TL;DR: Service provider, who collected fees using Direct Debit, is alleging there are unpaid fees without providing much detail, months after the end of the contract, and isn't providing sufficient information. What to do?
I used a service provider, with payments going out via Direct Debit (UK). All payments were collected via direct debit successfully, never queried by either side, only the initial set-up payment was paid via bank transfer. The provider is 100% legitimate and a respectable firm.
Eventually, I cancelled the service, as per the contract. About 6 months later, the provider e-mailed me, saying there are unpaid invoices and I should transfer additional fees - no invoice provided, just an amount. I asked to detail the unpaid fees, but received no explanation. Another payment reminder was issued, only vaguely explaining that some fees were not collected during the proper lifetime of the service contract (e.g. they weren't some end-of-contract fees that the supplier couldn't collect via DD). I replied that I will not pay unless it is explained what the fees are for. Additionally, I said that since I was on DD all this time, the provider cannot allege I simply didn't pay for some of the services, as they had a direct conduit for collecting these fees. There was no immediate response.
Now, 12 months on, ~18 months since the end of the service contract, I get another e-mail. Some of the cost is written off, however the bulk remains. I now have an invoice, and a "total outstanding amount", however it is still not documented that a fee was not collected - it is simply an invoice stating an outstanding amount. The invoice appears to be back-dated - there is a date on it, 2 years ago, but I never received that invoice until today . The e-mail alleges (again, does not explain properly) that incorrect fees were collected at some point, and a "top up" is due. The e-mail says the fees predate the set-up of the DD (again, poor detail), which also doesn't sound right, since I was on DD from the get-go. A spreadsheet is attached, of fees billed and collected, which add up to an amount outstanding, however none of the fees are explained.
I am somewhat at a loss as to what to do. If there's an outstanding unpaid amount, sure, I should pay it. However, the provider has not properly documented that some fees are outstanding. I did not receive itemised bills for each of the monthly Direct Debit payments, either. From my perspective, I was charged an amount each month, which looked roughly correct, and the provider now is saying "pay more pls". It would be hard for me to prove I paid enough - I used the service provider for around 2 years, there are monthly payments for a range of services, they change over time, and I don't have access to their historic pricing. Morever, some pricing was per quarter, or one-offs that varied over time, whereas the DD was collected monthly - some fees were collected in full up-front, some spread over time etc.
I don't want to just "not pay", if nothing else I don't want to end up on some list of debtors, or anything like this that could affect my credit score. Also, if money is due, I want to pay it for my own sake. But I don't want to pay some made up, undocumented fee, where I feel the service provider had DD access to my account, and now is simply saying "ah more money now".
What is the formal position on this (can the provider even charge me "extra" without providing ample detail, when I am paying via DD?), as well as any practical suggestions for how to deal with it.
