Which energy companies report to credit reference agencies?

sean9461

Hi,
Me and my partner just moved into a new house and want to start building our credit rating.
We are currently looking for a new energy supplier but I thought we could use it to our advantage if we manage to find a cheap supplier that also reports to credit agencies that we pay on time each month.

I'm struggling to find a list of which companies report to experian so if anyone could provide me a list of energy providers they are with that they have seen on their credit report it would be great.

Also if you could mention if it's possible to get joint accounts with these energy suppliers that would help to as we want to get a joint account to help us both build credit.

Thanks any help would be great :-)

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

So you've already moved in. Have you registered with the incumbent supplier?

GingerBob_3

They mostly all do. I understand EDF don't, so in my book that's an excellent reason to be with them.


I see where you're coming from, but utility companies can cause big problems if they submit erroneous data about you, and judging by the problems people describe in this thread and the Energy thread, that is a common occurrence. Sadly, quality control between utility companies and CRAs is all but non existent.

HappyMJ

sean9461 wrote: »

Hi,
Me and my partner just moved into a new house and want to start building our credit rating.
We are currently looking for a new energy supplier but I thought we could use it to our advantage if we manage to find a cheap supplier that also reports to credit agencies that we pay on time each month.

I'm struggling to find a list of which companies report to experian so if anyone could provide me a list of energy providers they are with that they have seen on their credit report it would be great.

Also if you could mention if it's possible to get joint accounts with these energy suppliers that would help to as we want to get a joint account to help us both build credit.

Thanks any help would be great :-)

What if they send you a bill that you disagree with? Not paying the disputed bill gives you a lot of leverage against the company in question. I'd prefer a company that did not report to a CRA.

sean9461

I've got a supplier already yes it's eon but they say they won't do joint accounts.

If they send an incorrect bill is it not so simple to provide proof of my meter readings? This is our first house so I'm new to this!

GingerBob_3

sean9461 wrote: »

I've got a supplier already yes it's eon but they say they won't do joint accounts.

If they send an incorrect bill is it not so simple to provide proof of my meter readings? This is our first house so I'm new to this!

EOn definitely report you to the CRAs, or as the EOn rep on this board euphemistically puts it; "we share".


It's obviously a good thing to build up a positive credit history, but utility companies are not the way to do it. The problem with utility companies in this respect is two-fold; first, they are not real lenders. They supply a product which you might pay for up front, but there's a subtle difference between that and lending money. And that leads to the second element of the problem. The products they supply have complicated billing arrangements and as a consequence it's very easy to end up in a dispute with them. When a dispute arises, the utility companies tend to have a policy of "shoot first, ask questions later". In other words, they'll blacklist you with the CRAs while you are still trying to resolve the dispute. You can de-blacklist yourself, so to speak, but it involves further agro, and many people aren't even aware that they've been so listed - perhaps not until they come to apply for a mortgage. Note that if a utility company does blacklist you they don't actually tell you they've done so.


If you want to build up a good credit history do it via bank accounts and credit cards. That is, organisations that actually lend money. Some would advise mobile phone accounts - well maybe, but those companies can also blacklist you even though you may not be at fault.


So which utility company? In my book it has to be EDF. They don't - so far as I know - report their customers to the CRAs (not sure if SSE has a similar policy). The worst offenders are British Gas and NPower. Avoid these two at all costs.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

sean9461 wrote: »

I've got a supplier already yes it's eon but they say they won't do joint accounts.

If they send an incorrect bill is it not so simple to provide proof of my meter readings? This is our first house so I'm new to this!

Hi sean

Hope the move went well and you're settling in to your new home. As GingerBob says, we do share information with a Credit Reference Agency. At the moment this is Equifax.

Customers are given 44 days to pay bills before anything is shared. We don't, though, just share information about customers who haven't paid. We also share details of those who have. As a result, prompt payers receive positive entries on their credit reports.

When we share information with Equifax, we give them a true reflection of the status of the account at the time of the share. If you do have any difficulties, it's important to flag these up with us as soon as possible. A complaint will be raised and this will be indicated on the report so as not to show as a negative entry. This won't be changed whilst the complaint stays open.

To confirm, accounts can now only be in the one name. When you spoke to us, did you give us all the details of the move? Meter readings would've been good. I do understand the stress involved in moving having done it myself but having these details will help keep things accurate.

We're happy to accept your meter readings at any time. You can phone them in, enter them through our website or via the phone app if that helps. If you've registered with our website, you can also create your own bill through a tool called 'Real Time Billing.' Just pop your readings in and you can choose between seeing the balance that would result or actually issuing a bill to the readings. Good for keeping an eye on things.

Hope this helps sean and that you and your partner will be very happy in your new home.

Malc