just before xmas i had a letter telling me that i had been traced to my current address and to ring re an ugent account(which couldnt be disclosed due to data protection)like a fool i rang and was informed it was a debt managment co(srj)who were pursuing me for an outstanding gas bill at an address in manchester.

I have never lived in manchester and up until the summer(when i moved to a bigger house)have been resident in the south west since 2000,i was a british gas customer at my previous address for 2 yrs(2006-2008)before moving to a rival co and then again for 6wks until setting up with another provder,all accounts with british gas have zero balances.

I informed this SRJ that they have the wrong person and its not me that owes this money as i have never lived in manchester and have no links at all to that area.I sent them the standard proove it letter and guess what??they have totally ignored that and are now hassling me by phone and on xmas eve i recieved a letter informing me that litigation etc would be commenced unless i paid the outstanding debt.

I rang british gas and to cut a long story short,told them its not,its someone with the same name but is definatly not me and i have extensive proof of my residency for the time frame in question(july 2007-march 2008-when i was a custmoer of theres and had fully paid up bills)they have called this back in house and told me i have to provide the same proof of residency for this time frame,so today i have sent utilites and council tax bills for that period,crb checks relevant to my job,a copy of my driving license and an entry showing me on the electoral role,have evn sent documants relating to my original house purchase in 2000 and subsequent sale of this property in the summer(and purchase of my current one).

Bg havent been very reassuring as they say that there is no proof that i didnt own a property in manchester(even though my experian report clearly shows no links at all and i know ive no links).I HAVE every payslip with my address on it from the year 2000 to present day(so thats proof) and my husband is a police officer so we could provide sworn statements from other officers if needs be.

Where do i go from here?

This is making me very ill and am loosing sleep and so scared i will be black listed and ive done nothing wrong.

What do I do now?

I am a public sector worker so theres a very clear paper trial in relation to where ive lived and worked.

please can someone help

sorry forgot to say that it appears that the fact ive been a customer of british gas twice(2006-2008)and then again for 6 weeks in the summer and never defaulted on anything,counts for nothing.

surely as i was so traceable,it would appear strange that british gas havent made any contact with me before about this ?also the person they are chasing is a "miss"and i am a "mrs"(same surname and apparent date of birth according to srj).

Please please advise

I'd be inclined to send this:

Dear Sir/Madam

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

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

I am/we are familiar with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR 2008) and the Office of Fair Trading's Guidance on debt collection, 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/we 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. AND 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 settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment. I would also remind you, that I/we are aware of the 'MALG' Guidance/Code that you should comply with.

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

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed.

Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to Trading Standards and also inform the Office Of Fair Trading of your actions.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

and possibly this:

The Data Controller

Name of company

Dear Sir,

Take notice that I require you to cease entirely from processing, or else that you do not begin to process, any personal data of which I am the subject within 28 days of the receipt by you of this notice.

This includes particularly, but is not limited to, any processing involving the communication or passing of personal data of which I am the subject to any third party insofar as the said data relates wholly or in part to any alleged agreement between us.

This Notice is given on the ground that there is no signed agreement in existence that entitles you to process my personal data. If it is your contention that such an agreement exsists then I request that you supply me with a copy of the signed agreement as I am of the belief that no such signed agreement exists. Without this signed agreement you cannot process my data as I have not given my consent.

Further, the processing or continued processing by you of the said data will be likely to affect my credit rating and my reputation and cause substantial damage and/or distress to me in addition to that which may already have been caused and that as the processing of the said data in the way referred to in this notice would violate the first, fourth and sixth principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 to do so would be unwarranted.

If you fail to respond to this notice within the prescribed timescale I will make an application to the court under Section 10(4) Data Protection Act that you be ordered to comply with this notice.

I think they should sort things for you.

Thanks with regard to the first lletter youve included ive already sent them one very similar(srj that is not british gas)and its been ignored as SRJ have gone onto the phone calls and letter telling me that they will be starting litigation against me.

Do I resend my first letter again telling them that theyve ignored my letter(it was sent recorded delivery and ive kept the reciept for this which i could photocopy and attach as proof).

Also as srj state that british gas are their"clients"who should i be dealing with?should I send to both of them?

Ive been to hell and back and its not even me,just someone with my name(not unheard of im sure).

Do I wait to be taken to court as I can proove 100%that its not me?im so confused !

Hi

Welcome aboard to finaly at long last some one to help me, land.

Simples, send the letters to the OFT, trading standards etc noting that they have failed to provide any of the information requested in your letter to the scumbags, asking them to assist you in closing these wipes down [maybe not] send copies by recorded delivery to the Scumbags, who hate people who know what to do in these situations. When they phone again tell them the matter is in dispute, hang up.

