An energy company has spent the past 10 years chasing a single mother-of-two for debt that belongs to the previous owners of her house.
Mahala Simmons, 48, a pharmacy worker from Great Bentley, a small village near Colchester in northeast Essex, bought her house in October 2015.
But the house-warming gift she didn’t expect was a bill for around £300 from the electricity and gas supplier Scottish Power – which she said belongs to the previous owners of the property.
Over the past decade, Scottish Power has chased Ms Simmons for the debt.
The last letter she received from the energy company demanded payment of £1,728.91.
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This is despite Ms Simmons not being a Scottish Power customer and her having been reassured several times since she moved in with her sons, aged 21 and 25, that the account would be closed and she would no longer receive any letters asking for payment.
Debt collectors have now threatened to take her to court for not footing the bill after several visits over the last six to seven years.
Ms Simmons told Metro: ‘The last people who lived in the house obviously hadn’t paid their bill when they moved out.
‘When the [first] bill came in I let Scottish Power know that this was not my bill. It was absolutely fine.
‘I started to get more of the letters and I kept saying “no, it’s not mine” – and in the end they said “if you get any more letters, just send them back to us.”‘
The mother-of-two ‘didn’t hear anything for about a year’ after that – until all of a sudden she started to receive more bills chasing her for the debt.
‘And it’s been going on like that for years,’ said Ms Simmons.
She told Metro that after reaching out to Scottish Power again, they sent her an email apologising for the confusion, acknowledging the company knew she didn’t owe it money and that she doesn’t have the same meter.
But Ms Simmons said the account hasn’t been closed as she has continued to receive the accumulating bills.
And the situation has had a significant impact on her mental health and family life – particularly for her 25-year-old son who is autistic.
She said: ‘It’s got to the point where they’ve been sending debt collectors round and I’ve got an autistic son who, now, won’t even open the door in case the “bad men” come round because they’ve been really nasty [to him] at the door.
‘This has really affected my son as well because now he’s afraid to open the door.’
On one occasion, debt collectors visited their home while Ms Simmons was at work – so her son came to the door.
‘He ended up really, really upset and phoned me at work. I had to come home because he was so stressed,’ she said.
‘I’ve spoken to the debt company as well, which works in conjunction with Scottish Power, and they said “we apologise” – but I’ve still been getting letters and bills from Scottish Power and the debt collection agency.’
When she contacted the debt collectors, Richburns Ltd, based in Romford, Essex, Ms Simmons said they ‘knew nothing’ about Scottish Power’s apology.
She went back to Scottish Power and was told the company wasn’t responsible for what the debt collector does.
What to do if your energy supplier makes an error
According to Ofgem, Britain’s energy regulator, you have the right to complain if you have a problem with your energy supply or are unhappy with the service you received.
Who should I contact and how can I complain?
If you wish to complain, Ofgem advises you contact your supplier and explain what you would like them to do to make it right.
They should have a formal complaints process on their website or on your energy bills that tells you how to do this.
Citizens Advice provides free and impartial advice on resolving problems with your energy supplier.
If you want to write to them or send them an email, you can use the Citizens Advice complaints letter template for poor customer service, an incorrect bill or problems with your meter.
If you contact your supplier over the phone they can also explain their complaints procedure to you.
Energy companies must try to fix any problems within eight weeks of your complaint.
If the problem is not fixed within eight weeks, you should contact the Energy Ombudsman, which can also be contacted if you receive a ‘deadlock letter’, stating your problem cannot be fixed or you’re not happy with the response you have received.
Gathering evidence
Ofgem says you should make a note of the date you first contacted them about the issue in case you need to reference this later.
You should also make a note of your subsequent conversations with the supplier.
Claiming compensation
Your network operator will arrange for you to get any compensation payments you are entitled to.
Payments are usually automatic – but if you think you are eligible for compensation you can also contact your network operator (the company responsible for the pipes and wires that carry electricity and gas).
Ms Simmons told this publication: ‘For this to be going on for 10 years is just crazy.’
She said that she gave the paperwork evidencing that Scottish Power told her it will close the account to her autistic son in case the debt collectors, which have paid six visits in the past six to seven years, come back while she’s at work.
But they’re ‘not interested’ when he tries to show them the documents and have been ‘nasty’ to him, Ms Simmons said, adding: ‘If I go to work, my son now locks the door.
‘He does not answer the door to anybody now because he’s just so scared – and it’s really impacting [us].
‘I’m sick of the whole thing and I’m at the point of thinking that I want to move because I can’t deal with the stress anymore and the stress for my son. It’s just been awful.’
She added: ‘I’m at my wit’s end really, I just don’t know what else to do. I feel like no one wants to help…
‘I can’t cope with this anymore, it’s seriously impacting my mental health.
‘I’m so stressed I can’t sleep because I’m so worried about all the debt collectors coming round – for something I’ve got no control over. It’s not even my debt.’
Ms Simmons said she feels like Scottish Power is trying to ‘disassociate themselves’ from Richburns, the debt collection firm, which lasted visted her home one month ago.
It comes after a disabled widow was left reeling after a computer error meant she was chased repeatedly for a payment of just 2p.
Patricia Ribeiro, 79, from Dudley in the West Midlands, was shocked when she received a letter from Utilita, her previous energy supplier, saying it was going to inform a credit reference agency about her.
She swapped providers in October this year and afterwards received numerous letters claiming she owed the company two pence until Metro stepped in.
Utilita said the incident happened due to a ‘computer rounding error’.
A spokesperson for ScottishPower said: ‘We’re very sorry for any confusion and distress caused to Ms Simmons and her family.
‘Our team are working with all parties involved to resolve the situation as swiftly as possible and will be remaining in contact with Ms Simmons until a full resolution has been reached.’
Metro understands Scottish Power is listed as the gas supplier for the property on the national database – but that another energy company has been billing Ms Simmons for her gas.
Scottish Power has raised an enquiry with the national database to confirm who has been supplying the gas to Ms Simmons’s property.
However it can take up to 10 working days to receive this information.
Scottish Power is working with the other energy supplier to establish how the error occured and help the company get to the bottom of the case.
In line with industry standards, if Scottish Power is confirmed as providing the gas supply account, the company can only back-bill for a year.
Metro understands that Scottish Power recognises it should not have been pursuing Ms Simmons for the debt and has apologised for this.
The company has paused any debt follow up as it investigates the case.
A spokesperson for Richburns said: ‘We apologise for any distress caused by our interactions as we undertook work for our client.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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