British Gas dispute affecting my credit rating! Please Help!

Kellog_harrison

Hi, I have spent the last few years bringing my credit card rating up from years of being a rubbish student. I managed to get it to good and have recently been given a mortgage and credit card. I've just tried to apply for a loan to get a new business vehicle and my credit rating is showing as very low due. I've checked my report and it seems that British gas have registered defaults on my account which is now showing as 'satisfied'.


I had an unpaid bill of £520 with british gas which was under dispute for several months hence the no payment. The bill was paid in full when the dispute was settled. This was the fault of british gas. (They fitted a gas metre fitted but refused to believe I was a customer with them and did not send me a bill for 12 months despite me requesting one literally every other month - an apparent error in the paperwork). Anyway it would seem they have ruined my credit rating.



All other bills have been paid in full on time for the last 4 years previous to this.

Could anyone recommend how I can get the default removed from my credit rating? I feel a bit despairing right now.


Thanks C

rizla_king

Complain and then take them to the energy ombudsman.

Kellog_harrison

So complain to British Gas and they should automatically amend the records for me? Do you know how long this process would take (providing they are happy to do it).

GingerBob_3

Yes, complain to them, then the Ombudsman, and finally, when all is sorted, either to your satisfaction or not, leave British Gas. Don't forget to tell them why you're leaving. Try and find a supplier that doesn't report you to the credit reference agencies. I don't think all of the big 6 do.

If it has genuinely affected your ability to get credit, or is likely to do so, it's maybe worth speaking to a solicitor.

Yet another example of these cavalier utility companies screwing over their customers with regard to credit.

GooliesOfFire

I will never go back to British Gas no matter what. You cannot have a normal dispute, they will just bully you, trash your credit score if you don't do what they want regardless of whether they are right or wrong. Disgusting.

Kellog_harrison

Thank you for your advice. I will follow your recommendations and hopefully get this sorted. One other quick question.... I do have another dispute on file from 4 years ago which was totally my fault (an unpaid Orange phonebill back when I was a student). I defaulted on the payment and it has blacklisted my file. I had read somewhere that you can write a gesture of good will letter is this true? (if so is this a letter to Orange?) In all fairness I was a student at the time and had got into financial difficulties from bank charges building up (to the point that I was paying in excess of £150 per month). This is all totally resolved now and I consider myself a responsibly sound financially.

Kellog_harrison

I completely agree with your comments on British Gas by the way. The only way the issue was resolved was by 'via email' and fortunately got through to a good representative. Their customer service is pretty much non existent.

roubaix

I found myself in a very similar position a couple of weeks ago so I hope my story will give you some reassurance.

I got my credit file as I am about to apply to port my mortgage. There were a couple of big ugly 6s put there on my british gas account for last year. I have never not paid on time so I called their complaints department. In just over a week it has been completely resolved and has been removed from my file (I checked again yesterday).

I would phone the complaints department rather than just customer service as they seem to be able to get things sorted faster. I rang customer services first, they told me they would look into it but a few days later I hadn't heard anything so I just went straight to the complaints department.

I expected to have to fight harder for them to sort it so I had spent ages reading about ofgem and how to complain to them but actually in the end they dealt with it easier than i thought thankfully.

Thrugelmir

Kellog_harrison wrote: »

I had an unpaid bill of £520 with british gas which was under dispute for several months hence the no payment. The bill was paid in full when the dispute was settled. This was the fault of british gas. (They fitted a gas metre fitted but refused to believe I was a customer with them and did not send me a bill for 12 months despite me requesting one literally every other month - an apparent error in the paperwork). Anyway it would seem they have ruined my credit rating.

You wanted to be billed and when they did, you disputed it? Yet eventually paid it full.

Kellog_harrison

The bill was under dispute due to not being allowed to choose or change my tariff or service provider within the 12 months that they completely forgot I was their customer. I was eventually given a credit for their incompetence.


Hopefully fingers crossed this will be resolved pretty quickly. Thanks everyone for the speedy responses.