Can I Ignore My Capital Resolve British Gas Debt?

Are you struggling to pay bills and have fallen behind with payments to British Gas? If so, the energy provider could pass your details to a debt recovery agency. 

Then a letter falls through your letterbox from a company you don’t recognise which leaves you asking, ‘can I ignore my Capital Resolve British Gas debt or not’?

Read on to find out whether you should ignore debt collectors and how to respond to their demands to achieve a better outcome!

Do you have to pay Capital Resolve?

You might not have to pay Capital Resolve.

If you genuinely can’t afford your debt repayments then looking into whether you could have your written off might be just what you need. 

If you want to find out whether you qualify for having debt written off or payments lowered then fill out the short form below.

Is Capital Resolve a legitimate debt collection agency?

Yes. Capital Resolve Limited is a legitimate debt collection business with offices in Evesham. Their core business is chasing debtors on behalf of other companies but they also purchase third-party debts.

Capital Resolve is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Capital Resolve is also a recognised member of the Credit Services Association or CSA for short.

When you get a letter from them, it’s best to respond rather than ignore things. Binning the letter could have serious consequences and may harm you in several ways!

Financially and psychologically.

Why would Capital Resolve contact you?

You may owe money to British Gas, an energy provider that uses Capital Resolve recovery services. Or you may find that  Capital Resolve now owns it.

When it’s the latter, you’d have to deal with Capital Resolve rather than the original creditor which in this case is British Gas.

Take a look at what happened to one consumer when Capital Resolve contacted them:

Source: Moneysavingexpert

Can you lower your repayments?

If you’re struggling to pay back your debt, then you might qualify for a debt solution.

Some solutions lower your monthly payments while others write off a portion of your debt. 

To find out whether they could work in your situation, hit the button below.

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What companies use capital resolve?

Capital Resolve has a long client list with British Gas being one of the energy providers that use their services.

That said, their other clients include:

• Car park management operatorsHMRC
• Local Authorities
• O2
• EE

These are just some of the other clients who use Capital Resolve Limited to recover debts or unpaid bills.

Should you check if the debt is too old to enforce?

Yes. One of the first things to check after going through all the details in the letter is whether the debt is too old to enforce.

A debt that’s at least six years old is deemed statute barred. As such, courts won’t take on cases that old. It means you won’t get an order to pay issued by a court!

If Capital Resolve Ltd purchased an older British Gas debt and is chasing you for payment, it may be statute barred! So it’s always worth checking.

What happens if a debt is statute-barred?

When a debt is statute-barred, a court won’t order you to pay. However, the following must apply:

• It’s at least six years old
• No money was paid towards settling the outstanding amount in the six years
• Nobody admitted owing the money to British Gas in the last six years
• There isn’t a County Court Judgement registered against you

So, even when you owe the money to British Gas, if it is statute-barred, you shouldn’t have to pay. Moreover, you won’t get a CCJ for not paying either!

Is the British Gas debt yours?

Next, you should write to Capital Resolve Ltd asking them to prove you owe money to British Gas. Mistakes happen and a simple clerical error may result in Capital Resolve chasing the wrong person!

Maybe you settled a bill and no record was made of the payment, hence the Capital Resolve is chasing you!

Make sure you send the ‘prove it’ letter by registered mail so you know they received it. You should get a written response from Capital Resolve confirming it is yours!

Don’t just accept their word for it. The proof must be in writing with authenticated copies of an agreement you entered into with British Gas. Plus, all the copies must be authenticated by British Gas or an authorised representative!

Without sufficient proof you owe money, a Capital Resolve can’t make you pay!

What can Capital Resolve debt recovery legally do?

Capital Resolve is a member of the Credit Services Association and should, therefore follow its Code of Practice.

Moreover, debt collection companies must abide by the law when they contact you. A debt collection company can:

• Contact you about an alleged debt to British Gas by phone, text, email, or letter and visit you at home
• Discuss the debt with you politely, and discreetly showing empathy and understanding about your circumstances
• Ask you to pay them directly rather than make a payment/payments to British Gas
• Report you to a credit reference agency if you default on payments

What can’t debt collection agencies do?

Debt collection agencies cannot do any of the following which would be unlawful:

• Harass you with constant phone calls at all hours
• Discuss a debt with your friends, a family member, employer or neighbours
• Use legal or technical language to confuse you
• Pressure you into taking out a loan to pay an alleged British Gas debt
• Pretend their powers are the same as court-appointed enforcement officers which is unlawful
• Show you documents and other papers that seem to be issued by the courts when they are not
• Force their way into your home, seize your possessions or clamp your vehicle
• Refuse to leave when you ask them to
• Threaten you in any way

You should complain to Capital Resolve’s head office if you believe a debt collection agent overstepped the mark when they contacted you.

