Hello everyone, it's my first time posting so thank you in advance for any advice that you can give. About 6 weeks ago we had a phone call out of the blue from an Opus rep 'Tom' to say that we had a large bill and he needed to speak to us. We are very rural and we had an actual reading just previous to the bill. Prior to the phone call the direct debit was set up, everything paid on time, never a late or missed payment. I thought it was a [problem] call at first? I couldn't believe it when we were told it was for £7000. We own a building which is a small ex pub/hotel which we've run as a small tea room which incidently has been closed since end of sept 2015, and 3 b&b rooms which we've only had let out around 6 times so far since opening. We live in an apartment at the property. This is not our main job by the way After speaking to Tom we were told that they didn't have any actual readings and that they were guessing at the amount. We were told that the usage for the bill went back to when we were with Scottish Power and the estimated bills we were paying had been too low. But the difference from the initial reading in 2013 to the one now showed a £7000 bill. I asked why were we being asked for money by Opus for a bill that went back to when we were with Scottish Power. He couldn't quite answer. We've only been in the property since Sept 2013. And with Opus since March 2015. We've since spoken to Scottish power who have said that they are fully paid and we have no outstanding bills. They are to send the readings and our bills from when we we with them. It was also mentioned by Tom that he believed that the initial reading in 2013 when we moved in could have been misread and that there's a possibility, from looking at the previous owners consumption it's out by 2500 units. And it's a dial unit and not easy to read? Tom also cancelled our direct debit on the day as he said that it would complicate things if we were paying additional money by DD. Which we went with. We've been down the road of turning everything off and reading the meter over the week taking photos of the dials etc. But to be honest, I don't think they have a clue what they are looking at. The account has now gone to collections, even though we in the process of trying to sort this out. And they are now threatening to cut us off if we don't pay. There is no way we could afford this bill. Surely we can't be responsible for this bill, or in fact used £7000 of electricity. No way! The collector contradicted Tom and said that the bill had been generated since March 2015, when we changed over to Opus and is 15 months of extra consumption to what we pay. They're starting to get a bit heavy now, so I'm in need of some advise. I don't know whether to contact the ombudsman or ofgem. Thank you so much.

I have had visa card for decades with largish credit limit of around £7000, very light usage, and always paid in full before pbd. The latest Card was issued in 2010 and I did not use it for any purchases but kept it for emergencies only, and was due for renewal at the end of July 2014. However, sometime in Feb 2014 they sent this surprise automatically generated note; “Would you like to keep your Barclaycard account open? We've noticed you haven't used your Barclaycard Classic card for a while and thought your account may longer be needed. That is why on 9 April 2014 we'll close your Barclaycard Classic account for you. This means any credit cards associated with this account will be cancelled unless you tell us otherwise. Don't worry, the other Barclaycard accounts you hold with us won't be affected.” The letter was sent by normal post, dated just “February 2014” and I ignored it because it looked like junk mail. When I found out in July that the card had been cancelled, BC at first verbally said they couldn't reopen the card with original credit limit because I did not appear on the electoral register, then in their final response they changed their story and said that they had issued a notice ending the agreement under the terms and conditions, and that my creditworthiness was not an issue. The FOS just lied about the whole thing in their non-investigation whitewash which I didn't accept. My new visa card has a mighty credit limit of £260! What are the legal viewpoints, breach of contract because no valid termination notice or something else, unfair relationship?

Hi, Great forum you have here! I owe £7300, spread over two credit cards - capital one (£3100) and bank of Scotland (£4200). I've been unemployed for over a year and was making the minimum monthly repayments on both cards , stupidly perhaps using what savings I had to make the monthly repayments. Now I have no spare cash left at all, I'm on £71 JSA per week and furiously searching for work. I live with my brother in a rented housing association house so there's no mortgage. I've written to both companies today, outlining my situation and basically offering to make a minimum payment of £5 monthly until my situation improves. I've also asked them to freeze any penalty charges and interest from accruing. I've buried my head in the sand too long with this but I've decided to face up to it. From what I've been reading, I don't really think there's too much they can do to me- I don't own any property, car or anything. The credit card debt is unsecured . I'm pig sick of this whole thing, being unemployed and other things going on in my life too and just want this thing sorted or at least controlled till things pick up:sad: Any thoughts folks, as to what the next stage is likely to be? Thanks:-D

Hi all, I really need some advice and help. In a weeks time, my Nationwide overdraft will be changed from £4500 to £250. I also have a overdraft of £2500 from Natwest. In total I owe £7000. I still have a week till the overdraft is official changed. What are my options? I would like to be able to agree something with Nationwide. I really dont want to screw up my credit score, in case I want to get a house in the future. Unfortunately I dont have a job but expect to get one within the next 6 weeks. What is the minimum payment and time schedule can I get them to agree to. Any advice would be really appreciated.