British gas remove default

[louisd77]

Hi,

 

Had problems with BG asking for money after we had left them. Ended up passing the debt to Robinson Way. I sent Robinson Way the CCA request letter two weeks ago but haven't received anything back but British gas have removed the default, without yet being asked. Nice!

 

Louis

[drob]

Has the debt been assigned to RW? If it has you may find that BG remove their default and RW will place a default.

[janesyd]

BG did the same to me but placed with a differant DCA. I got all the correct paper work with it too (notice of assignment etc). Although the debt was about twice as much more than it should of been they accepted a full and final settlement which worked out about £20 more then the BG debt, but it helped clear some of my credit file so to me was worth spending £20. As I understood it BG sold the debt on

[louisd77]

Hi,

 

Update.

 

As suggested in above reply Robinson Way have now placed a default. Even though they admitted not having any agreement, processing data without permission & then removing all files from their records.

 

Do I now send the statutory notice, section 10 letter?

 

Thanks,

 

Louis

[vjohn82]

Hi,

 

Update.

 

As suggested in above reply Robinson Way have now placed a default. Even though they admitted not having any agreement, processing data without permission & then removing all files from their records.

 

Do I now send the statutory notice, section 10 letter?

 

Thanks,

 

Louis

 

They won't have any agreement because British Gas accounts do not come under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I would place the account in dispute and tell them to return it to BG.

 

Out of curiousity, have you challenged the debt with BG because of how the balance was calculated?

[louisd77]

Hi,

 

I had paid the last BG bill by direct debit. 6 months later after leaving, BG issued another bill for £188. Because I disputed this they passed the debt on & then sold it to Robinson Way.

 

Advice appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Louis

[StossTruppen]

Hi Louis,

 

It looks like I've had the same issue, I left BG over 2 years ago and all of a sudden I've discovered Robinson Way have issued a default, dated Jan 2008, this month May 2009 on my credit report. In fact 2 Defaults have magically appeared which is distressing. So I do empathise.

 

I've never had any correspondence from either party so I will work with you on this one to find a resolution.

 

I have had advice on one of my other threads: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/198980-heeeeelp.html

 

Please read that if you wish.

 

But the advice I've received was to contact Robinson Way and ask them to remove the adverse data (the Default) and query the original creditor they are claiming for to prove they have the right to do so.

 

I'll hang in here for us both to get a resolution!

 

Regards

 

Stoss

[vjohn82]

Hi,

 

I had paid the last BG bill by direct debit. 6 months later after leaving, BG issued another bill for £188. Because I disputed this they passed the debt on & then sold it to Robinson Way.

 

Advice appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Louis

 

You want to send a letter like this ideally to RW...

 

ACCOUNT IN DISPUTE

 

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

 

 

Account number: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

I must admit that I am rather bemused as to why this account has been passed to yourselves, as it is in dispute with the **original creditor/DCA** and has been since DATE. This is a breach of OFT collection guidelines and the Data Protection Act 199.

 

 

My last letter from **original creditor/DCA** was DATE and intimated that my complaint would be resolved on **DATE**, this obviously hasn’t happened. As **original creditor/DCA** are now in default of my OFT Collection Guidelines and in breach of section 10 of the Data Protection Act; I consider this account to be in SERIOUS DISPUTE.

 

 

 

Consequentially any legal action you pursue will be averred as both UNLAWFUL and VEXATIOUS.

 

 

 

Now I would respectfully suggest that this account is returned to the **original creditor** for resolution of these defaults and breaches, as **New DCA** cannot lawfully pursue any enforcement activities.

 

 

 

If **New DCA** chooses to ignore my dispute and attempt enforcement, I will initiate legal action and file reports with the appropriate authorities, including, but not limited to, Trading Standards, Office of Fair Trading, Information Commissioners Office, Financial Ombudsman Service and possible court action.

 

 

 

After taking advice, I am of the opinion that any continued pursuit is in violation of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 section 40 as well as breaching a number of the OFT Collection Guideline.

 

 

I hope that this will not be necessary and an acceptable solution can be accomplished.

 

 

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter. I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

 

 

Yours faithfully

 

**Your name**

[louisd77]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your replies which are very helpful.

