Moved into new property and I owe previous tenants bill, why?

Hey @DK1,

Sorry for the issues you’re having, 

If there is a previous tenant who hasn’t paid the amount owed to OVO, we have to go through a collections process. Part of this process is showing we have sent letters.

Eventually, it’ll go to a debt collection agency who will find the tenant details through a process of ‘trace and search’. Once the tenant details have been found the letters ‘to the occupier’ will stop. 

You can ignore these if you have an account set up with OVO, or send them to the letting agency or ‘return to sender’.

I hope this helps. 

Hi, 

I think the previous tenant may owe money as am continuing to receive letters from OVO for the person who I guess lived at the property before me. I would have thought they would have given their new address to OVO but seems not. If there's an unpaid bill, who is responsible? If a debt collection agency is involved, will they visit the property? I am worried that I will have issues with this

If the letters are to a named person rather than just ‘The Occupier’ then you should simply write “ RTS - no longer at this address” on the envelope and stick it in any postbox.

The Post Office will return it to the sender (RTS) who should note that the named person is no longer there and stop sending them letters.

If they don't stop after that then write to the return address yourself and tell them you are considering action against them for harassment.

Hi,

This sounds like one for @Nukecad . He’s the master of these.

Hi @Mzero

I have experience of/with LCS (and a few others of the same ilk).

My personal experince of similar was with collectors instructed by a a different company, not OVO, but it's the same thing.

So from experience:

This sounds like a debt that is owed by a previous owner/tenant of the property.

OVO have instructed a collection agency, in this case LCS, to chase it.

So the first thing to get straight in your mind is that it is the debt collection agency that you now need to stop chasing you.

OVO are chasing a debt owed by “someone”, but it's the collection agency who are chasing “you” by mistake so it's the collection agency that you need to stop doing that.

As a first step OVO and the agency will send a letter to “The Occupier” at the address, sometimes the agency will have checked for a name associated with the property and yours may have come up so they will address the letter to your name.

Email or write back to the debt collector (LCS  in this case) saying that the debt is owed by a previous occupier and not owed by yourself. (If you can get something from OVO to say it is not your name on that account number then that is proof - Keep it you may need it again because the same may happen again if another collector gets instructed later).

Then, in the same message,  tell the debt collector that if they continue to “harass” (use that word. it's the magic word with debt collectors*) you for this debt which is clearly not yours then you will report them to the FCA for that harassment.

*A complaint of “Harassnent” if upheld by the FCA can close down a Debt Collection Agency and they really try to avoid any such complaint being made.

You will get a message back saying that they have put any collection action on hold for 30 days while they check, often they won't check and they will try again after 30 days, you don't take their bait and simply repeat exactly what you have already said.

Don't get sidetracked by anything new that they say, they sometimes try to confuse you with irrelevant details, don't elaborate, just repeat exactly what you said before that it is not your debt.

That usually puts an end to it, but if necessary then you do make a complaint to the FCA for harassment. TBH it doesn’t usually get to that though.

Other things to not do:

Don't discuss anything on the phone, politely insist that everyting further is in writing, (email or text is in writing), If they do phone you politely say that again and hang up.

Don't ever sign up to their ‘Customer portal/account’ you are not and never have been their customer.

PS. The online phone number checkers are not very good, they will often say that a genuine number is a scam, and that's often (usually) because of debt collection mistakes such as you are currently experiencing.

Hi @Mzero 

Once you get everything sorted I recommend you check your statutory credit report with Experian to make sure nothing has been logged against your name. The statutory report is free and you aren't signed up to any long term commitments.

https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html

OVO use Experian.

Did you sign up with So Energy the last supplier at the address before you moved in was So Energy?