i just recieved a call from British Gas after i contacted them again telling me that even though they dont know who had the debt they decided to buy it back i now owe them £460 unless i can show its been paid. they recon its impossible to tell me who the debt was bought from so i can search for the reciept. the debt has been lost for the last 3 years noone chasing me as i believe it was paid and now they just pull it out of thin air and expect me to pay it again and wont tell me where its come from so i can check my recipets Tony

They cannot do it as the day you defaulted was back in 2008-2009 or when ever it was. This is the date you defaulted wether u pay the debt or not it will be removed 6 years from the day it was placed, it cannot be readded after this point and cannot be altered from original date. it can be updated monthly with any payments or the balanace outstanding but the date of default will always be the same. if its dif get intouch with the ref agency and inform them that its happened and that it should not have and they will correct it

Hi I am getting very frustrated and wondering what the hell to do next .I am hoping you guys have some ideas. In August of last year I got refused a mortgage and decided to look at my file, I found that i had a default from British Gas for an old account at an address I lived in back in 2007-2008. I moved out of this house on 15th August 2008 however in December of 2009 I had a default placed against me for £460 all my debt was cleared in that December including this debt. it was paid by my mother when I got a new job. last August I contacted British Gas with regards to this account and stated it had been paid and why was it still showing as oweing £460 on my credit file. They told me they had sold the debt onto a debt collection agency and the balance was showing as zero with them. I was given the contact details for the company but when i called it i was told they had returned the debt back to British Gas. I called them back to state this and was then told it went on to another company, again i called and was informed this was also returned back in December 2009. Once again I called and got nowhere, I decided to write a complaint and received a letter back stating they would not alter my file due to not having proof I paid it. I was unable to find the proof so decided to take the hit and pay it again just to get it sorted, only to be told they cant take payment as they no longer one the debt and if they took money off me it would show as a credit. I said well i need to know who owns the debt and they cannot tell me. I have made a complaint by 3 letters and around 30 phonecalls and despite them even contacting their finance department they cannot tell me who owns the account, in the mean time im stuck with it on my report with no way to deal with it. I have written to the ombudsman but they responded stating they have a duty to update the info only if they believe its been paid. but as i cannot find the reciept i cant show it was paid, and i cant pay it as noone knows who owns the account. What do i do? Tony

Thanks guys, im sorting that now any luck i can sort it even though they shut the doors on me. thanks for all your help Tony

I am really hoping someone can help me with serious problem. For you to understand whats happened I will need to explain the whole story, but a snap shot is that a solicitor has billed me for £1200 and placed a CCJ on my file. I was not served as I had moved and only found out about it 2 weeks ago when I was declined a mortgage and told to look at my credit file. I contacted the solicitor to state that they never acted for me and asked them for proof which they will not send me, so i emailed them back asking for it under the data protection laws and offering to pay the fee, again they say they wont give it to me unless I pay the debt. Now they say they have placed a lien on the account until its paid and only then will they supply me the information on my account. The whole story is as follows. Back in 2008 I went to Hugh James Solicitors in Cardiff with regards to getting my x wife to stop interfering in my private life. The first half hour was free and in this time I made an application for legal aid. I explained I could not afford their fees and that no work was to be done until legal aid was granted. I signed no contract other than the legal aid forms. I recieved a call about a week later informing me that legal aid was not granted. At this point I told Hugh James Solicitors that I would not be needing their services as I could not afford to pay for them without legal aid. Everything seemed fine I heared nothing more about it. Two weeks ago I applied for a Mortgage with the Halifax who declined my application, when I asked why, they told me I should look at my Credit File. I immediately signed up to Credit Expert only to find that I had a CCJ placed against me back in October 2008. I contacted the court who told me that the debtor was Hugh James Soliciotrs, I contacted them and asked them to supply me with the work they have done on my behalf and explained the above situation. I told them I had not authorsied any work to be done unless legal aid was granted. They got back to me stating the bill stands but would not send me any proof as requested. I replied via email stating that I require copies of this work and proof I authorised it, becasue if they dont have this I wanted to apply to have the CCJ set aside. I got a response stating the following The matter has been referred to the Head of the Family Department, Mr Malcolm Stevens. He considers that the time for challenging the County Court Judgement has expired and once the judgment debt is paid you can then apply for the CCJ to be discharged. So I replied stating that I was challenging the debt and I now require all information relating to me under the data protection act and offered to pay the £10 fee, I have kept all copies of the emails. The reply I got was as follows This email is sent on behalf of Malcolm Stevens, Head of Department Dear Re: County Court Judgement We acknowledge receipt of your earlier email. We do not accept what you say. If you do seek to set aside the CCJ it will be opposed and an order for costs sought against you. Until our costs have been paid we have a lien on your file. Your file will be released to you upon payment of the debt. Should payment not be received, we will refer this matter back to our debt recovery department. Regards Malcolm Stevens I then went on to explain I was not paying the debt as I was challenging it and require proof the work was undertaken the reply was as follows This email is sent on behalf of Malcolm Stevens Dear We do not propose to engage in sterile email exchanges with you and our position is as per the last email. Yours faithfully Malcolm Stevens Now they have totally ceased communications with me not answering my emails. I really need help. I do not believe there should have ever been a bill but unless I pay it they are refusing to send me anything.. can a company do this to stop you challenging them? I contacted the ICO with pretty much what I have wrote here, but as yet got no response. I really need this removed, They never acted for me and say if i try get it set aside it will cost me more esp if i go to small claims route. I have told them if they provide the proof of work done and that i authorised it then I would pay the bill. it only has 2 years left before the 6 years is up but now they are threatening to get collectors after me for it, even though if the bill is disputed they shouldnt. what can i do Please help Tony