Dont like them phoning 20 times a day? buy an answer machine then you can pick up the calls you want to whilst leaving the Scumbags talking to themselves. There is also on this site information about a telephone machine which filiters phone numbers for you.

Above all don't panic, relax, have a jaqusie [warm water bath] think of whatever and regularly check back on FALLSTHM

Other wise people from fallsthm will in time mysticaly provide you with what ever comes next, although have they sent you any evidence that they are acting for BG? And i dont mean them telling you they do, ask for letters of proof. Doubt their right to breath [ok maybe dont go that far] also dont send them anything [personal docs] its up to them to sort out their doggy wee of a policy

Hope this helps, me? me and Che my red wheelchair have to out in a mo as we need blood blood blood:whoo:

Hi,

Can I have some of whatever you're on, Roblynmouth??!!

Fifid...It's up to THEM to prove you owe a debt.

It's not your job to jump through hoops to prove you don't!!!!!

Don't give them any more information about yourself, don't discuss on the phone and please, don't worry,

Give me an hour to put something together for you and we'll help you get shut of them....

Elsa x

Hi again fifid,

These guys are breaking the rules, but it could be that their response to your actual letter is delayed due to the weather, holidays, Christmas etc.

Nonetheless I think you need to send them a sharp reponse to nip this in the bud.

Here's one I prepared earlier

Dear Sir/Madam.

Further to my letter sent by Recorded Delivery on xxxx I am appalled that you have totally ignored the contents, to the extent that you continue to harrass me for a debt which is most emphatically not mine.

I have never lived or had any connection whatsover with the address in question.

 

I would remind you that the responsibility and onus is on you to prove that you are pursuing the correct person, and being totally innocent in this matter I do not feel it appropriate to expend any more time defending myself against your spurious claim.

 

Instead I am prepared to make extremely strongly worded complaints to British Gas,

The Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards local to your company, and the ICO.

 

I have also completed a complaint form to submit to the CSA, your own regulatory body.

In case you need reminding, I would draw your attention to the CSA guidelines, which state:

 

"Where a debt or the sum owed is disputed, as

soon as is practicable, supply information to the

debtor in support of the claim. Where no

information has been supplied by the creditor,

obtain the required support, or failing that cease

collection action

5. Trace Guidelines

Each member shall:

a) In all contact, be circumspect and act with full

regard to the Data Protection principles.

b) Take all possible steps to verify that the person

traced is in fact, the debtor.

c) Verify data relating to a debtors whereabouts via

one or more of the following methods:

I. Public databases.

II. Sending soft letters.

III. Contacting other people.

IV. Investigative/Field enquiries.

d) Cease contact should it become apparent that

the located person is not the debtor, and carry out further checks"

 

and to the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines:

 

"h. ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are

disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment"

"2.8 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

a. sending demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that

they are the debtor in question, for example, threatening debt recovery

action to 'the occupier' or sending a payment demand to all people sharing

the same name/date of birth as a debtor in the hope that contact with the

correct debtor will be made"

 

I refer you also to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

 

To conclude, and for absolute clarity, as I have already informed you, this is most definitely NOT my debt.

 

I therefore require that within 14 days of receiving this letter you supply written confirmation that you will

be taking no further action and will remove my details from your database.

 

If you refuse to do this, then I will have no alternative but to proceed with the complaints outlined above.

Furthermore, I will require a copy of your own complaints procedure, together with the name and contact details of your CEO.

 

I trust this makes my position absolutely clear and look forward to an amicable resolution

 

Yours faithfully,

 

To continue,

As YOU need to know what you're talking about rather than quoting meaningless lumps of legislation, and blindly following advice,

here's a few points of reference.

I've also appended the relevant guides and a copy of the CSA complaints form.

• Office of Fair Trading website
  
• Trading Standards (Search for nearest office to SRJ - GU22 2BS )
  
• Credit Services Association (Their own regulatory body)
  
• Consumer Direct
  
• Information Commissioner
  

oft-debt-collection-guidelines.pdf

CSA-debt-collection guidance.pdf

CSA-complaint-form.pdf

debt-letters-guidance.pdf

Hope this helps,

Elsa x

hi elsa/all

thanks so much for that I will now go down that line,couple of questions:

1.should I send all the correspondance to british gas as well as they claim to have called this debt(which ive been very clear is not me)back to them to investigate?

2.Is it likely that this will now be passed onto some even lower pond life in the industry as my name is now on a file somewhere?

