Bill for an old Three mobile

[rdfmartin]

Hello there,

 

I'm hoping some of you may be able to give me some advice before I proceed.

 

I had a contract phone with three somewhere between 3 to 5 years ago.

 

I cancelled the contract when I switched to another provider and thought no more about it.

 

A letter was just delivered to my mother's house from three,

stating that I owe them £360.54 and that they've 'restricted access to their services' until the full outstanding balance is paid.

 

At the time of closing the contract I'm fairly certain I paid off the full outstanding balance

- in fact it was probably paid by DD and should have been taken automatically.

 

However I am now left wondering whether I didn't pay it off and they refused to close the account and have subsequently been charging me for however many years it's been.

 

I've received no communication from them in all this time if that was the case.

 

It may also be possible that the person I spoke to on the phone mucked up and didn't actually close the account,

though again if that was the case why on earth would it take them years to contact me?

 

The only other explanation I could come up with is ID theft,

and some one using my details to get a new phone.

 

The three phone number on the top of this letter doesn't look familiar,

but then I can't say for sure that's not ever been my number as it was a long time ago.

I've also always been careful in discarding old bills,

and besides that the address used for this account is very old

- so old it's when I was living at home.

 

I don't have any of the paperwork any more,

so it's not a simple matter of showing them their 'sorry you're leaving' letter.

 

The bank account I used to pay them from has also been closed.

 

I didn't want to contact them until I had an idea of where I'd stand if it was the case that I didn't pay off the balance at the time and they're continued charging me each month

- could they really not contact me for years and then hit me with a bill for several hundred pounds for what would probably have been a missed payment of around £10?

 

 

I was thinking of writing to them asking them for details about this account since the only account I had with them was closed several years ago

and I was concerned about identity theft - would this be the wisest thing to do?

 

Any advice would be gratefully received.

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome,

 

Does this account show on your Credit File ?

[rdfmartin]

I've just applied for a credit report with Experian (I'd already used up my free reports), they're going to email me in 4 days when the report is ready.

[dx100uk]

noddle is free

 

se below

 

dx

[rdfmartin]

Thanks dx. Just checked and the credit file says the balance for the three account is £0, last updated 1st Sep 2012 and currently "up to date".

[dx100uk]

strange then

 

usually it s a dca that tries to fleece people!

 

dx

[rdfmartin]

Hmm, if it's a DCA the letter is worryingly convincing, it's even included three's address on it. Should I send a letter to three over this then just to confirm it is a [problem] or just ignore?

[rdfmartin]

Obviously I would go to three's website for contact details, just to make sure.

[dx100uk]

how about scanning it up?

 

 

scan the required letters/agreements/sheets - as a picture[jpg] file

don't forget you can use a mobile phone or a digital camera too!!

or

convert existing PC files to PDF [office has an installable print to PDF option]

.

'

BUT......

ENSURE: remove all pers info inc. barcodes etc using paint program

but leave all figures and dates. {DO NOT USE A BIRO OR PEN]

.

goto one of the many free online pdf converter websites

it would be better to upload a multipage pdf if

you have many images too rather than many single pdfs

.

or if you have PDF as an installed printer drive use that

or use word and save as pdf

.

open a new msg box here

hit go advanced below the msg box

hit manage attachments below that box

hit the add files button on the top right

hit select files, navigate to your file on your pc

hit upload files

.

.

dx

[rdfmartin]

Ok I'll get some scans up tomorrow (all cables for scanner are currently in my husband's "cable drawer" - somewhere I dare not venture myself at so late an hour). I did notice on the little tear-away cheque at the bottom it's apparently bill 0000000000, which also seems a bit odd.

[rdfmartin]

Oh and looking a little deeper in the credit file I can see I opened the account with three in April 2008, closed it in Nov 2009, and it's recorded as settled. The last digits for the account number that the file shows are also different from those on the letter, so I'm feeling that much more optimistic.

[locutus]

This sounds to me like identity theft and you need to inform 3 of this. Keep your eye on your credit file and if things change let us know.

[rdfmartin]

Hi, sorry it took me a while to get back here abd get this on (issues with scanner). Hopefully this attachment works ok. Also I'm drafting a letter to 3 now and will be sending out tonight, thankyou locutus.