 

I just cannot understand Robinson Way because I spoke to the manager who admitted no agreement & they were not prepared to go to court because the judge would not entertain them without an agreement. She said she would close all files but not to expect the alleged debt to go away because it could be picked up by someone else. If they have purchased the debt they cannot sell the debt on, or can they?

 

Louis

[echowitch]

I noticed recently that I have Defaults from British Gas on my Credit File. We left our property some time ago and I contested the bill after we left as for the last 6 weeks of the quarterly bill there was no one in the property and the heating and water was turned off on the system. We still had a sky high bill. They never answered or actioned my protests properly and passed it on to Moorcroft.

 

Did I read it correctly above that British Gas accounts do not come under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and thus are not considered credit and thus can't be defaulted ?? Any help in clearing my otherwise clear and good credit file (after many years of problems) would be greatly appreciated !!

[echowitch]

Just wanted to chase this up as I put a formal request to British Gas to remove the defaults against me as the case is still being disputed, even though they passed it to DCA's.

 

British Gas claim that the Defaults are valid, but have not said who placed them. As they have British Gas' name on them I presume it was British Gas. Can they do this or not ???

[bazaar]

It seems like youre now in the Peeing contest stage with them, Have you asked for a statement of account?

Do you know what the meter reading was at when you left the property?

You obviously have the proof that you paid them on tyour final bill , so where did the extra 188 come from? I suspect its RW adding some fees to it.

Write to BG with an SAR for the account details, (It'll cost you £10).

Specifically ask for full statement of account for that particular address. That should give you an idea of what is going on.

[echowitch]

Anyone know if British Gas can issue defaults ? They said in their own letter that they can't issue Default Notice, yet there are two on my account. Anyone know, anyone able to help ?

[clemma]

As far as I know, if you owe money to any company (regardless of whether they fall under CCA or not), they can issue a default notice.....a default is the first step taken before they can issue court proceedings. As this is in dispute though, they should be taking NO action until it is resolved.........not that BG care about things like that (nor will RW for that matter).

 

When you received your last bill (the one you paid), did it state FINAL BILL on it?

[echowitch]

Yes the final bill did state that. That was when I disputed it over the phone. Then I disputed it by letter when they passed it to the DCA without actually giving me a halfway decent explanation as to why an empty house managed to rack up £350 of electric and the same in gas in the space of a month and a half. Nor did they explain why the dates were wrong, or why they claimed that we had not told them we had moved out when we sent them a letter and rang them and told them in advance. They claimed the Letting Agents told them after we moved out which is rubbish.

[StossTruppen]

Small consolation but I'm going through a similar issue with Robinson Way, which I imagine is related to British Gas.

 

British Gas haven't exactly had the best of times on Watchdog and I've had to complain to EnergyWatch about them in the past.

 

I'm now being chased for some ridiculous figures for a property I've not lived in for over 2 years, even though I paid the final bills.

 

I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing on that one in case anyone can take anything from my actions.

[echowitch]

I've been a bit busy lately (mother in law is ill so I can't get her to babysit the munchkin for me to have 5 mins to sort letters out.)

 

One thing I noted was British Gas said it doesn't issue Default Notices. But then later states all Defaults were legit, and there are two Default Notices on my credit report in British Gas' name. Although I've never received any default notice from them. I haven't written back to them yet but I shall be first of all asking them if they don't issue them, who has.

[echowitch]

Should I ask them for a copy of the agreement as per Letter 1 in http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legalities/11659-how-get-your-default.html

 

Or is it not relevant ??

[clemma]

The CCA does not apply with utility bills - but there is no harm in asking for a copy of the default.....also I note the letter states deed of assignment - it should be notice of assignment me thinks, as the deed is between the OC and DCA. So change the wording on that and delete the CCA part (you dont need to send a postal order either).

[echowitch]

I sent British Gas the below letter on the 6th of July and have received no response yet. FSO complaint ??

 

Thank you for your letter dated 22nd June 2009. I must point out that several things about your letter concerned me.

Firstly, that you state that the account is for the periods of 19th November 2006 to 2nd December 2007. However we moved out on the 21st of November 2007, and advised British Gas both by letter, and over the telephone, including providing our forwarding address. This is information that the Lettings Agents should have told you either way.

