Letter from recovery firm in regards to energy.

[Spider2021]

Received a letter in my letterbox in regards to what they say is an outstanding debt, allegedly. They want me to contact the energy company or are going to install a pay as you go meter.
If that is not possible, they will get a warrant.

There has been some contact with the energy company over the years as they have sent someone to read the meters once a few years back. They have contacted me by telephone but when I pointed out that the amount stretches past the statute of limitations and mentioned the back billing rule and heard a few cuss words and they hung up. That was also a few years ago. I have not made any payments to any energy company (the account has switched hands) for over a decade now as the dispute originated that the energy companies bungled the switchover of the account. After the ombudsman got involved they finally acknowledged this but did not implement their decision. They instead set much higher tariffs that weren't mutually agreed to and made erroneous calculations.

I would like to point out that there is someone in the property that uses medical equipment that requires electricity to be used overnight. The energy company have not been informed as of yet and they have never asked about it but it is mentioned in the letter from the recovery firm, stating I should contact the energy company. They have provided a generic email address.

My own thoughts are that the energy company has no grounds to recover anything that is over six years old and that no detailed invoices have been sent. I am aware of the back billing rule and feel that it does apply in this instance, but a judge could decide otherwise.

I am hesitant to contact the energy company to tell them about the individual with the medial condition as that might somehow be used in court that the alleged debt has been acknowledged and thus no grounds left to argue that. I do not acknowledge the debt.

After reading through other posts here I can ask the energy company to send a detailed breakdown of aforementioned alleged debt and would think that they would send it. At that point I could dispute it and mention the statute of limitations and then mention the back billing rule in further correspondence.



Any advice would be appreciated as to what my next actions should be at this point.

[echat11]

You need to 100% on when the last payment was made and if the debt has been acknowledged in writing in the last 6 years.
If the answer is 'no' then the debt might be 'statute barred. You should send a statute barred letter, make sure you get Proof of Postage'
This site has a statute barred template.

[Spider2021]

No acknowledgement of debt in the last six years. No payments made since erroneous meter transfer in 2013. I can send the letter via email? That would leave a definite trail. Shall I ask them to explain themselves?

[echat11]

No acknowledgement of debt in the last six years. No payments made since erroneous meter transfer in 2013. I can send the letter via email? That would leave a definite trail. Shall I ask them to explain themselves?

You can email it, you don't need to ask them to explain themselves, so no don't do that.

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...ed-debt-letter

[Spider2021]

Many thanks for your reply.

Many thanks for your reply and advice.

I would just like to clarify a few things before I send the statute barred letter. They are still in charge of managing the energy supply to the property. Part of the alleged outstanding debt is over six years old and the rest will be up to the present day. They inherited the energy supply from another company who went into administration after taking over the supply from another company. Do I have to change the wording of the statute barred letter in any way or do I just send the generic letter including the account number, written signature and name to them? Many thanks for your time.

[echat11]

Many thanks for your reply.

Many thanks for your reply and advice.

I would just like to clarify a few things before I send the statute barred letter. They are still in charge of managing the energy supply to the property. Part of the alleged outstanding debt is over six years old and the rest will be up to the present day. They inherited the energy supply from another company who went into administration after taking over the supply from another company. Do I have to change the wording of the statute barred letter in any way or do I just send the generic letter including the account number, written signature and name to them? Many thanks for your time.

I would just send the 'generic letter', see what they come back with, it's a starting point. Yes, providing those details is fine.

They had the opportunity to sort the account out after the Ombudsman got involved, but decided not to, that helps your case.

[Spider2021]

Many thanks for the reply. They also ask to inform the energy supplier if anyone in the household has a severe health issue. There is someone at the property that uses medical equipment that requires electricity for a prolonged period of time (approximately 10 hours out of 24). Would it be prudent to mention this in the same correspondence as the statute barred letter? is it necessary to put a date on the generic letter if it is sent in the email as an attachment? Thanks again for your time.

[echat11]

Many thanks for the reply. They also ask to inform the energy supplier if anyone in the household has a severe health issue. There is someone at the property that uses medical equipment that requires electricity for a prolonged period of time (approximately 10 hours out of 24). Would it be prudent to mention this in the same correspondence as the statute barred letter? is it necessary to put a date on the generic letter if it is sent in the email as an attachment? Thanks again for your time.

I think it's important to tell the energy provider in all situations of where a 'vulnerable person' is involved, that's no doubt something that should have been done when the person started having those requirements. So if it hasn't been done, then they need to know.

Again it It's up to you if you add a date, some people do, some people don't