TIO Annual Report 2003/04

Case Studies

Debt Collection

A telephone company sent the complainant a letter of demand for an outstanding debt. The letter was addressed incorrectly but the complainant ultimately received it. He paid the overdue account but began to receive calls from a debt-collection agency for a different amount, for which he had not received any accounts. He called his telephone service provider to request a copy of the account and to confirm that his address details had been updated. He did not receive the account copy and then received more calls related to the overdue account. He then contacted the TIO.

TIO Response:

The TIO asked the Member to confirm that the original accounts, reminder letters and any other documentation had been sent to the complainant’s correct address. The TIO also asked to see the customer care notes to verify that the complainant had contacted the service provider to update and confirm his address details. The TIO also requested copies of the accounts in question, as the complainant claimed that he had still not seen these bills.

The Outcome:

The telephone service provider admitted that the accounts and overdue reminders had been sent to the incorrect address on each occasion. As a gesture of goodwill, it withdrew the overdue charges in question and recalled the account from the debt-collection agency. The TIO often deals with accounts that have been put into the hands of debt-collection agencies, sometimes after a credit default has been listed against the complainant with a credit-reporting agency. This example illustrates the curious fact that although the telephone service provider was unable to contact the complainant about the outstanding account, the debt-collection agency contacted him by letter and by telephone without any apparent difficulty.

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