Scottish Power Debt Team Filmed Raiding Wrong Home

jcgriff2

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If my electric company ("raided") broke into my home like Scottish Power Debt Collections did in this story, I could prosecute them for breaking & entering, burglary, and much more. If US, those 2 guys would likely be looking at at least some jail time, but maybe not prison time.

Then the civil suit would start. I would estimate $25,000-$100,000 is entirely possible, especially if you go to trial with a jury. The amount may even go much higher than $100,000.

This is unbelievable. Do they do this often?

Scottish Power debt enforcers have been caught on camera breaking into a woman's flat seeking payment for debts she did not owe.

The woman was on holiday at the time and was not a Scottish Power customer.

Doorbell video footage shows two uniformed men tampering with locks before going into the flat and identifying themselves as Scottish Power representatives.

The energy firm has admitted the error, apologised and offered compensation.

It is the latest in a series of reports from BBC Scotland featuring allegations of heavy-handed measures by representatives of Scottish Power.

The UK energy regulator Ofgem has now opened discussions with Scottish Power following the claims.
The woman's father said his daughter was on holiday in the north of Scotland on 20 August when she received an alert from the video doorbell.
Donald Maciver, 60, said she saw there were two men at the door and she realised they were trying to break into the flat.

"She tried to engage with them through the intercom and they chose to ignore that, and then watched for a period of 43 seconds as two guys walked through the door," he said.

Mr Maciver said he drove from his home in St Andrews to the property in Glasgow to investigate.
"I got down there and walked into the flat and couldn't see anything," he said. "It was like nobody had been there, it was absolutely nothing there at all. If it hadn't been for the video footage, nobody would have known anyone had been in this flat.
"Yet two men were in this flat for 27 minutes, nobody can explain to me what they were doing in a two-bedroom flat for 27 minutes. They were supposed to be looking for gas meters - a gas meter that happens to be in the basement."

Mr Maciver later found a letter from a debt collection firm addressed to someone who did not live in the stairwell.
He said his daughter had reported the letters three times to Scottish Power but they kept sending written demands for unpaid money.

'Sincerely apologised'​

Mr Maciver said he faced a "denial culture" at the energy firm when he tried to complain.

"Even though you're not the customer - never have been a customer - you are wrong, they are right," he said. "It's up to you to prove you don't owe them money as opposed to them proving to you that you do."

He eventually received a letter in which Scottish Power admitted the error after contacting the CEO's office.

It states: "I sincerely apologised that we had attended the wrong address and I confirmed that your daughter's property was supplied by SSE.

"In view of the upset caused, I offered your daughter £500 as a gesture of goodwill and advised you that we were continuing to investigate which flat we do supply, your daughters' details were removed from our system."

It follows the case of Irene Girvan, from Glasgow, who claimed the energy giant hounded her for a year over money she insists she did not owe.
The 64-year-old told BBC Scotland she was threatened with debt collectors and missed a Covid booster jab while waiting for enforcement officers she believed were coming to change her locks.
Scottish Power has apologised for distress caused to Ms Girvan and cleared the debt. Officials said there was "no excuse for our failures" in this case.
An Ofgem spokeswoman said: "We treat seriously all allegations of customers not being treated fairly, and take action where appropriate.
"We have contacted Scottish Power over their investigation into the allegations reported by the BBC.

"Debt management activities must be done in a fair and reasonable way at all times. Suppliers cannot extend unlimited credit to customers, but we will not tolerate sharp practice or aggressive debt collection."

On Friday, Scottish Power launched a probe after a whistleblower told the BBC that call handlers working on behalf of the energy giant were told to threaten customers with debt enforcement - even over mistaken bills.

The man, an employee of an outsourced company, works in a call centre in the west of Scotland dealing with people who call to query outstanding balances.

The employee, who says he wants to protect his identity over fears he will lose his job, said it was clear to see where errors had been made on an account.

He said: "It may be a wrong meter reading, they've not been billed correctly, they might not be responsible for it, or they're not a Scottish Power customer. However, until that's dealt with then it's going to stand, we're going pursue them for that debt.

A Scottish Power spokesman said: "Scottish Power does not have processes or is it our intention to pursue account holders who have not been customers of Scottish Power.

"Like every other energy company in the UK we will follow up any existing debt a Scottish Power customer owes after they have switched to another supplier.

"Your source's allegations on our debt management policies are all untrue."