3.Do any of these people have the power to put my name on a blacklist now(even thhough its not me!!)

Thanks so much

Nice letter Elsa. Personally in the light of a new day, I don't think I'd do any of the above. I think I'd e-mail the CEO of British Gas with an adapted version of your letter sent to:

[email protected] and leave it with him to sort out.

Cheers Tingy

Personally I'd do both, as SRJ seem to be running with this, I think they need to be told a few home truths.

By all means write to the CEO, explaining the situation and enclosing copies of correspondence to date.

Amend the SRJ letter that you are "CC'ing the letter to Sam Laidlaw CEO of British Gas, who will no doubt be interested

to see their response"...

I doubt they'd mark your credit file, but keep an eye on it just in case, if they did make an entry you can insist they remove it...even claim compensation if it led to distress or loss of a job or refusal of credit.

Again, once it's established it's not your debt, insist on written confirmation and removal of your data from their systems. I doubt it would get passed on then but if it did a short sharp letter enclosing their final response should suffice.

One step at a time though eh?

Elsa xx

Ok yes I had wondered also about going to the CEO of British Gas how do I know though that SRJ will leave me alone and am so angry cos ive been a complete wreck because of all this and it seems so unjust and unfair as its not anything to do with me!!

In many ways I want someone to be held accountable for what ive been put through but I dont know who that should be-British Gas or SRJ or Both?

The long and short of it really is that I want this to stop cos they are chasing the wrong person and I can proove this 100% but by the same token its ruined my xmas and I can never get that back(neither can my kids!!).

I am so grateful to everyone that has posted advice,just another thought-is it worth getting my MP involved as well,as have mentioned somewhere hubby is a copper so we have support in the form of sworn statements should it ever come to that,im also a public sector worker so have membership to proff bodies etc to verify myself,but surely my mp could help with the unfair pursuit of a constituient?

Please could you advise thank you

Hi fifid,

See above..our posts crossed.

I agree you need to put SRJ straight as well, don't rely on BG to act quickly enough to stop them messing you about. Pincer movement!

That done, I'd wait for responses. You need to show that you gave them chance to put things right.

If they still persist with this, then by all means contact your MP.

Maybe even Ann Widdecombe! : http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/118359/Debt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-madDebt-Collecting-agents-who-drive-people-mad

I'm with Elsa here - good, sound advice.

I'm inclined to see heads roll here too! As it will have been BG employing their tame DCA 'Stoopid ridiculous and juvenile' then it is BG who can carry the can again!

What SRJ are doing is committing the offence of harassment and committing an offence under the communications act;

1 Prohibition of harassment. E+W

 

(1)A person must not pursue a course of conduct—

(a)which amounts to harassment of another, and

(b)which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other.

(2)For the purposes of this section, the person whose course of conduct is in question ought to know that it amounts to harassment of another if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other.

(3)Subsection (1) does not apply to a course of conduct if the person who pursued it shows—

(a)that it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime,

(b)that it was pursued under any enactment or rule of law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any enactment, or

©that in the particular circumstances the pursuit of the course of conduct was reasonable.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/40/section/1

127Improper use of public electronic communications network E+W+S+N.I.

 

(1)A person is guilty of an offence if he—

 

(a)sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; or

 

(b)causes any such message or matter to be so sent.

 

(2)A person is guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, he—

 

(a)sends by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that he knows to be false,

 

(b)causes such a message to be sent; or

 

©persistently makes use of a public electronic communications network.

 

(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.

 

(4)Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to anything done in the course of providing a programme service (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42)).

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/127

Now SRJ are easily put back in there place, report the harassment, it will only take one phone call from the Police to tell them they are committing the offence, for them to stop it, or face legal action!

Email the CEO of BG and remind them of the Ferguson v British Gas case inform them that you are seeking legal advice with a view of taking legal action against them. I ruddy well despise these huge companies running roughshod over people all for their love of money! Shallow narrow minded fools.

They have learned nothing!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-484772/Grandmother-terrorised-death-bank-wrongly-hounded-16-000.html

As a footnote and update re this saga,I emailed British GAS CEO and I think the situation is now worse!!not sure if i privately email any one the response ive had but the potted version is that British gas claim someone rang them with my details informing them that they were moving into this address in salford,British Gas feel that as the name/dob are the same as mine then it must be me.

Ive asked for transcripts of this phone call.

In the email they admit that there are a lot of unanswered questions but have asked me to fax all items prooving my residency at the time this dept occurred.

They also insult me by asking if its possible I moved to salford for a short period of time and then moved back to the southwest and forgot!!or if I know of someone who may want to impersonate me.

