old electricity debt being chased

[Stressedandfedup]

Ive had a letter from Coll dir. They're threaten ending me to go to county court for the debt I owe npower of £142.

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't debt companies supposed to go to a magistrates court first to get a liability order?

Also the letter has their address as oi box 93, peterlee, sr8 2xx and at the bottom is basically says its a trading name of npower northern supply(etc) ltd.

I was going to call and say ill pay £1/m as im on benefits. Any ideas?

[sillygirl1]

You are wrong, the council are the ones who get a liability order first, not utility companies.

 

Call and tell them you are on benefits and £1 is all they can have.

 

If you are taken to court that is what a judge would probably order. Just because they threat does not mean to say they will.

[Stressedandfedup]

Thanks sillygirl.

I rang them but they refused as it would take 145 months to pay off and they'd need evidence that I couldn't afford to pay more. I said I could get it but not immediately as I'm going to see the CAB but as they only open 1 day/week il have to wait for the next available appointment. I also said it'd be for 6 months till I get my finances back on track. The guy put me on hold to speak to his manager but came back and still refused.

I'm under slot of stress and am on medication and waiting for an appointment with the mental health team.

I just font know what else I can do apart from writing to ten to request that they apply to my nearest county court.

[sillygirl1]

This is a low priority debt, try paying off other debts and leave them to sink in their own silliness.

[citizenB]

stressedandfedup - you might want to start your own thread.. this is a very old thread and unlikely to attract much attention.

[dx100uk]

own thread created

 

if the debt is more than 12mts old

 

then under the billing regs for the industry

 

unless the power co have sent you a bill in the last 12mts its dead

 

ignore them

 

dx

[Stressedandfedup]

Debt isn't that old. Moved on January to new place with no gas. Only had bill statement within last few weeks.

I don't mind paying but i offered what I could comfortably afford but they refused.

Do you think I should write a letter requesting in writing why they refused and state the offer to pay us still there? And then say if they wish to persue via the court, to have it at my local court?

[citizenB]

It is always wiser to communicate in writing to these people. They will often say things on the phone that they wouldnt dream of putting into a letter

 

You have advised your financial hiccup is temporary, in which case they should be looking to be a little more flexible.

[rebel11]

Hi stress

 

You say 'old' in the thread, the debt is fairly 'recent'. A court will only order you to pay what you can reasonably afford to pay if it's a £1, then they will

order a £1. Priority debts come first, food, rent etc. It is arguable that 'utility' is a priority debt, but others come first. Write to Npower ask to see if they can put you on their social tarriff, at the same time explain your circumstances and what you can afford to pay. Avoid a meter at all costs. Send this letter Recorded. If they do try to take legal action, you can demonstrate that you offered to pay what you could afford and that they did nothing to help you, but instead decided to waste court time by taking you to court, dispite your best efforts to resolve matters.

 

http://www.npower.com/spreading_warmth/Content/Spreadingwarmthtariff/index.htm

 

You could apply for a grant:-

 

http://www.npowerenergyfund.com/index.php?page=about

 

Debt isn't that old. Moved on January to new place with no gas. Only had bill statement within last few weeks.

I don't mind paying but i offered what I could comfortably afford but they refused.

Do you think I should write a letter requesting in writing why they refused and state the offer to pay us still there? And then say if they wish to persue via the court, to have it at my local court?

[Stressedandfedup]

Ta rebel.

I don't think I actually said it was an old debt anywhere but it's easy to get that idea

Fortunately I'm with a different energy company so it's just the debt that is need to pay to them.

I'll send that letter. And see what happens. But thanks to the advice given by you guys I feel a bit better about it