Denied monthly billing switch with British Gas but good credit score

S7r1v3r

HI, wondered if anyone could help me. I've just tried to apply to switch from prepayment to monthly billing with British Gas and was denied and yet I have very close to an excellent credit rating.

I have direct debits coming out of my account and have done for years and have never defaulted, never had a CCJ, though am not a homeowner and do not have any credit cards.

I simply don't understand why I was not accepted and wondered if anyone had any ideas?

t0rt0ise

I had the same. I did tweet them on twitter and they offered to look into it but by then I'd decided that I didn't want anything to do with them so changed suppliers and got them to change the meter. You could try twitter though, they don't like the bad publicity.

[Deleted User]

S7r1v3r wrote: »

I simply don't understand why I was not accepted and wondered if anyone had any ideas?

It sounds as if you have a very thin file (limited credit history) and will therefore be seen as a higher risk.

The CRAs don't lend money, so unfortunately, any credit score they give you can be safely disregarded.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

BG are notorious for this - there are lots of others on this forum who have had exactly the same issue. My hunch is it's a business decision by them - ie. refuse all requests to go from PPM to Credit meter - some will leave but most won't.


Just move to another supplier (edf don't perform credit checks at all for instance), and get them to change the meter.

Smodlet

Hi and welcome to the forum. You say you are not a homeowner but do not state whether you rent privately or from a local authority/housing association. I have an idea it can be difficult to switch from pre-payment when renting privately; not sure. If this applies to you, is there any information in your tenancy agreement one way or the other?

Otherwise, I would do as has been suggested and do a price comparison on here with a view to switching, unless the tariff you are on is the recent Big Switch 5 Collective BG one, in which case you will struggle to better it. Good luck.

S7r1v3r

Thank you, all very helpful.

I indeed probably have a "thin file" given I've never had loans or a credit car and usually pay big bills up front as opposed to using direct debit.

The property is council owned and ad far as I know should not be a problem.

I shall switch to EDF and then use the comparisin tool on here ASAP.

Smodlet

It is a long time since I was a council tenant but I never had a pre-payment meter. As far as I know, there is no issue with forcing PPMs on to tenants in council properties. Good luck and I hope you get it sorted soon.

spiro

S7r1v3r wrote: »

Thank you, all very helpful.

I indeed probably have a "thin file" given I've never had loans or a credit car and usually pay big bills up front as opposed to using direct debit.

The property is council owned and ad far as I know should not be a problem.

I shall switch to EDF and then use the comparisin tool on here ASAP.

To help in the future you might want to get a credit card, use it and pay it off in full every month. This will help build your credit rating which is almost certainly the issue here.

davethorp

Just to echo the advice you've been given, EDF removed our prepayment meters back in 2009. We had to be with them for a month on prepayment before they would remove the meters. Not sure if that is still the case but just to let the OP know. We actually stayed with EDF for many years following their switching us to credit meters as their blue tariffs back then were the cheapest on the market (for us)

British Gas' credit checks can be a law to themselves sometimes. We moved to Sainsburys Energy (also British Gas) about 18 months ago and had no problems with the credit check but when we tried to move from Sainsburys Energy to British Gas about a year ago they requested a security deposit in spite of there having been no billing issues in the time we were with them under the Sainsburys brand. This was eventually cancelled after a complaint and common sense prevailing

Cardew

Do EDF charge to switch meters from PPM to a credit meter?

Is it possible that your postcode could be a factor on the reluctance of BG to change your PPM?

System

You may have to restore the original ppm if you vacate. Tenants usually have to sign a short term lease which requests you to leave the property as you found it or you risk having your bond withheld. I m not sure if this applies for a council property. Its worth asking the council first. I would nt have thought the same rule applies.