Gas / Electric threat of disconnection

[jj69]

Anybody offer some advice on the following please :

 

Currently owe Southern Electric £600 for gas/elec missed payments ( due to financial issues )

I have paid off some of the accounts but now they won't implement a payment plan to help me catch up and have two options :

Pay the amount above (which I don't have )

Or a prepay meter (dont want !!)

They have said the account has been passed to collection agents today who will be in touch next week via a home visit (my son who is 13 will be in the house so don't like the idea of that when I am at work and he is home from school)

Can I negatioate a plan with these guys ? Anybody been in a similar situation and if so what is the course of action.

Should the collections dept accept a payment plan ?

Lady on the phone said full disconnection would take place in about seven weeks.

I can now afford the monthly amounts on these two (about £90 for both) but need a little time to catch up on the arrears..

Any advice especially from a consumer view would be appreciated..

[dx100uk]

idle threats really that they should not be making.

DCA's have no legal powers to do anything esp home visits .

 

you will prob be getting a letter from them

 

if you wish write back [never phone a DCA!!!]

saying the issue has been sorted with the OC & that you recind permission for a home visit.

 

pay SE what extra you can or phone again & speak to someone else, and make a payment plan.

 

dx

[jj69]

idle threats really that they should not be making.

DCA's have no legal powers to do anything esp home visits .

 

you will prob be getting a letter from them

 

if you wish write back [never phone a DCA!!!]

saying the issue has been sorted with the OC & that you recind permission for a home visit.

 

pay SE what extra you can or phone again & speak to someone else, and make a payment plan.

 

dx

 

 

Hi thanks for the info...

Well I spoke to somebody on Monday and they said outstanding amount would go to DCA who possibly allow a payment plan and my supplier would still be SE.

The girl today said one account would go to internal collections the other to an external DCA.

They would visit or leave a card.

I asked her about disconnection process she said it would take about seven weeks.

Is this the correct process ?

To be honest I would much rather pay sums back over a longer period and could clear the debt that way although SE are refusing to budge on a payment plan they are excecting interim payments onto each account.

Will I need to be informed first before somebody tries to gain entry to my house ?

[dx100uk]

no-one will want to gain entry,

a 'collection agency' or as we call it a 'debt collection agency' have NO LEGAL POWERS. they can do nothring bar send 'threat-o-grams'.

 

bailliffs are the only one that poss might, after it has been to court & a levy has been signed by you - gain entry.

PLEASE don't be intimidated by the threats, that is what it is all about, trying to frighten you in to paying what you cannot afford.

 

i loathe dealing with dca's, because they claim and threaen so many things.

i wold not pay them a penny & watchout for them adding charges and interest to the bill THEY CANNOT DO THAT.

never talk to them on the phone, if you must comm with them, do it in writing.

 

i can't see why SE will not allow you to pay the outstanding in monthly parts? what is the diff between doing through a dca or direct to them?

 

strange.

 

dx

[jj69]

no-one will want to gain entry,

a 'collection agency' or as we call it a 'debt collection agency' have NO LEGAL POWERS. they can do nothring bar send 'threat-o-grams'.

 

bailliffs are the only one that poss might, after it has been to court & a levy has been signed by you - gain entry.

PLEASE don't be intimidated by the threats, that is what it is all about, trying to frighten you in to paying what you cannot afford.

 

i loathe dealing with dca's, because they claim and threaen so many things.

i wold not pay them a penny & watchout for them adding charges and interest to the bill THEY CANNOT DO THAT.

never talk to them on the phone, if you must comm with them, do it in writing.

 

i can't see why SE will not allow you to pay the outstanding in monthly parts? what is the diff between doing through a dca or direct to them?

 

strange.

 

dx

 

 

Well as it stands the accounts are still with SE and im not worried about DCA's am currently dealing with a few with much help from the good people on this forum

 

I have offered to pay what I can afford to and would probably be able to clear the outstansding amounts by the end of the month.At the moment paying £30/£40 here and there to show at least some money is going onto these accounts.

My DD's have bounced on two or three occassions which is why these feature has been withdrawn but that's only due to paying my large mortgage which has a Suspended Order on it so that gets priority (that's another story).

I know DCA's have no rights to entry but reading some of the other forums people have come home to find their property entered and payment meters put in so trying to avoid this action by SE.

I am not worried because after speaking to the cust svc reps at SE they openly admitted that the debt would go to collection agents first,so my question is why send me a disconnection letter and if I arrange a payment plan with the DCA's can it still go to court for a Judge to order entry..

