Is it possible for a company to call someone on the phone

[Mr Happy]

I had a telephone call from British gas, they said is this Mr MYNAME, I said maybe, how can I help, they said they were from British gas and they need to settle my last bill because I have moved supplier and can they have my credit card details, they went on telling me how much it was and that they needed payment today to avoid legal steps being taken.

 

I told them to send me a bill in the post and I will settle it when I get it, he again said I need payment today because if he issues a bill it will take 5 to 10 days to get here and he cant guarantee that legal proceeding will not be taken in that time.

 

I said if you think I am going to give my credit card details to a random person who rings me on the phone you are very much mistaken, he then said I can prove to you that I am British gas and starting spouting all my past payment and personal details, I then told him that you have just rung a telephone number and you have not confirmed who the other person is and you give this person all my personal information, does the data protection act not apply to British Gas.

 

I said send me a bill and I will settle it when I receive it, he insisted on getting my credit card details there and then, I repeated that I do not give my credit card details to anyone especially someone who has no respect for the data protection act.

 

I told him again to send a bill and he just went over the same routine, he needs it now, I repeated my spiel about giving my details over the phone, I went around in this loop about 3 or 4 times and decided to cut him off.

 

I have transferred from BG because they are carp, I am sure I need to settle the outstanding amount, but I want a bill to see exactly what I am paying, I will never give my card details to anyone who rings me over the phone.

 

If someone rings me is confirming my name enough to satisfy the data protection act (even though I didn't confirm my name in this instance)? some companies ring up and ask personal questions to confirm that I am who I say I am, I always say that I am not prepared to give my personal information to random callers, and ask them for personal information about me to confirm that I know who they are, they never do (Except BG in this instance), if this is the case neither party can confirm who they are without breaking the data protection act rules or myself giving personal information which I am not prepared to do for basic security reasons, so therefore the call can not take place.

 

I am expecting the usual threats of immediate payment or death by harrasment and quite happy to deal with iit until I get a breakdown of the charge and I get enough money to pay it.

 

This was with BG in this instance but could equally be any other supplier or DCA.

[rory32]

If someone rings me is confirming my name enough to satisfy the data protection act

No it certainly isn't. I would make an official complaint in writing to British Gas. If they don't deal with it to your satisfaction you can then get the Energy Obudsman involved. I would also make a complaint to the ICO and the OFT.

 

As you say this could have been anyone who had got hold of your details. You are also entitled to a bill - otherwise how do you know what you are paying for and that it is the correct amount.

[seanamarts]

It sounds like a [problem] to me.

You always get a final bill when changing power supplies. you did the right thing by not giving out your details, Im sure I heard something about this on watch dog a few weeks ago about [problematic] calling for your card details and demanding you pay your bill before they get the debt collectors in, how they do this is beyond me but im sure if there is a will there is a way.

[mattlamb]

And how is a company (or individual) meant to collect money they are entitled to if a customer does not pay after receiving written correspondence? Phoning customers chasing overdue payments must have been done ever since telephones were invented and there is nothing wrong in it. Court action can be an extremely costly process that many small companies probably cannot afford - should they then just let the customer get away with not paying, meaning everyone else has to pay more because of bad debts the company has incurred. The idea that you shouldn;t contact your customers by phone is claptrap.

That is not to say that British Gas are in the right here. Clearly they can't expect to be paid if they haven't even sent a bill out yet and they should not force a customer to pay specifically by card over the telephone. Why not just tell them you won't pay anthing until you have got a correct bill from them. If they do decide to take legal action without doing this first, they will only end up with egg on their face anyway.

[rory32]

And how is a company (or individual) meant to collect money they are entitled to if a customer does not pay after receiving written correspondence?

There are very clear guidelines on how you go about it. There is also statute to protect individuals from harassment and fraud. The OP has received no written correspondence regarding a bill. The person phoning has broken the Data Protection Act and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

 

I fail to see the point of your post, assuming of course that there was one.

[indebtstudent]

The company IS entitled to pursue the debt, but given that they haven't sent a final bill strictly speaking there is no debt.

 

Also if this person does work for BG (which the divulged information suggest) they have totally failed to safeguard this customers data. It is fortunate indeed that they were speaking to the customer, what if someone else had answered and they started talking about a debit balance?

 

Definately complain about this it is not acceptable behaviour and also this reduces the chance of the same thing happening to others. Given all power suppliers shocking level of customer service I certainly would not pay a final bill until I was CERTAIN it was correct.

[Mr Happy]

They sent a reply to my complaint.

 

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding the call you received from us.

I confirm the call made to you on 4 December 2008 was a legitimate member of staff from our payments department. May I take this opportunity to apologise for the manner of my colleague; we aim to be friendly and professional to all customers at all times.

As requested we have sent a copy of the final bill and this will be with you in the next three working days.

 

The reason I changed from British Gas is because this was a similar attitude that their customer service staff gave when I contacted them before.

 

I was short of cash 1 month and asked if I could delay payment by a month until I had some more money, they said there is nothing they could do and I must pay now, I put in a complaint then because the customer Services staff made me feel like I was a criminal and that I had a cheek even asking for a bit of time to pay.

 

I had my gas with Eon and asked them if I could have some time to pay and they authorised some extra time immediately, I have electricity and gas with Eon now.