Should I Pay or Ignore SSE Debt Collectors?

Are you feeling stressed after being contacted by SSE debt collectors and unsure what to do next? Rest easy, you are not alone. Every month, over 12,000 people turn to this site for guidance on similar issues.

In this easy-to-understand guide, we’ll cover:

• Who SSE are and why they might be asking you for money.
• If you really need to pay SSE debt collectors.
• How to manage your repayments and possibly make them smaller.
• The consequences of not paying your energy bills.
• Methods to avoid paying SSE debt collectors.

We know it can be tough dealing with debt collectors, which is why we’re here to help, using our extensive knowledge from guiding thousands of people in the same boat. We’re here to provide you with the information you need to deal with this situation in the best way possible. Let’s get started, and remember, you’re not alone in this.

Do you have to pay SSE debt collectors?

You might have to pay SSE debt collection companies if you genuinely owe the money. But there could be a way to avoid paying. 

You may also need to pay late payment penalties, interest and debt collection agency service charges, although the latter must be reasonable and reflect actual costs incurred by the company. 

But if you disagree with the SSE debt, then there are ways to fight back against SSE debt collection companies. I’ll be coming back to these clever techniques shortly. 

Should I ignore SSE Debt Collectors?

You probably shouldn’t ignore SSE debt collectors or the debt could get bigger and you may be taken to court. 

Even if you don’t agree with the debt or think there is a mistake, it’s always best to fight back against SSE debt collectors in some way.

What can happen if you don’t pay your energy bills?

If you don’t pay a bill, you will be sent reminders and the account could be charged with interest or further fees. The account could then be passed to a debt collection agency, or it could be chased by an in-house debt collection department.

If you refuse to cooperate or cannot agree on a payment plan with the company, they could take legal action. This involved making a claim to the County Court and asking a judge to issue a County Court Judgment, which is a court order to make you pay the debt. There is a similar process for debtors in Scotland. 

If you don’t pay as the judge has ordered you to pay, you could face enforcement action. This includes:

1. Bailiffs who come to your home to collect payment or seize goods to be sold. They also charge eye-watering service fees that get added to your debt. 

2. An Attachment of Earnings Order, which is an order for money to be taken from your wages or pension income.

3. A Charging Order, which prevents you from being able to sell a property without repaying the debt. Inr are cases the property can be forcibly sold to recover the money.

Can your electricity be switched off for not paying a bill?

It’s extremely rare, but energy companies can apply to a court for a warrant to enter your home and disconnect your energy supply. But they’re much more likely to try to give you a pre-payment metre instead of attempting to disconnect the supply.

However, even this action has been heavily criticised with the BBC reporting that judges have been told to stop allowing energy companies to force pre-payment metres on people.

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Can your gas be switched off for not paying a bill?

The same is true for gas supplies. Energy companies can apply for a warrant to enter your home and disconnect a gas supply. But this is extremely rare nowadays. It never used to be as rare, however.

SSE debt collection letters

SSE debt collectors might contact you in different ways, but they’re almost certainly going to send you letters if they know your address, which is likely due to the nature of the debt. 

Their debt letters could be scary and threaten legal action. They are made this way to scare you into paying without questioning anything, especially if they add payment deadlines in big red or bold text. 

Can energy companies send debt collectors?

If you have a debt to an energy company, the energy company may try to recover the payment themselves using an internal collections department. 

They could instead outsource the debt collection process to a debt collection agency, sometimes known as debt collectors. 

Debt collectors don’t have any additional powers to collect the debt. They simply do the tracing and admin on behalf of the energy company. They shouldn’t be confused with bailiffs, who can come to your home to collect debts or seize goods, but only after the matter has been to court. 

Early options if you can’t pay your SSE energy bills

If you’re struggling to keep up with payments to SSE, it’s best to take action as quickly as possible. I understand that the situation can be daunting, but trying to ignore the problem won’t make it any better. In fact, it can make things much worse. 

The SSE website even has a page dedicated to people who are in financial difficulty. 

They encourage customers to get in touch and let them know about their situation. This is also recommended by Money Helper. SSE might be able to help you get through a tough period without having to contact a debt collection agency to collect arrears. 

Another option is to move you from your regular set-up to a prepayment metre. 

A prepayment metre is where you top up your electricity before you use it. It’s used to help people budget for their bills, especially during periods when energy bills have drastically gone up and the bills can be unpredictable. 

How can I avoid paying SSE Debt Collectors?

You can temporarily avoid paying SSE debt collection companies, or avoid paying altogether if you reply to their debt letters in a certain way. 

I’ll be explaining the details below, but you could:

1. Ask SSE debt collectors to prove you owe the debt
2. Tell SSE that the debt is too old to be collected (if applicable)
3. Tell SSE debt collectors that you’re applying for breathing space to assess your options

Ask SSE Debt Collection to prove the debt

When you disagree you owe the debt, you simply have to ask them to prove it. There are prove-the-debt letter templates you can download online for free and use to save time. 

The SSE debt collector is then supposed to reply with an agreement you signed, such as an electricity agreement. If they don’t, you’re not obligated to pay the debt until they prove it to you. 

They can still take legal action against you for the unpaid energy debt, but you can use their lack of proving the debt to potentially avoid a court order making you pay. 

Tell SSE Debt Collectors the debt is too old

Energy debts become too old to be collected after six years in England and Wales and they even get written off completely after five years in Scotland. 

This is only if you haven’t made any payments towards the energy debt or admitted the debt is owed in writing within the last six years. No debt can become too old to be collected if it’s already subject to a court order. 

So, if your debt is too old to be collected, you can simply tell SSE debt collectors that you won’t be paying for this reason. But always check if this is the case by speaking to a debt charity first, or you could restart the six-year countdown by accident.

There are letter templates to help you do this easily. Just search for statute-barred letter templates online to save time. 

Consider a debt solution instead 

You don’t have to agree on a repayment plan with creditors and companies directly and it might not be the best debt solution for you, especially if you’re on a low income and/or have multiple debts. 

You can get debt advice from a charity to help you settle on the most beneficial debt solution for you. And the debt charity can even apply for government-approved debt breathing space to give you some time during the process. 

Related questions

Why have I received a credit from SSE?

You most likely received a credit from SSE because you submitted a metre reading which was less than your projected energy use. SSE refunds customers when they have previously overpaid on their bills. 

Where can I get energy debt support and advice?

Debt charities like StepChange and National Debtline are fantastic if you want free debt advice. 

For more generic support and information on debt solutions, you can read my free Debt Help page.