At the moment I have told them what I can afford and they have said fine call in and pay but account is still under dispute

[jj69]

Any advice on the following most welcome :

 

Just paid a small amount off my Elec bill and informed the credit management team at SE.

The advisor stated that the accounts had been passed to collections and if no conclusion was reached then a warrant for disconnection would go ahead.

The basic jist of his speech was unless you pay the full outstanding amount then somebody will gain entry to install pre pay meters etc etc..unless I agree to sign up today in which case it can take 12 working days and as a special offer I could pay back £7 a week but only if I agree with this advisor today as other advisors may ask for more to be paid back.Of course told him no way and put phone down.

The longer I leave it the more chance of them getting a warrant etc..

I'm not off the first banana boat in town but it sounds like this guy is spouting hot air and trying hard sell to get a meter installed (which I don't want).

Anybody experience of SE tactics as I would like to arrange a payment plan with the collection teams first...

Do they have to offer me the chance of repayment first ?

[nottslad]

Contact their complaints department, they should have a directors office set up, which with the supplier I work for, is the stage before the Ombudsman. Or, failing that, call and escalate the matter to a manager. You have proved that you are willing to pay a reasonable amount.

 

Also, if ppms were to be fitted, they could negotiate down to £5 per fuel per week, £3 if on benefits. They are being very unreasonable unless you have failed multiple arrangements in the past... have you offered to pay by direct debit? they may be more willing to negotiate that way...

[jj69]

Contact their complaints department, they should have a directors office set up, which with the supplier I work for, is the stage before the Ombudsman. Or, failing that, call and escalate the matter to a manager. You have proved that you are willing to pay a reasonable amount.

 

Also, if ppms were to be fitted, they could negotiate down to £5 per fuel per week, £3 if on benefits. They are being very unreasonable unless you have failed multiple arrangements in the past... have you offered to pay by direct debit? they may be more willing to negotiate that way...

 

Have failed about two other payment arrangements which does not help,that said they were just doubling up so instaed of paying £90 it would be £180 for the missed month etc..

Did speak to complaints today but only got as far as cust services who said only action is ppm at £15 per month off debt...changing all the time now..

So do I go to court or except ppm while I get a good chance at a reduced rate to pay back..

Consumer direct said they should except pro rata payments

[dx100uk]

i'd accept £15 PCM off the debt meself

if you could get that in writing then problem solved?

 

dx

[jj69]

i'd accept £15 PCM off the debt meself

if you could get that in writing then problem solved?

 

dx

 

I know seems a good offer but means a meter installed.

That said has anybody else got these metres fitted and have they saved money this way.

I have a 3 bed semi with two other occupants and have Gas central heating,gas cooker plus the usual electrical gubbings TV,lamps,PC,printer etc..

We are out all day so in terms of useage would be about 1hr electric on morning and about 2-3hrs gas/elect for heating,shower , cooking etc on a evening depending on weather..

The electric gets a bigger hammering than the gas but have noticed there are lots of items on stanby such as TV's , sky box,broadband,hi-fi etc..(have started unplugging these now)

[nottslad]

Have you asked to escalate the call to a manager? You're probably reading on here and being told that while you're making these pro-rata payments they cant do anything. This is not the case, actions will continue until a 'suitable agreement' is reached.

 

Just found this on their website, which you may find useful:

 

Following Step 1, if the complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction, then you can raise the matter with our Head of Customer Service, who will undertake an independent internal review and aim to reach a resolution within 5 working days. You can contact the Head of Customer Service as follows:

Email - [email protected]

Phone - 0800 975 7772

Post – PO Box 7506, Perth PH1 3QR

 

To be fair, having failed arrangements in the past does not help, but if you can advise of a genuine reason why you were unable to pay, they should set one final arrangement for you... stress it was a case of can't pay, not won't pay but you are now on a more even keel and accept that if this arrangement fails again, you will accept a prepayment meter

[jj69]

Have you asked to escalate the call to a manager? You're probably reading on here and being told that while you're making these pro-rata payments they cant do anything. This is not the case, actions will continue until a 'suitable agreement' is reached.

 

Just found this on their website, which you may find useful:

 

Following Step 1, if the complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction, then you can raise the matter with our Head of Customer Service, who will undertake an independent internal review and aim to reach a resolution within 5 working days. You can contact the Head of Customer Service as follows:

Email - [email protected]

Phone - 0800 975 7772

Post – PO Box 7506, Perth PH1 3QR

 

To be fair, having failed arrangements in the past does not help, but if you can advise of a genuine reason why you were unable to pay, they should set one final arrangement for you... stress it was a case of can't pay, not won't pay but you are now on a more even keel and accept that if this arrangement fails again, you will accept a prepayment meter

 

nottslad your a hero mate....just phoned that number now and spoke to customer relations and explained situation now in a position to pay monthly amount + extra for arrears.They have said it may be possible and will call me back.

