Posted 28th Sep 2022
Hi all,
Hoping for some advice…
We’ve just received a debt demand for £45ish (Reduced to £25ish if we pay immediately) from BW legal on behalf of Prac Financial - who bought the debt from British Gas.
Plot twist, we haven’t had an account with BG since 2018, and have never received notice of this debt.
BG claim they sent us a letter around April 2018 (we left BG in March) but we have had no correspondence at all.
BG say the debt was written off, before being reinstated and sold.
Seems weird and unfair that we’re being chased for debt that we had no knowledge of… surely BG must prove they made reasonable attempts to get the money from us before selling the debt? Is there any avenue worth exploring?
BG appear on my credit report and have always reported “up to date”
This seems really suspect

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  2. Avatar
    The words are in just about any contract you ever enter into. 'have the right to assign etc etc'. If you dont like this practise, try living a hermit's life heating a bothy with peat for fuel on a remote scotish island.

    Pay the money and write a letter that it is paid under duress to prevent material damage to your financial persona. Then contest it. It will take a long time (because you now live in a peat bog in outer scotland)

    Chill bro. Go out and do something amazing today (edited)
  3. Avatar
    personally for £25, i'd just pay, not to have to worry about it.

    when I say worry, i mean possible impact on credit score which could eventually cost me way more than £25 in worse loan/mortgage offers

    at the same time, i doubt they'd start legal proceedings over such a small amount now, but if the debt is accruiing interest, at some point they may seek a CCJ (edited)
  4. Avatar
    Although the easiest way is just to pay, I'd probably fight my corner and spend hours of my time corresponding.
  5. Avatar
    So did you owe British Gas money from a previous time you were with them?
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    Author
    Possibly, but they say they no longer have details of the account - and - they’ve never contacted us to state we owe money.
  6. Avatar
    You think this is bad , i had a visit from a debt collector yesterday for a debt that is nearly 20 years old. I just laughed at him and told him he is wasting his time and money
    Avatar
    I’ve had a letter from my local council saying if I didn’t reply asap they were handing the debt over to a collection agency. 

    The debt? £0.08! 

    I of course, paid it back in monthly instalments. 
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