British Gas on credit report like a credit card

Joe_Average

Is it possible to get gas and electricity from any energy companies without having them showing your payments on your credit report like a credit card company does? Do they all do this nowadays? What about if you switch to PAYG tarrifs rather than monthly direct debits? Thanks.

Nada666

Surely a PAYG tariff would be more likely to demand a credit file? You can switch away from the credit meter and ask to get a prepayment meter installed. That, of course, will limit the tariffs that are available to you.

Is a credit record not a good thing - why not just pay your bills and receive credit kudos?

ollski

I wonder what happens if you are, say, 1000 pounds in credit and then fail to pay a monthly instalment of, say, 200. Would you still be bad marking your credit file even though you don't owe anything?
I don't think credit files are a good thing, I think they are a scourge that should be held in similar contempt to bankers, nhs admin, estate agents, clampers and dvla.

Joe_Average

Thanks for your replies guys. I do pay my bills on time Nada666, and I dont mind them doing a credit search, its just I didnt really expect nor want 2 more credit accounts from British Gas on my credit report because I have more than enough accounts on it already. I dont mind credit files Ollski, but for credit cards and loan records only, not utilities. I hope anyone we pay a bill to is not going to be able to open a credit file on our reports in future.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Joe_Average wrote: »

Is it possible to get gas and electricity from any energy companies without having them showing your payments on your credit report like a credit card company does? Do they all do this nowadays? What about if you switch to PAYG tariffs rather than monthly direct debits? Thanks.

- yes if you are a new credit customer they would normally do a 'hard' search
- if you were a new customer starting with an existing prepayment meter, then a 'soft' search, or no search would be all that is required
- if you were an existing credit customer switching to prepayment the would already have done a 'hard' search anyway

SwanJon

It looks like two things have become crossed here:
- A credit check which is done when a credit account is opened (e.g. joining the company, removing a prepayment meter)
- A credit record which shows if payments are kept up to date.

British Gas does now report to Experian for the latter, however I'm not sure how this would apply in the example above as technically there is no debt to report.

Joe - if you pay your bill quarterly it is a credit account (you use it before you pay for it) - is it just that you don't want it reported?

Wywth

Joe_Average wrote: »

Thanks for your replies guys. I do pay my bills on time Nada666, and I dont mind them doing a credit search, its just I didnt really expect nor want 2 more credit accounts from British Gas on my credit report because I have more than enough accounts on it already. I dont mind credit files Ollski, but for credit cards and loan records only, not utilities. I hope anyone we pay a bill to is not going to be able to open a credit file on our reports in future.

You can't pick and choose which credit accounts you wish to have reported on your credit history files.

If you are paying the bills on time, I can't see that being any disadvantage. In fact it would probably be considered as an advantage should anyone else be requested by you to provide credit, and they seek to seach such credit files (with your agreement) to check your historical credit handling out.

Nada666

Credit cards are live and can be limited and stopped at will by the operators. No such control over gas and electricity meters. Credit meters offer thousands of pounds worth of goods at zero percent interest. There is zero guarantee of getting any debt back at a rate of more than £4 or so per week (again, interest free).

It may be an annoying practice because of its novelty but there is little doubt about its validity or reasonableness.