British gas declined me a credit meter

jjooaannnnee

Hi,

I moved into my new flat in September 2015 which already had a prepay meter. After trying to live with it, it finally got too much with our busy lives trying to keep ontop of topping up between myself and my partner. Also, the fact that we are paying considerably more on pre-pay is very frustrating.

I applied to change to direct debit with British Gas today and got declined on my credit. I have a fair credit rating, this has recently gone down from good-excellent due to a few credit applications for a couch and cc and me only having a small credit limit on my cc. I have never defaulted on any payments.

I understand they just go on your credit score and don't consider the circumstances but was wondering if there is any other companies which don't require a credit check and whether it is worth moving to another company? Otherwise is it just a case of waiting 12 months until my credit applications have decreased? (I have no intention on applying for anymore credit this year).

Any advise would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Jo

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

As far as I'm aware, none of the smaller suppliers credit check, and nor do edf, npower or SSE.

Personally I've found Ovo to have decent customer services, and their prices consistently reasonable. Just switch to them and get them to switch the meter.

jjooaannnnee

Thanks for your advice. Ovo couldn't switch the meter over themselves but speaking to EDF, they will switch it over free of charge after 28 days plus going through the link on MSE I will get £30 cash back.
Thanks again, Jo 😊

GingerBob_3

Your best bet in EDF, or failing that, SSE. Neither of them assault you with a credit check as far as I know, and EDF don't report your account to the CRAs. I think SSE report defaults only.


Npower - avoid them like the plague. I don't know if they hit you with a credit check but they do report your account to the CRAs, errors and all, of which they perpetrate many. As a result they have caused great misery to a very large number of people.


British Gas are the worst offenders for CRA duplicity, so as a rule of thumb you should avoid them as well.

[Deleted User]

Eon credit check new customers on credit meters. Personally I think they should credit check prepayment meter new occupiers also.

Cardew

Would offering to pay a deposit help?

jjooaannnnee

sacsquacco wrote: »

Eon credit check new customers on credit meters. Personally I think they should credit check prepayment meter new occupiers also.

I can just about understand credit checking for a credit meter but for the privilege of purchasing your energy before you use it? That makes no sense.

jjooaannnnee

Cardew wrote: »

Would offering to pay a deposit help?

With British Gas it never. Luckily I can get it sorted with EDF now which saves any hassle of getting a deposit together.

[Deleted User]

jjooaannnnee wrote: »

I can just about understand credit checking for a credit meter but for the privilege of purchasing your energy before you use it? That makes no sense.

All new customers should be credit checked. The electric prepayment meter gets bypassed more than any meter. Nine out of ten of all my finds of theft of energy involve the key prepayment meter, and each make and model is identical in the ability and ease it is to defraud the supplier. New tenants will sometimes deliberately default on a credit meter in order to get the key prepayment meter installed. Its so easy to obtain free energy from this meter. The only way to stop this is a smart prepayment meter which will put up a much bigger defence.
In my area there are places where many of the residents in each street are defrauding the energy suppliers at will with no suppliers other than BG with the will to stop them. Edlington and Hexthorpe are the worst hit amongst many other areas in my home town of Doncaster. Serial fraudsters will just move from tenancy to tenancy leaving a trail of theft and debt. Every bank will check people out before allowing them to join them so why can t all suppliers do what Eon do and root out the thieves and debtors from joining them at the very start .BG do attempt a credit check as the OP has found out. EDF don t seem to care and are hopeless at stopping theft, I know, I work for them . They are an apology of a supplier when it comes to revenue protection, i.e. they don t have one to speak of, its more profitable to pass on the theft to all the honest payers in the form of higher prices than get bogged down in trying to stop it and no supplier now ever prosecutes when people are caught ruining the meters stealing many thousands of pounds.
I know this sort of stuff is usually in the seedy underbelly of inner city and big towns but its widespread enough to at least get a responsible supplier to try and stop it. We have noticed that the smaller suppliers get a larger percentage of serial thieves with suppliers like Spark Energy getting more than their fair share. God knows what inner city areas of say Liverpool or Newcastle are suffering in energy theft, it will be rife !

jjooaannnnee

sacsquacco wrote: »

All new customers should be credit checked. The electric prepayment meter gets bypassed more than any meter. Nine out of ten of all my finds of theft of energy involve the key prepayment meter, and each make and model is identical in the ability and ease it is to defraud the supplier. New tenants will sometimes deliberately default on a credit meter in order to get the key prepayment meter installed. Its so easy to obtain free energy from this meter. The only way to stop this is a smart prepayment meter which will put up a much bigger defence.
In my area there are places where many of the residents in each street are defrauding the energy suppliers at will with no suppliers other than BG with the will to stop them. Edlington and Hexthorpe are the worst hit amongst many other areas. Serial fraudsters will just move from tenancy to tenancy leaving a trail of theft and debt. Every bank will check people out before allowing them to join them so why can t all suppliers do what Eon do and root out the thieves and debtors from joining them at the very start .BG do attempt a credit check as the OP has found out. EDF don t seem to care and are hopeless at stopping theft, I know, I work for them . They are an apology of a supplier when it comes to revenue protection, i.e. they don t have one to speak of, its more profitable to pass on the theft to all the honest payers in the form of higher prices than get bogged down in trying to stop it and no supplier now ever prosecutes when people are caught ruining the meters stealing many thousands of pounds.
I know this sort of stuff is usually in the seedy underbelly of inner city and big towns but its widespread enough to at least get a responsible supplier to try and stop it. We have noticed that the smaller suppliers get a larger percentage of serial thieves with suppliers like Spark Energy getting more than their fair share.

Thieving scum are everywhere and there does need to be a way of stopping these people. Credit checking people even for a prepay meter is not the way. What you're suggesting would leave people like myself, honest, hardworking and never missed any bill or payment, without an energy supply. I'm not suggesting I know how to stop this fraud but that certainly isn't the way.

[Deleted User]

There is a better way..smart meters . But the government have allowed the toerags to refuse them, and don t worry, they will. Anyway, do as suggested and switch to EDF or Spark ( but not Npower or Scot Power please ), they re cheaper as well.