Apologies if this is the wrong forum! I live in a flat above a retail unit, which is rented from the owner of that unit. My gas supply doesn't come directly from a gas company, but rather the unit below. There is a submeter installed, when I moved in my landlord told me to text them a regular meter reading, and they would calculate how much gas we had used and then let me how much I owed them. All "bills" were sent over text, and payment was requested in cash (I asked to do a bank transfer as it was easier for me, but the landlord insisted on cash payment), and no receipts were given. I started off providing regular meter readings, but the bills grew further and further apart. I haven't had one in about 3 years now, and they have never come to read the meter themselves. They haven't responded to attempts to contact them for close to a year now, and I'm now looking at moving out because the flat is becoming uninhabitable/dangerous due to a lack of repairs. I've looked at the tenancy agreement (which has now rolled over from an assured shorthold tenancy and become a statutory periodic tenancy), and it says nothing specifically about paying the landlord for our gas, just that "the tenant shall pay all charges for gas and electric current supplied to the premises". There's no mention of costing, when, how or to whom it should be paid, etc. I'm just wondering where I stand here? If they were an energy company, I don't think they'd be able to backbill me for the whole period as they've never read the meter at all, or provided me with a bill for three years now. With no receipts and cash payments, there's no evidence of what has or has not been paid, either. I'm just worried that they're going to try and hit me up for 3 years (or more) of gas bills when I give them notice.

An update! In the end, I decided to follow the advice to ignore the letter as I'm sure the debt is statute barred now. A couple more came through over the past couple of months which I also ignored and then today I received this one: ***** PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY Date: 04/05/2011 Dear We have previously advised you that one of the actions we were considering on your account was a Door Step Collection Visit to your home address to recover the outstanding balance. As we know of no genuine reason why you have failed to repay the outstanding balance, instructions will now be provided to our agent to make an appointment with you to visit your home address. You have a final opportunity to avoid referrel to a Door Step Collection Agent by telephoning us to agree a suitable method of repayment of the outstanding balance IMMEDIATELY on the telephone number above, Yours sincerely Wescot Credit Services Ltd. ***** Do I ignore this one, and swing into action should I receive a letter from a collection agency? Or write to them now with the whole implied access, you're not welcome and I have no intention of making an appointment type thing? I'm really quite quite worried - my hands are shaking as I'm typing this - because I really don't want to come home from work one day and find my belongings kidnapped.

Like this? **** My Address My Postcode The Date Their Address Their Postcode Dear Sir/Madam, Reference Number: 123456789 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 Arrow Global Ltd. I am are familiar with the CPUTR 2008, European Credit Directive 2010 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 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 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 Trading Standards and also inform the Office Of Fair Trading of your actions. I look forward to your reply. (me)

So something like this one? Should I send it recorded, so that I have proof they received it, in case they keep sending demand letters with no proof being offered that it is actually a debt that belongs to me? **** My Address My Postcode The Date Their Address Their Postcode Dear Sir/Madam, Reference Number: 123456789 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 Arrow Global Ltd. I am are familiar with the 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 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 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 Trading Standards and also inform the Office Of Fair Trading of your actions. I look forward to your reply. (me)

So... what should I do? Fire off the "prove it" letter? Then go to CCA request and then the SAR, if they can provide the stuff?

Honestly, I think it might have been me checking my credit report that brought me to their attention in the first place. There are no defaults at all on my record and I've had no problem getting credit for a couple of things recently. I found this statue barred template ( debtquestions.co.uk/debt_forum/viewtopic.php?t=19030 ), which seems to say that unless they can provide proof that the debt isn't barred, they need to stop contacting me. I'm just worried that sending this would constitute acknowledgement (even though it quite clearly says multiple times that the debt is not acknowledged) if the time has not yet run out.

I got the letter today. I haven't got a scanner, so I'll just type it up. **** FINAL NOTICE Dear (me) Despite previous correspondence a balance remains outstanding on the above account. Unless you make contact with us and agree repayment of (balance) within the next 10 days, collection activity will continue on the account. This may lead to: A door step collector being instructed to visit your property to collect payment; or Court action being taken for repayment of the outstanding balance. If legal proceedings are issued and a Judgement or Decree is obtained against you, court fees and legal costs could increase the amount you owe. Call us now on (number) to discuss repayment of this debt. Details of the different ways you can pay are given on the back of this letter. PAYMENT DUE BEFORE: 28th March 2011 **** So I'm guessing this is meant to terrify me out my wits and scare me into paying without question (I'm certainly scared, I'll give them that), but this is the first time I've heard from them by letter and there has been no "previous correspondence" at all. Apparently they are acting on behalf of Arrow Global Ltd, which Google tells me is a debt purchasing company, and not the original creditor. I went back and looked at my timeline and I'm pretty sure that I didn't make any payments (and definitely no written acknowledgements) since December 2004, as I had lost my job and couldn't pay my rent, let alone anything else. Should I just send them the statute barred letter straight off the bat and be done with it?

Hey everyone, Wescot have been sending letters to my old address (my parent's home) and hassling them over the phone. To calm my parents down, I rang Wescot up and gave them a new address to contact and told them not to call any more. When I was speaking to the gent on the phone he said the debt was for a loan taken out in 2004 which defaulted in 2005. I didn't make any payments or acknowledgement of the debt, just told him just to send a letter explaining the situation to the address I'd provided and that I'd take it from there. What's the best way to deal with this? I'm not sure whether to ask for a credit agreement or a subject access request to find out when the last payment was made. As far as I understand, the timer on the statute barring begins from the last payment and I believe that would have happened already, or at the very least in the next couple of months.