Automated harassment

IT REALLY shouldn’t be so terrifyingly easy for firms such as British Gas or TalkTalk to set debt collectors on their customers.

Money Mail’s inbox is regularly packed with gripes from readers who’ve received thoughtless letters from a utility provider chasing a debt which has been fabricated out of thin air.

It’s obvious that these warnings are generated automatically by a computer.

As soon as your account goes into the red, a brainless machine spews out a piece of paper that an office lackey plops in an envelope and puts in the post.

Then a countdown begins. If your account balance doesn’t go black again soon enough, the computer refers the case to a debt agency. Cue a barrage of threatening letters to bully you into paying up.

This automatic process now happens so fast that it doesn’t matter whether the machine made an error with its initial debt warning. Soon, you’re stuck in an almost impossible battle to prove your innocence to call centre staff, who say they’re as surprised as you by the confusion but can’t put it right.

It may seem like tedious admin work to the fat cats running these firms, but the consequences of this scattergun approach to debt collection can be devastating.

Take Stuart Corkett, 65, from Taunton. As he explains on page 38, the stress of British Gas repeatedly failing to call off debt collectors over an incorrect £525 bill left him needing to see a doctor.

To many who grew up when loan sharks roamed the streets, the idea of owing money is both appalling and embarrassing. Some elderly couples are so upset when told they’re in debt — often for the first time in their lives — that they are paying what they don’t owe.

I fear many, many others are suffering in silence. Let me know if you’ve been affected.

We need a clampdown on this abuse of power by big firms.

It is high time ministers wrote a law banning any organisation (and that includes HMRC, councils and other government quangos) from using debt collectors without irrefutable evidence that we owe the sum in question.

Until then, firms should call off the debt bullies and start treating loyal customers with a little more respect.

Shop around

I CANNOT stress how important it is to shop around for a good deal when you eventually decide to take money out of your pension.

It might seem like you’re merely dipping in for a small sum and leaving the rest untouched. But under the new freedom rules, you typically have to move your whole pot to a new type of policy to use your pension like a cash machine.

These deals are called drawdown — and the fees and different investment choices you face can be bewildering.

After Money Mail revealed last week that savers can lose out on £13,500 in retirement if they pick the wrong plan, we learned that the trade body for pension providers is working on a shopping around service to help savers switch to the right deal.

The insurance industry gets its share of flak in this column — and not without reason. But credit where it’s due: this is a terrific idea and just what savers need. Now let’s see the comparison tool in action sooner rather than later.

A touch too much

I kEEp going into cafes and pubs and having my card used for contactless payments without my permission.

I ask for the bill and the waiter arrives with the machine. I hand over my credit card, expecting to enter my pIN. But before I can object, the card is held to the terminal for a tap-and-go payment.

Rarely am I shown the price on the machine first; sometimes I’m not even offered a receipt.

Of course, I demand one. But what about elderly people who find technology mind-boggling? Would they challenge a confident young bartender who wanted to make a bit on the side?

Contactless cards have made it easier for petty criminals to con the vulnerable or someone who is distracted. Be on your guard.