Welsh Water impacting credit file

Wright46

Can anyone help, advise, I am at my wits end!!
Desperatly in need of advice and to find out if this is a known issue.
Basically DWR Y Welsh Water started recording on my credit file from Sept / Oct 2015, as of May 2016 they have updated the annual amount due on my credit file which is the total amount due for the year. This appears to be a new practice.
This has had a detrimental impact on my credit file and dropped my rating from 898 to 789 (Good to Fair) I have queried this and raised a complaint to be told this is correct. How can this be, my bill is paid as per the payments set out on my bill throughout the course of the year so it baffles me how this can have such a bad impact.
In addition, there seems to be inconsistencies to how they report it. If anyone can shed any light on how there's is reported this would be welcome. I have friends and family who have showed me there credit files and it is just the monthly amount that shows as outstanding on their credit reports and not the annual amount, but this was queried and they refused to comment on other peoples reports. My argument is that this will continue to happen year on year at the start of the financial year and if I was to apply for credit at that point I would be viewed as a potential risk to lend to. This shows on my credit file as revolving credit such as a credit card / store card when this is a utility bill.
They have advised me that monthly payers will have such effect but if you are on a water meter then it reports it only twice a year and due to you paying in arrears it will most likely not have the same affect.
It appears that if you pay your bill on time each month as set out on the annual bill it will impact you regardless because you pay monthly. Surely this can not be correct as this will be effecting millions of people who most probably would not be aware of such impact.
I have been working really hard to get my rating to where it was (898) and this just feels so wrong.

Really would appreciate any help / advice anyone can offer or where I can escalate this. I have also raised a complaint with Experian to see if it is something to do with the way they calculate people's scores but not yet had a response.
Thanks.

[Deleted User]

It doesn't seem to be an issue. Your credit score is fictional and not of any significance. No one sees it apart from you and doesn't reflect how lenders see you.

If your report is simply showing payments up to date and not in arrears, it won't concern lenders.

Wright46

Even though the score has dropped??

[Deleted User]

The score is something CRAs make up to get you to buy additional services. Lenders don't see it and wouldn't be interested as it doesn't reflect their lending criteria.

Wright46

Thank you, it's all really confusing and seeing this drop like it did just didn't seem right when it's paid each month on time. Especially when finance company's always state that information on your credit file determines how they see you. To me this has worsened my score so makes you think that this information is available for all to see.

[Deleted User]

What they're saying is that the information on your credit file affects how they see you - what you owe, whether you miss payments, and so on. The number isn't part of this as it's a gimmick from Experian.

GingerBob_3

Yes, this is a known issue and a major problem. It can also be argued that the actions of Welsh Water contravene basic data protection rules/guidelines.


First point: when did you consent to Welsh Water reporting your account to the CRAs and smacking you with credit checks? Allow me to answer: you didn't. They have decided to do this without your consent. Now in principle they don't need your consent. The ICO allows pretty much anything in terms of data protection. Their so-called "principles" are riddled with get-out clauses and exemptions and constitute one of the best examples in the world of obfuscation and double-speak. But to return to the issue in hand. You don't have a contract with Welsh Water and there are no T&Cs to refer to. They are also a monopoly, and use this point to justify their actions, vis-a-vis abusing your data.


Write to Welsh Water and disallow them to report your account to the CRAs and to carry out credit checks. They may well disregard your order, but then you should take up the matter with the ICO. Complain to them about the lack of consent. The CRAs make a big noise about how they only collect data about you with your consent. This would now appear to be a lie, and the actions of the water companies (egged on by the CRAs) is driving a coach and horses through the whole idea of consent.


The more organisations such as Welsh Water that are grubbing around in the files about you at the CRAs, the greater the chance of something going wrong and you being adversely affected; maybe badly. Welsh Water are not lenders, so really they have no business entering into a relationship with the CRAs.


