British Gas default from address I lived at over 8 years ago

uppershelf

I recently created a noddle account so I could check my credit file (I have had one with experian for a few years). Upon opening my account I noticed I had a default for £84 from British Gas. This default is for an address I lived at 8-10 years ago. The default date starts Nov-2011! Can I have a default on my credit rating for an account that ended 6 years before the default has been applied to my credit rating? I'm sure I may have noticed this default once before when looking at a credit check years ago. So I remember calling British Gas at the time and asked them for a report of the dates this charge was applied to. They told me some dates and I told them I didn't even live at the address during them dates! I asked them to send me a detailed report of the dates for this charge. They told me they didn't have anything to send me as it was over six years old and they don't keep them that long! :mad: SO how can they put a default on my account if they cant even send me proof?! I'm sure the default date has also changed since I saw it a few years ago! :mad: When I checked my Experian credit file this doesn't appear! I'm completely stumped with what to do! Has anybody else come across this happening to them? Someone help me please

rizla_king

Tell BG if they don't take it off you will take them to the ICO and energy ombudsman.

uppershelf

Thanks for the quick response Am I in a position to do that?

Sinhanada

You certainly should be. If British Gas cannot provide proof then they cannot apply a default - and in my understanding, if the debt is over 11 years old they should not be applying the default for 2011

uppershelf

Thanks Sinhanada

The date of the account says it is for 2005. Then the default date starts from 2011. My BG account would of closed 2005. So how can they default me 6 years later? It doesn't maker any sense! So they applying a default date 6 years after the account closed not 11 years. It will be 9 years now since the account closed. I'm trying to post an image on here but am unable to as im a new user.

Ant.Evs

If its wrong complain to them. If they wont do anything then complain to the Ombudsman...

http://www.ombudsman-services.org/energy.html

Hope that helps

Experian_company_representative

You can also ask the CRA where the entry is recorded to raise a dispute for you.

James

sirwiggum

British Gas are useless.

When I moved back from GB to NI, I stopped the gas and electric, then phoned asked BG with the readings and asked for a final total, paid there and then. Gave them a forwarding address.

Thought nothing of it until about a year later, I got a letter from them that I owed them for gas/electricity usage. I rang them up, they said I owed 300 quid on gas that they ended up writing off (?) and 40 quid electricity. I paid the electricity and said is that it? They said yes.

Then I get another letter from them that I still owed them. I call them up, they tell me they actually owe me 40 quid (happy days) - the money I'd just paid them....

They're an absolute shambles. Getting a DD set up in the first place when I'd frst moved in was a disaster needing 3 seperate phone calls - should've been the first sign!

uppershelf

I have just been looking through my old emails and found a response i got from a British Gas representative on the 26/11/2012

"I can see that we have placed a default on your credit file for the amount of £84.85. The customer reference number this relates to 850011211515. This account is for the period of 11th April 2006 to 16th August 2006. I can see this account has been previously sold to a debt collection agency however it was return to British Gas as not settle that is why another default would have been added."

Are they for real?? So they are saying that if they bounce a default back and forward with a debt collection agency they can keep changing the default date? I'm sure they have to issue the default date from around 28 days after the account closes?

rizla_king

That is complete bullsh!t. Default date has to be when the default actually occurred or within a reasonable time up until 6 months later. They can't add one or another nearly 6 years later.

Complain again.

uppershelf

I have sent them a letter recorded delivery, and also emailed it -

"Dear Sir or Madam

After recently obtaining a copy of my credit file from Noddle I was concerned to note your company still has a “Default” notice against my account for 2005. After a conversation with a representative of yours Claire Hall in December 2012, who informed me she could not provide me with an itemised bill of the dates this £84.85 apply to. She also informed me by email that-

“I can see this account has been previously sold to a debt collection agency however it was return to British Gas as not settle that is why another default would have been added.”

In the ICO guidelines it clearly states-

“If the purchaser agrees to take control of the record, the customer should be informed that the debt has been sold or assigned and to whom. The credit reference agency file should be changed to show the name of the purchaser and that the rights to the debt have been sold or assigned. The purchaser should then make sure the record is kept up to date including changes to the amount still owed. The purchase should not affect how long the record is kept. It should be removed six years after the default.”


I still have not received anything and this default is still marked on my account. Further to this I have no recollection of ever receiving such a notice, and I therefore require you to substantiate this data at your earliest convenience.

1. You must supply me with a true full statement of Account.

2. You must also supply me with a signed true and certified copy of the default notices.

I request that this data is provided to myself within the next 28 days, if you are unable to provide this data then I must insist that it is removed from my files as unsubstantiated.

I shall also be sending this letter by recorded delivery tomorrow

Yours Faithfully"

This sound ok? Is there anything else i should of added?