BW Legal is chasing a debt I don’t owe at an address where I’ve never lived

theguardian.com:

I am being chased by a debt collection company, BW Legal, for an unpaid energy bill from E.ON despite never having been a customer and having no connection with the property in question. BW Legal required me to prove I had left the address, which was impossible as I never lived there. I sent an energy bill for my actual address, and a screenshot of my electoral roll address history, but have had no reply.AD, Brighton

You wrote in response to an Observer report on the same issue. BW Legal represents PRAC Financial, which bought customer debts in the name of “The Occupier” from E.ON. It suggested that malice may be behind my follow-up investigation, and said it appreciated my interest in the matter, but didn’t see any basis for my inquiries. Although it only removed you from its records after my intervention, it justified linking you to the address by pointing out that the evidence you provided showed you lived in the same square – albeit in a different part with a different postcode.

It says it did issue further payment demands after you disputed it, then congratulated itself on its handling of your case, claiming the closure of the account within two weeks shows “how expediently matters were resolved – simply by communicating”. In fact, you received confirmation that your name had been delinked four days after my “communication” and 34 days after you first told BW Legal it had contacted you in error.

Debt collectors have no right to require an individual to prove they are not liable for an unpaid bill, according to solicitor Gary Rycroft of Joseph A Jones & Co LLP. “The burden of proof lies with the debt company,” he says.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, say they are