Southern Electric Gas complaint 02

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COMPLAINT (follow up)

This document is available to view online at http://grke.net/XXXXXXXXXXX.html

Thank you for your letter dated '2010'. Thank you also for your apology and offer of 30 GBP for compensation.

However, there are some points that we would like to pursue.

• Your company gave our name and addresses, and presumably more data, to a third party (Buchanan Clark and Wells). We did not authorise this. Presumably, this was paid for. If this is not true, please correct us.
• We do not understand how 'collection procedures' could possibly begin whilst we remain current customers of yours. You knew our new address, as you were able to pass it on to the third party for 'collection procedures', and yet we received absolutely no correspondence about the matter from you directly.
• The methods that Buchanan Clark and Wells use appear to be utterly immoral, using threats and harassment in order to scare people into paying up, regardless of whether they are responsible for the debt or not. They directly contravene such articles as Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations Act 2009, and the Office of Fair Trading guidance for debt collection. Here is a selection of phrases from the many threat letters that they sent to us...
  • ...you do not wish to settle this matter amicably...
  • ...we shall seek to commence Legal Proceedings...
  • ...enforcement action being taken...
  • NOTICE OF PENDING LEGAL ACTION
  • VISIT BY DEBT INVESTIGATION OFFICER
  • ...Legal Costs and Judicial Interest...
  • ...instructed to Seize your Assets...
  ...and so on.
• Despite our reasonable, sincere and polite attempts to explain the mistake to them, they remained stridently threatening and intimidating. Furthermore, a simple internet search reveals that this appears to be their standard modus operandi.
• After our first letter to them, they replied in a letter that claimed that they spoke with your company and had a response from you. Either:
  • This was a lie in order to get us to call their expensive telephone number (they are always very keen for that to happen) or,
  • This was the truth, and a real person at Southern Electric Gas dealt with the matter (which removes the excuse of computer error).
  I am inclined to believe the former. Regardless, the threats continued.

We politely suggest that Southern Electric Gas consider an alternative and more reputable company to deal with.

Furthermore, we politely suggest that 30 GBP is an insignificant recompense for the stress that we have received and the time that we have wasted in dealing with this strident incompetence.

We suggest that 50 GBP per threat letter is a reasonable amount. That totals 400 GBP for the 8 that we received.

We would like a written reply within two weeks.