The guy on the phone said that if everything ok he could update the system which would keep collections ' off my back ' in his own words.

Told him I wanted to pay but due to certain circumstances over the last 4-5 months have struggled.

Hopefully they will go for this on a final chance offer....lets see...

[jj69]

Ok new payment plan in place,to be fair to SE customer services the guy was a star..understood my issue with missed payments have now got a new payment plan in place,even asked which days I would like Gas and Electric to come out so have staggered both days to ensure funds available.

He also said any issues with payments to call the customer relations number straight away so they could work something out.

He is now speaking to collections to cease action...

 

Not pleased with SE collections team trying to force a meter on me and only excepting 50% payment before ceasing any action.

 

To anybody reading this call the number that Nottslad posted on here..

Now got 15 months to pay standard gas/elec + arrears...

 

Result !! better than a meter...

[nottslad]

glad i could help flower. Make sure u stick to this one, if they're anythin like e.on where i work it really will be last chance saloon really.

 

In terms of energy efficiency, make sure you're doing everything to bring your consumption down, that way you may be debt free quicker, every supplier's website should have information on there, there may be something you hadnt thought of doing

 

Take care x

[jj69]

glad i could help flower. Make sure u stick to this one, if they're anythin like e.on where i work it really will be last chance saloon really.

 

In terms of energy efficiency, make sure you're doing everything to bring your consumption down, that way you may be debt free quicker, every supplier's website should have information on there, there may be something you hadnt thought of doing

 

Take care x

 

I know mate,have already taken action by switching extensions leads off,TV's etc on standby.

Being honest there were a number of items left switched on like spare digi boxes and electric radiators etc..

I have to say the guy at SE customer relations was spot on,did not patronise me was really trying to help which he did with the new DD setup and even made sure the collection dates were ok so the funds were available ( new bank account so no returned DD's etc )

I am now meter reading once a week and keeping an eye on consumption,have told the missus and the young un to turn things off not just walk out a room like they have been doing..

Like I said before thanks for the number as I called it and asked for a manager but these guy sorted it out before the call even reached him..

 

Can I ask from Eon's point of view if a customer misses a payment at the point I am at would they just go straight to court for a warrant ?

[nottslad]

no, we'd follow a different process, the direct debit would obviously fail, so an automated letter would be sent requesting payment in full or to call and discuss your situation.

 

At the point of discussion, if you could make up the missed payment(s) we may re-set, if not we would offer a PPM without any charges or request the full balance.

 

If no agreement was reached, action would continue with the next step being a pre-disconnection visit, where a DCA calls and attempts to resolve the debt with you or serve notice of the warrant. This would cost £30.00

 

A warrant would then be raised and we would apply to your local magistrates court (local so you have the opportunity to defend). This process can take around 2 months. It is always a last resort due to the costs involved and I believe all warrants are reported to Ofgem, so they do keep an eye on any supplier who may be too heavy handed

[jj69]

no, we'd follow a different process, the direct debit would obviously fail, so an automated letter would be sent requesting payment in full or to call and discuss your situation.

 

At the point of discussion, if you could make up the missed payment(s) we may re-set, if not we would offer a PPM without any charges or request the full balance.

 

If no agreement was reached, action would continue with the next step being a pre-disconnection visit, where a DCA calls and attempts to resolve the debt with you or serve notice of the warrant. This would cost £30.00

 

A warrant would then be raised and we would apply to your local magistrates court (local so you have the opportunity to defend). This process can take around 2 months. It is always a last resort due to the costs involved and I believe all warrants are reported to Ofgem, so they do keep an eye on any supplier who may be too heavy handed

 

 

I see thanks for that not that I intend for this DD to fail.Regarding the DCA visit would they except a paymant plan because that was goingto be my course of action before this new agreement,I suspect though that the DCA would want the same as the OC and half of each payment outstanding..

[nottslad]

Depending on the pay history and the individual circumstances, I personally would set up a pay arrangement, our DCAs are advised to collect the balance and treat it as one account, we do not split between the overdue debt and ongoing consumption, just one account.

 

A pay arrangement is therefore set to cover your usage and then something on top towards the debt. Now you've agreed your Direct Debit, no action should be taken on the account and any DCA action should be called off...