bulldogdsl chasing for monies

[crward1]

hi all

this morning i received a destressing letter from debt collection agency Fredrickson international limited.

i called tham to find out who they were instructed by and it turns out to be bulldogdsl (an isp), a company i have not been with for approx 2-3 years.

the guy on the phone said they have tried to chase me at the address the account was registered to and i have not replied. i explained to the gent i have had nothing from bulldogdsl, letters/emails or even phone calls.

as far as i was aware the contract ran it's course and expired. especially seeing how another isp has used the same line to provide broadband on, so to me, this would show that no monies have been outstanding as they must have released the line to the new provider (provided a mac etc)

i know nothing has been sent to the address in question as my mother still lives there (i moved in when i split from my wife).

the guy at the dca said i need to pay over £400 but if i paid before the end of feb it would be reduced to £288ish. he also mentioned they they took over chasing only 4 days ago... how can they find me in 4 days but the isp couldn't find me in approx 2-3 years?!?

anyone know where i go from here? i had no idea i 'owed' monies to them, they've not contacted me for anything, and the last email i sent to them was back in feb 2006 which happened to be a complaint.

since i ended with them they have changed ownership several times, 1st to carphoneware house and now (as far as i know) it's pipex.. who would i contact to sort this, cpwh or pipex?

 

any help would be great..

 

p.s. sorry if in the wrong section, unsure if i need to post in dca or broadband section

Edited February 1, 2010 by crward1
spelling

[crward1]

UPDATE

just spoken to pipex who said they took over from bulldog in 2008 but can not see if my account was cancelled or not. explained no chase letters had been received as my mother would have passed them on it me.

the lady also said that they had no phone number on record... makes you wonder how they can provide an internet service WITHOUT a number to connect it?

anyways... the lady said she would pass to the provisinos dept and i should hear back in approx 3-5 working days, but if the customer service is anything like bulldogs it could be 3-5 years! (still waiting for a reply to the 28/02/07 complaint)

[Guest wino]

Send the 'debt in dispute letter' to the DCA asking them to hold off any action.

 

You have already rang the ISP provider and are waiting their findings. In future try and keep everything in writing, sent recordered delivery.

[speedfreek]

Hi,

you're probably going to have to deal with Pipex

 

Pipex UK Limited

P.O Box 14503

Birmingham

B46 9BD

 

Tel: 0871 663 3300

 

I'm bulldog but am now billed by Pipex who still use my original BDOL (Bulldog) account number when I contact them.

 

Not sure if this needs moving to the debt section as although an ISP problem it's now gone past that and into the DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY stage. Maybe a nice site admin can decide.

 

As Wino says you now need advice on

 

1, how to deal with the DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY

2, how to dispute the debt

3, how to get info on what the debt is for, when it's from and for how much

 

This can all be found on those boards.

[Conniff]

This is an easy one. All you need do is send a recorded letter to the DCA telling them to send you proof of the debt and on receipt you will consider it. Also that no further correspondence will be entered into until you receive this proof.

[Mark_Blackpool]

I migrated away from Pipex and got a letter chasing one month's subscription fees a year or so later.

 

I emailed them, and in response heard nothing and got another letter.

 

I printed the email and put it in the post along with their letter back to them.

 

The email (truthfully) ran along the lines of "I don't owe you this money, I migrated away because you stopped supplying the service and I was forced to obtain a MAC code and go elsewhere - I believe that actually you owe me £x. A cheque will be acceptable"

 

I never did hear any more about it.