Allow the debt collection agency the chance to put things right. But if they don’t, you can report them to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Can you stop capital resolve from contacting you if you owe money?

No. You can’t stop a debt collection company from contacting you. Especially if you owe money and the energy provider passed your details on to Capital Resolve.

However, you can write back to Capital Resolve telling them when and how you’d like to be contacted. It’s a request that all debt collection companies must respect.

Ask Capital Resolve to only contact you in writing so you have a record of their requests and demands. It’s a good move because you have evidence of their actions and demands if they take you to court.

If they continue to contact you with constant phone calls at all times of the day, it’d be deemed harassing unlawful behaviour.

You should report them to the Financial Ombudsman Service!

What happens when you ignore a Capital Resolve British Gas debt?

When you ignore Capital Resolve, the problem doesn’t just go away. Moreover, debt collection companies are persistent whether they purchase the debt or act on behalf of the energy provider.

You could miss out on finding out:

• The debt is too old to enforce because it is statute barred
• The debt collection agency is chasing the wrong person because the debt isn’t yours

You could also miss out on being offered the following:

• Being offered an affordable payment plan
• Having part of the debt wiped off so it’s easier to pay off

Would Capital Resolve take you to court?

If Capital Resolve purchased the debt from British Gas, they could begin legal action against you.

You could end up having to deal with:

• A court order to pay being issued and receiving a County Court Judgment which could affect your credit rating

• Court-appointed enforcement officers (bailiffs) showing up at your home and seizing some of your possessions
• An attachment being placed on your income or bank account

It’s far wiser to respond and to let Capital Resolve know what you are doing. This includes telling them when you’re seeking independent advice! You have the right to seek independent advice from a charity or an independent adviser.

This way, things don’t escalate out of control which could make it harder for you to resolve the problem whether you owe some money to British Gas or not!

Should you pay Capital Resolve?

You should only pay a Capital Resolve once you’re happy the debt is yours and not too old to enforce.

However, you should seek independent advice from a debt charity once debt collectors prove the debt is yours. Don’t agree, admit, sign or pay anything without first seeking expert advice.

Their advice could be invaluable when it comes to negotiating how much to pay with a debt collection agency like Capital Resolve Ltd.

How do you contact Capital Resolve Limited?

I’ve listed ways to contact Resolve Ltd below:

How do you complain about Capital Resolve?

You have the right to file a complaint with Capital Resolve when you feel they haven’t followed the law or CSA Code of Practice!

A debt collector must follow the law and respond to a complaint in a timely manner.

You should follow their online complaints procedure which allows debt collectors to make things right.

That said, you can then contact the FOS if you feel your complaint was not dealt with correctly by a debt collector.

You have every right to lodge a complaint against a debt collection company. Especially when they act unlawfully by threatening you, harassing you or pretending they have more powers than they do.

The FOS should launch an investigation into the debt collectors actions which may result in them being ordered to compensate you!

Can I seek debt advice?

Yes. Capital Resolve must allow you the time to seek debt advice if you’re struggling to pay money owed to an energy provider.

You could contact any of the leading UK charities that provide free debt advice. Some of which I’ve listed below:

• National Debtline 
• Citizens Advice
• My Money Steps
• Step Change Debt Charity

You should write to Capital Resolve to inform them that you’re seeking advice from an independent debt adviser. Debt collection companies must let you find which debt solution would best suit your circumstances.

They shouldn’t continue to bombard you with constant phone calls when they’ve been told you’re seeking independent debt advice!

“It will only get worse” 😩

It’s cliché to say, but with debt it’s true; the longer you leave it, the worse the problem gets. 

There are straightforward and effective ways to deal with debt, but you have to know your options. 

Fill out the short form to find out about the debt solutions that could reduce your monthly payments or even write off some of your debt.

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Lastly, can you ignore a Capital Resolve British Gas debt?

No. It’s never a good move to ignore a Capital Resolve British Gas debt. First, it could mean you miss out on specific important information like the debt is not yours.

Second, the debt is too old to enforce because it is too old to enforce.

Not only that, ignoring a debt doesn’t make the issue go away. It just makes a bad situation even worse. You could get a CCJ on your credit report even if the debt isn’t yours!

It’s far better to respond to Capital Resolve and make them prove the debt is yours! In short, make the Capital Resolve work for their money by proving you have a debt with British Gas.

Thanks for reading my post about debt collectors. I hope the information helps answer the question, ‘can I ignore my Capital Resolve debt or not’?