BCW and Scotcall say i owe british gas for old bill

[lookinforinfo]

In the meantime, if Scotcall do come round-do not deal with them and DO

NOT LET THEM IN YOUR HOUSE-for any reason whatever. Do not pay them

any money either. First it is totally unclear that you owe them any money.

Second, if they have been sent by Buchanan Clark & Wells, [as opposed to by the gas board], BCW may be in breach of the Data Protection act, since you have not given them permission to pass on information about you. [i

accept that you will have given your authority to inform 3rd parties of

your data, but that does not extend to the 3rd party passing on that

information.

 

You can find this out by writing to them, as it is about time they proved

that they have evidence of a debt.

Write to them demanding, yes demanding proof that you owe any money,

since in your opinion they are in breach of the data protection Act 1998

Part 1 Principle 4 "personal data shall be accurate and up to date."

In addition, ask them to supply the part of the Data Protection Act that allows

them to pass sensitive information to Scotcall without your permission.

 

Tell them that until they can show that they are not in breach of the Data Protection Act,

you are in dispute with them. Any evidence that they have indeed breached the Act will lead to complaints to the Information Commissioners Office

without further notice to them.

[lookinforinfo]

I understand that you are worried and concerned about them calling at

your door and so speed seems of the essence.. However by phoning rather

than writing, you have let them off the

hook. Over the phone, they feel that they can be a tad more liberal with the

actualite, than they must be when conducting business in writing. It is

also much easier to make a complaint about them when they misdirect you

in a letter. That is why they prefer to deal on the phone. If you take

control of the situation by insisting that you will only deal in writing in future,

you strengthen your own position and frustrate them. Don't worry about

putting the phone down on them in mid sentence, if you want.

[lookinforinfo]

I may have done that yesterday

 

I bet that made you feel better. Now that you know you can do it, keep

doing it.

 

 

The problem I have with writing to them is the fact that they never acknowledge my letters. They have kept (most) of them on file, but only wrote back to demand more money...

 

I suspect that they are not responding because you are not sending the mail by recorded delivery? Whenever you write to these kind of companies,

always make a copy, and send the letter recorded. There are two benefits

in doing it that way. 1] they will know that they are dealing with someone

that they will have to be careful with. 2] until they have fulfilled the

contents of the letter, the account may be in dispute and they must cease

collection until it is resolved.

 

Here is an example. When you signed up with British Gas [though you may not have been aware of it at the time] included was your permission to

contact solicitors or debt collectors if you fell behind with your payments.

What you did NOT give, was permission for those companies to pass on

your details to other companies [in this case, Scotcall]. To do so may be in

breach of the Data Protection Act. And also,until they have responded

satisfactorily, Scotcall are barred from calling on you.

 

The more often you catch them out, the less likely they are to take you to Court. And the stronger your case becomes if they do take that route.

It also may give you a chance to take them to Court.

Whereas in 50 phone calls say between you, they could run a horse and cart

through every statute and regulation under the sun, and still cause barely

a ripple in Court. The written word is king in legal matters.

 

So don't be afraid of them. And write to ask that they prove their is a bill

in your name, for that date. You shouldn't have to prove that you were not living there at the time, until they prove otherwise.

And the more things you ask them to do, the less time they have to chase you. So get writing. And remind them that you have noted that you believe that they are in breach of the Data Protecton Act section 3 [1] [5] [that is

to do with you not have given your permision for them to process your info]

#fter your conversation with Scotcall.

Keep a record of the date you contacted Scotcall by phone so if needs be,

you can send them an sar to get the full details of who instructed them

and when.

[lookinforinfo]

Having thought about my previous post, it has just occurred to me that

British Gas may well have breached the Data Protection Act too.

Perhaps someone could confirm that while BG do have permission to contact

Solicitors etc when a customer owes money, they are not entitled to use

that permission when their is no debt outstanding, as appear to be the case here.

 

PS Casidhe may well have a case of Defamation of character?