Hello, and thanks for taking the time to read this. Any help appreciated.
I recently received a letter from Credit Management Debt Recovery Investigations, acting on behalf of their client EON energy. In it they claim that I am responsible for electricity usage from March 2011 to August 2015. They want £1600! Problem is, I am not liable, and I have not lived at the address given for 3.5 yrs. I asked EON to remove my name from the bill prior to leaving, and they agreed. But clearly they did not do this, and are now chasing me for payment. I called EON to explain their error. They want proof that I do not live there, easy enough I thought, but a current tenancy agreement as where I am is not enough. They want and 'end agreement' from that previous address. I do not have one, and I have no contact, or contact details from last landlady...why would I, I moved out so all finished? When I spoke to EON about 'proof of claim' they said they have a 'deemed contract' and that was good enough. What they actually have is one single payment made on my debit card in Sept 2012, roughly when I moved out, and my name. That's it. Do they not have to prove that I was actually living there at the time? I was not. Does the fact that they failed in their 'duty of care' to remove my name give them the right to sell that debt to a third party, debt collection agency. Does a deemed contract hold any weight in these circumstances< they have nothing in writing from me at all.
After several calls with EON, they have now sent me a 'deadlock' letter saying that I should contact the Ombudsman. Should I contact the Ombudsman? I am running out of time (21days) to answer and perhaps ask questions, the right ones obviously. I was away when this deadlock letter arrived and now I have less than a week to reciprocate. Not really sure how to approach this? Should I go for proof of claim, proof of contract, full disclosure of terms? Negligence on their part for not removing my name when asked to do so? I've had three conversations with them, they are arrogant and uneducated. I let them have my landline to call me back under condition that they did not store it under any circumstances, (recorded conversation) they agreed to wipe it off the board and not store it. 3 days later they call me on that number, so clearly did keep it. Fraud/misrepresentation? They lied.
Any letters, links, help in structuring a letter would be appreciated. Apologies if this is a little waffled!