I was hoping to get the advice of some more experienced members of the group, as I've had a reply from a DCA that I'm not sure how to deal with. At my last address, I paid Scottish Power for my gas & electricity. I paid every month the amount they said I needed to cover my average spend. At the end of the winter, they said their own miscalculations meant I was £300 behind in payments, and that they would increase the monthly payment so that I would catch up by the end of summer. I paid each bill as it arrived. The when I moved out in August, their final calculation came to £300.... Needless to say I wasn't amused, and I haven't paid it. But to their credit I haven't written to them explaining that I disagree with their calculations. Also, I've lost the meter readings. But I'm certain that my energy usage didn't change over this period - in fact I was deliberately more economical because of this accumulation of unpaid usage.
So they stopped sending me demands and passed the matter to Buchanan Clark & Wells. I'm not going to deal with a DCA because I've been stung so often by them in the past. I sent this letter:
Buchanan Clark & Wells
BCW House
24 George Square
Glasgow
G2 1EG
Dear Sirs,
Notice and Demand
DO NOT IGNORE THIS NOTICE
Notice to Principal is Notice to Agent; Notice to Agent is Notice to Principal.
Regarding Reference: Case no: xxxxxxxxx, client ref: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you for your letter of 9th December, 2011. Notice is hereby given that your claims are insufficient and are hereby refused for cause, without dishonour, due to the fact that you have presented no evidence of your capacity as either:
1. a bona fide party to any contract in which I am also a party; or
2. an agent of a bona fide party to any contract in which I am also a party; or
3. a holder in due course of any debt to which I am obligated.
4. evidence of the validity of the original alleged contract.
Stories of companies falsely claiming money to which they are not entitled are rife. Absent any evidence of capacity, I have no obligation to either confirm or deny any contractual relationship with the alleged creditor mentioned in your correspondence, or yourselves. Accordingly, you are hereby given notice that you are in a condition of estoppel with regard to your claims. Upon receipt of reasonable evidence of sufficient capacity I will give this matter timely attention. I will deem the following to be sufficient evidence:
A complete copy of any and all contracts which affect or affected your relationship with the alleged principal, as they apply to the above-referenced matter. Said contracts must be certified "true, correct, and complete" by affidavit signed under penalty of perjury, by a principal officer of your company in a position to know all the details of your company's relationship with the alleged principal, in his or her personal capacity. The affidavit must also either completely describe any additional verbal, constructive, or implied contracts you have with the alleged principal affecting this matter, or else certify that no such additional contracts exist or existed.
I hereby give you ten (10) days to reply to this notice from the date you receive this communication with a notice sent using recorded post and signed under full commercial liability and penalty of perjury, assuring and promising me that all of the replies and details given to the above requests are true, correct and complete and without deception, fraud or mischief. Your failure to provide all of the aforementioned documentation in the manner described within ten (10) days from the date you receive this communication constitutes your agreement to the following terms:
1. that you are or were a third party interloper;
2. that you have or had no legal standing;
3. that you have or had no first-hand knowledge of this matter;
4. that your claim is or was fraudulent;
5. that you will pursue this matter no further.
Further, you agree:
6. that you accept liability for any damages I suffer or suffered as a result of your actions;
7. that any negative remarks made to a credit reference agency will be removed and confirmation of said removal sent to me within thirty days of this communication;
Please be advised that I am keeping a written record of all correspondence in this regard and therefore do not consent to discuss this matter over the telephone. Any future communications must be written, otherwise you are hereby given notice that they will be ignored without dishonour on my part. Any telephone calls regarding this matter, whether by an actual person, or a computerised system, or personal visits; will be deemed harassment and dealt with accordingly.
If you wish to provide evidence of your capacity as either Agent, or Holder in Due Course, Notice is hereby given that in addition to the above, as Agent you would be subject to the same terms and conditions as the original alleged contract. As Holder in Due Course you would be subject to the same duties and obligations as the original party. In either case I will require evidence of the validity of the original contract, as I have a reasonable expectation that you would do if you did not want to run the risk of acting illegally. If you did not satisfy yourselves as to the validity of the original contract when becoming either Agent or Holder in Due Course, it would show a profound failure in your due diligence and duty of care. If you did so satisfy yourselves, the required information should be readily to hand.
Inexperienced and vulnerable people are easily intimidated into making payments by what would appear to be unsubstantiated threats. At this moment I am not in possession of any evidence that supports such threats. That is precisely what I am requesting. If, in the event, no such evidence is forthcoming, the offering of these threats passes from mere negligence into the realms of criminal activity.
Any previous acknowledgement by me of any alleged debt is hereby withdrawn as having been obtained under duress.
Please notice that the commonly accepted principles of good faith demand that if you have any reasonable objections to this Notice and Demand, that you immediately state any and all such objections and not harbour any hidden objections with which to surprise me later. Therefore it is my reasonable expectation that should you not offer any specific objections to any part of this Notice and Demand, sent to me by recorded delivery within ten (10) days from your receipt of same, that I may presume your agreement to the above terms.
I will presume silence to mean acquiescence in all these matters.
Yours sincerely without ill-will, vexation or frivolity,
xxx: of the xxx family
Without any admission of any liability whatsoever, and with all Natural, Inalienable Human Rights reserved.
This is their reply:
Dear Mr xxx
I write with regard to your letter of Dec 29 2011.
BCW group acts in good faith on the information and instructions issued to us by our clients. We are passed this information on the basis that the information provided is true and correct at the time of issue. We were, at no time, advised by our client of any ongoing disputes or unresolved complaint issues. In this instance we were passed an account in your name with instructions to pursue the full balance accordingly.
I can advise that we have never alluded to having any contractual link with you in relation to this matter. Furthermore, we have never alluded to representing you in this matter nor have we sought authority to do so. Our obligation and duty in these matters is to our client for whom we act as a third party debt recovery agency.
The purpose of our letters is not to threaten. Our intention is to outline the possible outcomes available to our client should an amicable resolution remain absent from this matter.
We are data processors acting on behalf of our client Scottish Power, the data controller. We have not purchased this debt and have no need to issue any correspondence outlining our legal capacity in this matter.
Utility supply is provided and consumed under a deemed contract and no paper contract will therefore exist. Deemed contracts are not regulated by the consumer credit act 1974 ("the act"). Utility suppliers do not provide credit within the meaning of the act and cannot therefore be in breach of the act by not supplying a copy. Our client consider you to have used services under a deemed contract and relevant terms and conditions will outline the means by which our client can recover outstanding debts. Any confirmation of our capacity in this matter can be obtained from our client directly.
If you dispute liability in this matter, please provide details and documentation in support of such a contention. In the absence of this, we will continue to purse you until the account is settled, reasonably disputed or until we are instructed to withdraw by our client.
Yours sincerely blah blah blah
I know what I think of this letter, but rather than say it here, I'd like to hear some other opinions before I reply, without prejudicing the consensus with my own judgments.
Peace :)
They dont try too hard , just a few letters by my own experience.. Not advice but i would probably just throw their letters straight in the bin because they will sell the debt onto another DCA ,,OF which i would do the same ,,BIN THEM ,, 
and of course in order for you to deal with anyone with regards to this matter, they have to provide Proof in the form of a "signed, sworn affidavit" and signed under full commercial liability and penalty of perjury, that you have caused them a "Provable loss" by your actions or your intent.. 
I would love to be a fly on the wall of their office when they get My letters.. 