Something to tackle the ICO about: in their "principles" they state that an organisation can access data about you at the CRAs, and report your account, "if they have reasonable cause". Their definition of "reasonable cause" is couched around debt recovery, so it should be possible to argue that merely obtaining water from a monopoly supplier does not constitute "reasonable cause".


Some will argue that this is all okay, and that if you pay your bills on time there'll be no problems. This point-of-view is, of course, b/s in the extreme.

JimmyTheWig

There's two parts to this.

1. Experian think you are more risky to lend money to that they used to. Well, the good news for you is that Experian don't lend money to people so it doesn't matter what they think. It's like someone who is happily married saying that they think you are less attractive than you used to be. It doesn't matter because they weren't going to date you anyway.

2. Welsh Water are reporting information on your credit file. This is potentially an issue. Just because lenders don't see what Experian think of you, they do see the same information about you that Experian see. If Experian think you are more risky than you used to be, does that mean that lenders will think the same? Back to the analogy of the married person - if they think you are less attractive now because you've stopped making an effort with your appearance then the chances are that others will think the same and that may be an issue for you.


You need to ask yourself some questions...
1. Is what Welsh Water are reporting correct? Do you owe them money? Does the credit report show that you do owe them money? Do they think you owe them money? Do they think that they are reporting that you owe them money? If they're reporting that you owe them money and you don't then they need to correct this.

2. If what they are reporting is correct then are there other ways to pay Welsh Water that stops it looking like you owe them money? Would it be worth changing to one of these?

Dobbibill

Wright46 wrote: »

Can anyone help, advise, I am at my wits end!!
Desperatly in need of advice and to find out if this is a known issue.
Basically DWR Y Welsh Water started recording on my credit file from Sept / Oct 2015, as of May 2016 they have updated the annual amount due on my credit file which is the total amount due for the year. This appears to be a new practice.

This shows on my report too, along with the annual amount. It then goes on to display the monthly amount and also that all payments are up to date.

This has had a detrimental impact on my credit file and dropped my rating from 898 to 789 (Good to Fair) I have queried this and raised a complaint to be told this is correct. How can this be, my bill is paid as per the payments set out on my bill throughout the course of the year so it baffles me how this can have such a bad impact.

I didn't even check my score, it doesn't interest me as it is only what Experian think of me. They don't share the score with anyone and all lenders make their own risk based decision. Ignore the score, it really doesn't make any difference to you.

My argument is that this will continue to happen year on year at the start of the financial year and if I was to apply for credit at that point I would be viewed as a potential risk to lend to. This shows on my credit file as revolving credit such as a credit card / store card when this is a utility bill.

Why would you been seen as a risk? You are being billed for water and paying it every month. Who has said it will make you a potential risk?

I have been working really hard to get my rating to where it was (898) and this just feels so wrong

Who is going to see this score?
When is it going to benefit you?

GingerBob_3

Dobbibill wrote: »

This shows on my report too, along with the annual amount. It then goes on to display the monthly amount and also that all payments are up to date.



I didn't even check my score, it doesn't interest me as it is only what Experian think of me. They don't share the score with anyone and all lenders make their own risk based decision. Ignore the score, it really doesn't make any difference to you.



Why would you been seen as a risk? You are being billed for water and paying it every month. Who has said it will make you a potential risk?



Who is going to see this score?
When is it going to benefit you?

The risk - and it's a significant one - is that Welsh Water will get something wrong. The more organisations there are reporting you to the CRAs, the greater the chance of errors appearing. We've all seen the threads on this board, and reports elsewhere, of people being severely affected by malicious credit reporting.

Dobbibill

GingerBob wrote: »

The risk - and it's a significant one - is that Welsh Water will get something wrong. The more organisations there are reporting you to the CRAs, the greater the chance of errors appearing. We've all seen the threads on this board, and reports elsewhere, of people being severely affected by malicious credit reporting.

Morning GingerBob, I know you are not much of a fan of the CRAs.

I agree in principal with what you have said but that can happen to any report with any lender. WW have on this occasion reported correct information. They've billed an annual amount and stated it is being paid monthly.