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Dear Gary,

I was an employee of a TV and internet provider until 2021 and as part of my employment package, I received its services for free for my own home address. 

Upon leaving the company, unbeknownst to me, my service agreement with the company was not terminated and I was charged a month’s fee. 

I disputed my responsibility for paying this at the time and raised a grievance on the phone. I received no further communications from the company regarding a resolution to the matter. 

It turns out my former employer treated it as a debt and then sold the debt to an independent debt recovery business, which is now seeking £305 from me including interest. 

As far as I am aware, there has been no court case. Is the so-called debt enforceable?  

At most, I’d be willing to pay the initial one-month fee amount (£140), but I do not accept liability for any further accrual of interest. 

– Natalie, by email

Dear Natalie,

A potential trap for employees who work for a business which offers complimentary service benefits is the employee will often agree to the same contract as other customers of the business. It is just that the employee receives the service for free during their period of employment. 

As a side issue, any employee signing up for such a benefit should consider whether that benefit is subject to income tax or not. 

There may be aspects of your TV and internet package which may be deemed essential to carry out your job as an employee, such as the provision of home internet and telephone services. But other aspects of the package could be for pure enjoyment, which may incur taxes.

The trap is that when the employment ends for whatever reason – and therefore the complimentary arrangement ends as well – the services will continue unless the former employee (who has become the customer) requests to cancel or make changes. This contract provision should be outlined either in the employment contract or in the service contract itself. 

The clear lesson is to be aware of this and to terminate employment benefits at the termination of employment, if desired. As I say, all this should be made clear in the relevant employment contract and service contract – sometimes called terms and conditions (T&Cs).

I would say a responsible human resources (HR) department should also remind employees who are leaving of this issue at the same time as other formalities are dealt with at the end of an employment contract. 

It is very common for providers of packages for TV, internet and telecommunication services to lock in customers for a defined period and for there to be a penalty if a customer wishes to terminate early.

Whether the company is justified in seeking payment from you for the services you received post-employment will depend on the facts of your case and the actions of the parties (you and your former employer).  

Relevant issues will include what it said in your employment contract and the T&Cs of the TV and internet package, and what you were told by HR about action you would need to take regarding employee benefits upon termination of your employment. 

For example, if you should have given notice, should have known that and did not do so for a period of one month, it may be reasonable for you to pay for one month of benefit you had post-employment.

This case also has another aspect to it, which is how the so-called debt is now being pursued.

A significant issue here seems to be a breakdown in communication. You say you raised a grievance about being charged for the package. This was done over the phone.

Hindsight is the best sight, but on reflection putting your concerns in writing (email is fine) would have been optimal so that your concerns were on the record, and you would have a document to produce in the event of a dispute.  

It seems you construed silence from your former employer as case closed, while it construed it as you ignoring the debt. 

A responsible business should have pursued debt directly with you to give you the opportunity to respond and put forward your defence before selling on the debt. 

My own experience in legal practice is that many businesses nowadays move very quickly to offloading debt to a third party. I have no insight into how these deals work, but it is clearly a commercial exercise which suits both sides. It seems debt recovery is a big business.

What I can say as a lawyer is that no debt is enforceable by the court unless and until a judgement has been obtained. Any debt recovery business pursuing you should stop and listen to your side of the story before taking it further.

On the facts you have provided, I think your offer to pay for one month of services provided to you post-employment is entirely reasonable.

I suggest you make that offer on the basis of not admitting any liability but as a gesture of goodwill, namely without prejudice to your position.

Ask a Lawyer should not be taken as formal legal advice, but rather as a starting point for readers to undertake their own further research.

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