In the latter part of 2017, Jurgen* changed his telecommunications provider. In January 2018, Jurgen was surprised to receive a letter from a debt collection agency about his old account. The letter said that he had an ‘unpaid debt’ and that he owed money for services with his previous provider.

Jurgen got in touch with his previous provider to dispute the charges. In his view, he had notified the provider that his services were to be cancelled and he was not given adequate notice to pay the outstanding balance on the unpaid bill before it was sent to a debt collection agency. They were unable to reach an agreement on how the matter was to be resolved.

Jurgen contacted TDR. After discussions with both Jurgen and the provider, a Resolution Practitioner was appointed. The Resolution Practitioner worked with Jurgen and the provider, clarifying the actions that both parties had taken before the debt had been passed on to the debt collection agency.

During their mediation sessions, it was clear that Jurgen was mostly upset about the debt collection agency getting involved. He was in the process of arranging a mortgage for his first home and suddenly he was flagged as having a bad debt. He didn’t mind paying the amount owed to his provider but having a debt with debt collection agency was affecting his ability to get a mortgage.

The Resolution Practitioner helped Jurgen and the provider to discuss options. The provider agreed to withdraw the debt from the debt collection agency on the condition that Jurgen paid the outstanding amount. Both Jurgen and the provider agreed to this plan. Jurgen subsequently paid the owed amount and the bad credit rating was removed.

Jurgen has now moved into his new home.

 

*Names have been changed to protect our customers’ identities.