Secondly, you mention that British Gas does not issue formal Default Notices. Can you please let me know who issued the formal written Default Notice then ?? As it is a requirement of Consumer Credit Law that all Default Notices must be issued to the intended recipient so that they may be given 14 days to rectify the issue. I have not received any Default Notices from British Gas, so I need to know who did issue them and precisely when so that I may report it to the appropriate authorities. (OFT & FSO)

With regards to offers of payment you passed the accounts to Buchanan Clark and Wells, however as I was disputing the accounts at the time, this is another breach of Consumer Law that British Gas has committed. I did not protest this action at the time as I was not aware it was a breach. However I am now aware of it.

Regarding Buchanan Clark and Wells and Geoffrey Parker Bourne Solicitors, I have enclosed several letters that detail my chasing them up for formal response. I unfortunately do not have a copy of my original payment plan offer or text copies of the telephone call. As the letters show, I made an offer and chased up a response but was continually ignored. Eventually I was sent a formal Income & Expenditure form which I filled out and returned to BCW but still received no response.

My last contact with BCW was by telephone to advise them that I would not be making any payment to them until such time as they sent me written acceptance of my offer. I made every reasonable offer to pay but was ignored repeatedly.

I would appreciate a response within 14 days to the points of concern above before I send a formal complaint to the Office of Fair Trade and Financial Ombudsman Service, who will also receive copies of this letter.

[echowitch]

Just to add, British Gas passed this on to Wescot Credit Services on the 3rd of August. They sent me a letter on the 4th of August. I sent the below letter to Wescot (omitted the account numbers obviously.

 

I am in receipt of your letter dated 04/08/2009

 

These accounts are in dispute with British Gas and have been since 2007, and more recently formally since 17th May 2009. Not only is this a breach of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 in line with the Office Of Fair Trading's debt collection guidelines, but also in breach of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and Data Protection Act 1998

 

My previous dispute from 17th May 2009 has NOT been answered.

 

As British Gas are now in default of my Consumer Credit Act agreement and have also breached *s10 Data Protection Act request, I consider this account to be in SERIOUS DISPUTE.

 

As you are aware while my Consumer Credit Act request remains in default enforcement action is NOT permitted, under s127 this constitutes a complete defence at law.

 

Consequentially any legal action you pursue will be averred as both UNLAWFUL and VEXATIOUS.

 

Now I would respectfully suggest that this account is returned to British Gas for resolution of these defaults and breaches, as Wescot cannot lawfully pursue any enforcement activities.

If Wescot chooses to ignore my dispute and attempt enforcement, I will initiate legal action and file reports with the appropriate authorities, including, but not limited to, Trading Standards, Office of Fair Trading, Information Commissioners Office, Financial Ombudsman Service and possible court action.

 

After taking advice, I am of the opinion that any continued pursuit is in violation of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 in line with the Office Of Fair Tradings Collection Guidelines

 

I hope that this will not be necessary and an acceptable solution can be accomplished.

 

I would appreciate your due diligence in this matter.

I look forward to hearing from you in writing.

 

So FOS, OFT formal complaint ??

[echowitch]

Anyone ?? I could really do with some advice on what my next step is. These defaults are the only negative thing on my account at present and I NEVER received any default notices. Not to mention the fact that the account was in Dispute at the time as well.

[IdaInFife]

utility companies do no issue 'default notices' like the credit agreements.

 

when British Gas send you an invoice for payment them the send te reminder on the remider it states if not paid within 30 days (jus an example) then a defualt will be registered.

 

I had tried to get BG to remove a default with no luck even going thru the executives office

 

unless you can get the dipsute resolved and BG to admit the bill is not due and the defualt was issued onthat basis then they shoudl remove it

 

ida x

[IdaInFife]

the lettesr you have been sending quoting cca have no relvance at all to your dispute

 

ida x

[echowitch]

Thanks Ida. Thing is that what British Gas have said is that the Default was entered because I didn't make payment to the DCA. So quite some time after the final bill (which I disputed and still am disputing) was issued. They then passed it to one DCA then another, whilst I was still disputing it and getting nowhere with British Gas. However as I showed to them I made an offer of payment but the DCA's never accepted. Although they are claiming that the DCA's did accept it, which is why I asked for written proof that they accepted it as I've never received anything.