Following the volume of people getting in touch with the BBC raising concerns, Scottish Power has asked people to email Contactus@scottishpower.com with BBC Account Query in the title.

Scottish Power debt team filmed raiding wrong home




John
 
If US, those 2 guys would likely be looking at at least some jail time, but maybe not prison time.

It's not quite as simple as that - the type of debt collectors in the UK who are allowed to force entry into your home are "bailiffs" - they're certified by a court and have certain legal powers. They're part of the legal system, although usually they're a third party / private company - an example that springs to mind in the US is the "bounty hunters" - court approved and licenced third parties who get extra powers.

Bailiffs are notorious for abusing their powers - I'm sure the equivalent debt collectors and bounty hunters in the US are the same :)

Then the civil suit would start. I would estimate $25,000-$100,000 is entirely possible, especially if you go to trial with a jury. The amount may even go much higher than $100,000.

The woman could probably sue here, and they'd probably win considering how clear cut it is, but the problem is the amount of money that could be claimed. In the UK, punitive damages aren't as widespread, so most of the money you can claim from a lawsuit is mostly just the actual amount you were harmed (property damage, lost profits etc). Potentially she'd be able to be awarded money for emotional distress as well (seeing two men break into your property is likely to cause at least some emotional distress).

If this happened to me, personally I'd look into legal options, but there's less of a culture of suing here, and realistically I don't know what the options would be.

Ofgem is the energy regulator who have a lot of power to issue fines and resolve disputes. Even if the woman decides to sue the company, submitting a complain via Ofgem is probably a required step beforehand, to show the court that she has tried every reasonable measure to come to a settlement.
 
I haven't checked on the accuracy of this outside of a quick Google search, but here's a reported example of some bounty hunters in the US abducting the wrong man - the police declined to charge the bounty hunters. :)

Bounty Hunters Abduct Wrong Man And Terrorise Entire Family
Unfortunately, that happens far too often as Bounty Hunters have very broad powers much, much greater than the police do.

For example, Bounty Hunters can simply kick or batter a front door in, search homes and cars (after breaking into the car, of course) - NO COURT WARRANTS REQUIRED unlike police who must obtain the warrants first.

A year or two ago, a few Bounty Hunters got in a shoot-out with homeowners; 3 Bounty Hunters were shot; 1 died; 2 were injured and recovered then demanded the police investigate to figure out who 'murdered' their partner. Police refused and ended up charging the recovered Bounty Hunters with breaking & entering, burglary, attempted murder as the Bounty Hunters entered the wrong house.
 
It's not quite as simple as that - the type of debt collectors in the UK who are allowed to force entry into your home are "bailiffs" - they're certified by a court and have certain legal powers. They're part of the legal system, although usually they're a third party / private company - an example that springs to mind in the US is the "bounty hunters" - court approved and licenced third parties who get extra powers.

Bailiffs are notorious for abusing their powers - I'm sure the equivalent debt collectors and bounty hunters in the US are the same :)



The woman could probably sue here, and they'd probably win considering how clear cut it is, but the problem is the amount of money that could be claimed. In the UK, punitive damages aren't as widespread, so most of the money you can claim from a lawsuit is mostly just the actual amount you were harmed (property damage, lost profits etc). Potentially she'd be able to be awarded money for emotional distress as well (seeing two men break into your property is likely to cause at least some emotional distress).

If this happened to me, personally I'd look into legal options, but there's less of a culture of suing here, and realistically I don't know what the options would be.

Ofgem is the energy regulator who have a lot of power to issue fines and resolve disputes. Even if the woman decides to sue the company, submitting a complain via Ofgem is probably a required step beforehand, to show the court that she has tried every reasonable measure to come to a settlement.

Oh... I thought the Scottish Collection Teams were official - like the "court officers" (?) in England that go around and collect civil judgments and will accept cash or if none or not enough to satisfy the judgment, will place the defendant on a payment plan or they will start taking assets like cars, TVs, PCs, furniture, etc...

Here in the US, most people that go to small claims court or an upper court to sue for damages (money) and win are usually SOL trying to collect on the judgment as the defendant may have moved or simply refuses to pay.

There really is no way for an average US citizen to find out someone's new address unless you hire a private investigator @ $500/hour, perhaps a lawyer, or if you know a cop.

As for obtaining payment if you know where the person lives, you can go to the county sheriff's office, fill out various forms to execute the judgment by having the sheriff seize assets. You must pay fees to the sheriff for all of this work though.
 

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