No agreement???

melj16

can you guys please clarify with this one.....

when you move into a property and a company supply the gas and electricity, as a tenant I automatically stayed with that company until i realised they were too expensive and shopped around......

Therefore would there ever have been an 'agreement in place'

I am curious as to whether I have gave them permission to report back to CRA.

I have a couple of missed payments from 2010 with them, but know I never 'signed up' to them or put my signature anywhere.

I may be being a bit naive here, but if anyone could enlighten me I would appreciate.

Thanks

Fire_Fox

If you used any energy at all you have a 'deemed contract'. No signature is required, many people make all arrangements online or by telephone.

McKneff

And obviously, you used it, so you have to pay someone.

melj16

i do know I had to pay for it, and I did.

My question is do they have permission to report a couple of late payments, which terms and conditions did I agree to which disclose this, and when was I aware of them....

Fire_Fox

melj16 wrote: »

i do know I had to pay for it, and I did.

My question is do they have permission to report a couple of late payments, which terms and conditions did I agree to which disclose this, and when was I aware of them....

We've just told you that, terms and conditions of a deemed contract. You don't get to choose whether they report late payments otherwise nobody would ever agree and we'd all have perfect credit files!

melj16

fair point

Cardew

Many years ago, unless you made prior arrangements with the gas and electricity 'boards', the gas and electricity were cut off when the old occupant left.

Thus the new occupant had to sign a contract and then gas and electricity would be reconnected. Bear in mind there was no choice - you had the regional electricity Board and British Gas.

When the industry was privatised the Gas and Electricity Acts(of Parliament!) laid down that gas and electricity would be left connected and new occupants would be on a legally binding deemed contract(s) with the existing supplier(s)

So, as stated above, by using any gas and/or electricty you have automatically entered into a legally binding deemed contract with the supplier(s)

undaunted

Cardews post basically outlines your position here & it is likely that they will have covered C.R.A. within terms & conditions.

Under the same act of Parliament and Standard License Conditions the supplier is of course still supposed to send you written details of any terms and conditions within a reasonable timescale (though no one appears to monitor that or define reasonable in any sensible fashion)

If it's just two late payments in 2010, you have since paid them & your finances are otherwise in order now I wouldn't think it was worth worrying about this. If you mean those payments still haven't been made to the supplier however then unless there is some legitimate dispute you could post a notice of correction about you would have no justification to complain anyway to be honest.

advantix

AFAIK If you have never contacted them to set the account up in your name and given them your date of birth then they cannot report to a CRA as how can they report on someone that has never given permission for a credit check and do not have the relevant Data Protection clearance to report to the CRA. Also, without your date of birth they would not be able to report because they would not know who to report against.

ValHaller

undaunted wrote: »

Cardews post basically outlines your position here & it is likely that they will have covered C.R.A. within terms & conditions.

I doubt that suppliers have discretion to include CRA within the T&C's of a deemed contract. For a start it is not 'informed consent' and I think reporting to CRA's on a deemed contract could fairly easily be struck down unless it is in the statutes and regulations for deemed contracts applying to all suppliers.

Fire_Fox

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/Compl/SLR/SteerngGrp/Documents1/14319-Deemed%20Contracts.pdf
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/Compet/Documents1/Guidance%20on%20deemed%20contracts%20as%20per%20Standard%20Licence%20Condition%207.3%20of%20the%20Gas%20and%20Electricity%20Supply%20Licences.pdf