One day in 2016 I came home to discover my gas had been disconnected.

I rang Energy Australia to find out why. It turned out that when I moved into my new apartment six months earlier, the wrong address had been added to my account.

When the mistake was identified, my gas was reconnected and the address details were corrected.

I thought that was the end of it.

But a few weeks later I received a bill for about $1,900. Suddenly, I had become one of thousands of Australians each year who are faced with a disputed debt.

Ben Lenzo received a gas bill from Energy Australia for around $1900. ( Supplied: Ben Lenzo )

Energy Australia claimed the bill was issued because I had been undercharged at my previous address.

But I felt sure the bill was incorrect: I had paid all the invoices sent to that apartment and $1900 seemed a large amount to be undercharged over just nine months.

Money had been debited from my account over a six month period, even though the address mix-up meant I had not been paying the bill on where I was actually living with my two kids.

We got into a back and forth discussion for about a year.

Enter the debt collector

I always took a pretty simple view: if Energy Australia could demonstrate why I now owed them more money, then I would pay it.

However they did not prove it, and so I did not pay.

Instead they sold my "debt" to Panthera Finance.

While researching this article, I called Energy Australia to ask about the process for engaging debt collectors.

They told me that debt was only transferred to a "third-party debt purchaser" after numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the customer and resolve the outstanding debt.

But what if the debt was in dispute as mine was? There are no consequences for selling debt that remains in dispute.

Things went from bad to worse

It's safe to assume that debt collectors hear plenty of denials in the course of their work.

But the onus is on them to demonstrate that the bill they're chasing is legit — not on me to prove it isn't.

I didn't do anything to engage them or fail to fulfil an obligation, yet Panthera Finance forced me to deal with them because of their constant contact.

Over an 18-month period, Panthera at first refused to communicate in writing, and instead called me up to three times a day for weeks on end.

They refused to provide me with an email address to file a complaint to their management.

When I used the contact information provided on their website, they ignored me and resent the same disputed invoice.

Then things got even worse.

Panthera issued a default credit listing against my name, even though they were aware the debt was disputed.

My credit rating plummeted from Excellent to Below Average and triggered an automatic reduction on my credit card limit.

Ben Lenzo's credit rating plummeted. ( ABC Adelaide: Brett Williamson )

When I contacted the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to complain about Panthera's debt collection practices, they were unable to act until the Energy & Water Ombudsman (EWON) had confirmed the legitimacy of the debt one way or the other.

I'm not sure why this is relevant, as even if the debt had been legit, Panthera were in breach of the ACCC's debt collection guidelines which state clearly that they can call no more than three times a week.

Finally, a breakthrough

Within days of EWON's involvement, Energy Australia instructed Panthera to lift the credit default.

When they reverse a default listing, they don't let those same organisations that have an alert on you for a negative ding know that the default has been reversed.

You don't regain the capital to which you lost access.

My complaint to FOS and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) included call logs showing that Panthera called me three times a day for weeks.

Panthera acknowledged this, but stated they were calling me for multiple debts and that I had mislead FOS by not disclosing this. But I had no other debt.

According to AFCA's communications manager Madison Lovell, 70 per cent of the complaints resolved by the organisation between November 2018 and early October 2019 were done so by "agreement, or in favour of complainants".

Chalk me up as one of the 70 per cent.

Ben Lenzo was awarded $4,000 in compensation from Panthera Finance. ( Supplied: Ben Lenzo )

AFCA ruled in my favour, awarding me 80 per cent of the maximum amount in compensation. Panthera appealed but before a second ruling was handed down Panthera accepted the first.

And three years later, my fight with Energy Australia and with Panthera was finally over.

When I rang to ask about procedures for ensuring accurate record keeping and appropriate debt collection practices, Panthera's official response revealed very little:

"Panthera Finance takes its obligations to its customers very seriously. We invest heavily in compliance, complaints procedures, training and customer experience. Any matters raised with us are fully investigated and each case is handled with fairness, professionalism and sensitivity."

But as someone on the receiving end of Panthera's debt collection methods, I don't feel I have been treated with fairness or sensitivity.

I'm not alone

I feel like I have been harassed and coerced into paying whether I owe anything or not — and I am not the first one to feel like this.

In July, Panthera was sued by the ACCC for its debt collection practices.

Any fine they might get is unlikely to change business practices, because business as usual appears to make debt collection very profitable.

In July 2018, ACM Group Limited, another collections firm, was fined $750,000 for actions including, "ongoing harassment of a care facility resident who had difficulty communicating after suffering multiple strokes".

ACM chose to fight all the way to the Federal Court before losing, and was fined $750,000. Less than six months later, the company was sold for $40 million.

Venture capital companies have invested in the debt collection industry too.

In 2017, Champ Private Equity bought into Panthera Finance, valuing the company at $300 million.

That same year, parent company, PF Australia Pty Ltd, reported a $22.4 million profit on revenues of $58.4 million.

And, there seems to be no reason for them to change their ways.

Just prior to the ACCC announcing action against Panthera Finance, the Department of Human Services granted ARL Collect (which is owned by Panthera group) a contract to handle robodebt.

These are the changes we need

It is clear something needs to change. But what?

I have spent many hours considering that question as I have negotiated my own unfair debt nightmare.

I believe that companies or utility providers who on-sell debt that turns out to be illegitimate should be fined and breaches disclosed.

Lenders should be forced to reverse any adverse financial action taken against a client as a result of incorrect default credit listings.

As it stands, the originator of a "debt", such as utilities companies or banks, and the funder of purchasing that debt (including venture capitalists), both get to profit from the systemic and aggressive actions of a very profitable debt collector.

Currently, the consumer has very little to no power.

And that needs to change.

*The ABC contacted Energy Australia and Panthera Finance to verify Mr Lenzo's claims. An EA spokesman acknowledged a portion of the bill sent to Mr Lenzo was incorrect and said Energy Australia had withdrawn the full amount in recognition of "inconvenience caused". Panthera Finance said the organisation was aware of Mr Lenzo's case and was investigating it with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. Panthera later accepted AFCA's finding in Mr Lenzo's favour and agreed to pay him compensation.

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