Advice needed on scottish and southern collection process

[Dav1988]

This is completely hypothetical as its already been sorted but i really want to find out for my own curiosity,

 

I have fallen a little behind paying my gas bill through hydro electric,

the account was about £90 in the red so not a huge or unmanageable amount but still i never done anything about it.

 

i had been in the flat all morning today and left around midday to go out and do a couple of bits and bobs when i noticed a letter lying in front of the close door,

i found this strange as the postman always delivers through the door as he should,

i picked it up and it was hand addressed to me, it was a final notice advising the next step was court to put me on a prepayment meter.

 

at the top of the letter read in bold "PLEASE NOTE YOU've BEEN CHARGED £41.64 EXCLUDING VAT FOR THIS VISIT"

 

now i was pretty annoyed to begin with anyway as i know no one made any attempt to ring my buzzer or gain access to my property as had just slid it under the door,

I'm not sure how that constitutes a visit!!

 

decided i really should pay something so went online and checked my bills and the same charge was showing dated 26th june,

this in itself is strange as i never noticed any letter then (although if it had just been slid under the close door again where all my neighbours go it could have been thrown out)

 

i called them up

where i was advised the charge on the bill from the 26th of june is for the visit that they just carried out today!!!!

immediately this rung alarm bells,

 

can a company put a charge on your bill 2 months before a visit has even been carried out?

i decided not,

i mentioned i was going to post on the forum for advise and the gentleman i was speaking too (the manager id been passed to who was very helpful by the way)

seemed intent to keep me on the phone and advised he would speak to his manager,

 

low and behold he came back and said the charges would be wiped off and i could just pay the balance.

 

....moral of the story is if something doesn't seem right its probably not and i think they knew that stick to your guns.

 

just to find out though (and for anyone else that finds themselves in this situation can they charge an account for a visit that doesn't take place until 2 months after??

 

Thanks!

[dx100uk]

bet this was a DCA like P2P?

 

no they cant charge a visit 'fee'

totally spurrious!!

 

dx

[Dav1988]

Thats what i thought....when i was on the phone to them he kept calling them debt collectors but the letter was fully branded sse with no hint of another company being the collectors, he said on the phone they were employed by see and not an outside agency, i do live where they have there headquarters so i don't know if that would have had something to do with it!

 

he did then change his tune when i advised him of this he then went on to say it was the fee for going into debt.... the content of the letter i told him didn't lead me to believe this, thanks for the advise I'm glad i stood my ground!

[dx100uk]

nasty fleecers

 

well done

 

dx