all future communications to be in writing, and please delete all telephone details from your database.

[dori2o]

Can someone please answer a question for me.

I was talking to a Union guy at work regarding this, and he informed me that by law there is a legal amount I am allowed every month to live on, i.e. an amount of money I am entitled to have in order to feed/clothe my family every month and that this was determined by how many kids we have.

Is this right?, does anyone know where I can find this information if it is right?

Only asking as Powergen have said that if I have any money left at the end of paying out any bills, essential travel costs, food, they would be entitled to it.

I'm not trying to get out of payment here, I just want to be able to live as normally as possible after all my monthly bills have been paid.

[StoneLaughter]

You have said that you can afford £15 per month. Pay them that. They are entitled to be paid back - full stop. No court in the land is going to make you pay back more than you say you can afford and Powergen know it. There is absolutely NO WAY they will take you to court while you are paying them.

If you really want to find out what the minimum you require to live on is, look to someone working full time (37-40 hrs per week) on the National Minimum Wage - there's your answer. But to be honest, it's utterly irrelevant.

[dori2o]

Right, I replied to powergen, with a copy of the origional letter, and another letter saying I did not feel this has been handled sufficiently.

Got this reply.

Dear Dori2o

A/C Number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the outstanding balance on your account.

As Stated, your account went into debt because you was using more gas and electricity than you were paying. It is your responsibility to keep an eye on your statements to ensure taht you are paying enough.

As you have now changed suppliers, final balances are required to be paid within 3 months. As a gesture of goodwil I can arrange for your debt to be cleared over a maximum of 9 months. This wil mean you will need to pay £48.02 per month.

If you cannot clear your balance withn this time, the debt will be sent to a Debt Colection Agency and a repayment arrangement can be set with them.

To set up a payment arrangement or if you would like to discuss the mater further, you can cal me on XXXX XXX XXXX and I will be happy to help.

Yours Sincerely

Noveen Woolcock
Customer Liaison

What should I do now?

Who decides when a dispute is closed?

Can I object to the sending the account to a DCA? recording information with CRA's before I believe the dispute has been settled?