I have already sent a wealth of personal information to british gas via secure mail(much more secure than faxing),I have provided all the ref numbers and suggested that the CEO looks at this.

So the long/short of it is,British Gas claim its me,I know its not,Ive got proof of residency since 2000,I can provide every pay slip with my address since then,husband is a police officer,WHAT ELSE CAN I REALISTICALLY DO?

Do I start trying to get bank statements for that period of time to proove transactions for my home town?

Am now even more scared and worried than I WAS BEFORE.I really thought British Gas would see sense

Hi Fifid,

You're welcome to PM me the email if you wish (just copy/paste it into the PM).

Don't lose heart - you are in the right.

We'll construct a point by point response.

Might be an idea to phone Consumer Direct's advice line today to get their take on it.

Ultimately they would have to convince a judge that it's your debt, which with your records you can obviously disprove.

Being a curious kind of cat, I would also start doing my own online research on the name and address..192.com, Facebook etc. It's most likely a coincidental matter but if there's any chance of fraud or ID theft then you could make a complaint to the Police and get a crime number, which would help. (I'm sure you know someone who could help there!)

As a Police Officer, your OH will also obviously have corresponding, UNSHAKEABLE proof of residence. Maybe we should mention this in the response.

At the very least they should tell their pet guard dogs to back off while the dispute continues.

You should also demand a copy of the actual telephone recording in addition to a transcript.

More when I've seen the email...I really want to help you sort out these bullies.

Elsa xxx

More resources...

If they send you a final response without backing down on this, or if it's still unresolved 8 weeks after the dispute started,

you can escalate the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.

Details here: http://www.energy-ombudsman.org.uk/

Also, I think it would be useful to send a Subject Access Request to the Data Controller at British Gas, to get all the details they hold on you and see what's going on behind the scenes. Might throw up some more info on this phantom doppelganger too.

Here's the adapted SAR template. You need to enclose a PO for £10 and send it by Recorded Delivery to the "Data Controller" at their main address.

The Data Controller,

British Gas,

Re: (Name / address)

Account Number

Data Protection Act 1998 - Subject Access Request

Dear Sir/Madam

Please supply me with all data that you hold on me. This includes in particular, but is not limited to, the following:-

• All information pertaining to my current and any previous addresses
  

• Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my account.
  

• Details of any collection charges added to the account; specifically, the date they were levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial Breakdown of how the charges were calculated, and what the charge charges cover.
  

• A copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998
  

• A list of third party agencies to whom you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.
  

• Copies of statements for the entire duration of any accounts I have held with British Gas.
  

• Copies of all correspondence
  

• Copies of all computer records
  

• Audio copies of all recorded telephone conversations and transcripts
  

You are reminded that you are obliged to supply all the above documents in line with the Information Commissioners Technical Guidance update (Dated August 2007)

I enclose the statutory maximum fee of £10, and look forward to receiving the information within 40 days.

Yours faithfully,

hi elsa just tryed to reply to you by pm but it says your in box is full so wont accept any incoming mail,also I dont actually know how to copy/paste as I am 100%rubbish with computers.

Interestingly,have looked on 192.com and it does throw up people of my name and age range through out the country and 1 listed in lancashire.

How can I get the BG email over to you.

Also spoke to my boss this morning,shes very keen to help and has records of shifts etc that ive worked so thats all good.

Hi fifid,

My inbox has been weird since the site upgrade..says I can have 50 messages, I only had 35 but then it rejects saying I'm full.

I've just deleted some, so try again...

to copy and paste, just left click to put the cursor at the start of the text, then holding down the left click drag your mouse over the text to the last word, then let go of the left button..the text should be highlighted. You then put the mouse over it, right click and select copy.

You then left click in the pm, then right click and select paste...

Elsa x

Thank you so much just check it got to you!!i now know how to copy/paste thank you

Yup both received

To be honest I don't think their reply is all bad, at least to the extent that they have now told SRJ to hold action and admitted that it wants investigating further. Their suggestion that you may have "forgotten" that you lived in Salford for a while is ludicrous!!

They say this person asked to set up a payment plan - from which they must have been given her bank details so perhaps they could trace her via that route.

Let's wait and see what their response is to your reply, I'm confident that they will back down on this now, their excuses and

theories are looking lame and ridiculous. Also the DOB they state is 2007!!!!

I'll be on and off here for a while today as my OH is day off, but I'll keep my eye out for their response.

Elsa xxx

ok many thanks will let you know how they respond

pm on its way (and to Elsa)