Spark Energy

hwd96

Hi all,

During our mortgage application, we have found out that Spark Energy has put a mark on my partners' Experian report for an open account balance of £11 which has been in arrears for 5 months, even though the account closed in 2017!

We have spoken to Spark and they have confirmed that the account is settled and no balance to pay.
We have also requested the credit agencies are updated to that effect.

Anyone have any similar dealings, whether it be with Spark or any other utility?

onlyfoolsandparking

Yes something similar happened to me with United Utilities water bill, my own fault though I may add.


I never pay my water bill on time as I think its a rip-off (not because I cant afford it, just one of my daft protest principles haha) and what normally happens is I pay when I receive their lame BS debt collector threatening me with Court proceedings, £60 will be added CCJ blah blah blah.


Well I noticed on my credit file they put some sort of 'negative comment' on it and whilst it didn't have any major impact Clearscore didn't seem to like it??


The 'Black mark' was only on for a month and ironically I had paid it before the 'mark' appeared. It would seem that utility companies report in more detail now to CRA,s I could be completely wrong about that and maybe they've always reported this way to CRA,s I've never had or seen any 'Black mark' from them on my report before but hey ho guess i'll just have to pay them on time in future lol.

[Deleted User]

onlyfoolsandparking wrote: »

Yes something similar happened to me with United Utilities water bill, my own fault though I may add.


I never pay my water bill on time as I think its a rip-off (not because I cant afford it, just one of my daft protest principles haha) and what normally happens is I pay when I receive their lame BS debt collector threatening me with Court proceedings, £60 will be added CCJ blah blah blah.


Well I noticed on my credit file they put some sort of 'negative comment' on it and whilst it didn't have any major impact Clearscore didn't seem to like it??


The 'Black mark' was only on for a month and ironically I had paid it before the 'mark' appeared. It would seem that utility companies report in more detail now to CRA,s I could be completely wrong about that and maybe they've always reported this way to CRA,s I've never had or seen any 'Black mark' from them on my report before but hey ho guess i'll just have to pay them on time in future lol.

Some, maybe most, water companies now report your account to the credit reference agencies. They apparently do this without your permission.

matelodave

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

Some, maybe most, water companies now report your account to the credit reference agencies. They apparently do this without your permission.

They don't need your permission.

Unfortunately it's not ever such a good idea to stand on your principles just in case you get a black mark on your credit file.

If you don't notice it then it could have repercussions if you want credit or to take out a mortgage in the future.

[Deleted User]

matelodave wrote: »

They don't need your permission.

Unfortunately it's not ever such a good idea to stand on your principles just in case you get a black mark on your credit file.

If you don't notice it then it could have repercussions if you want credit or to take out a mortgage in the future.

The thing I don't get about this is that every other organisation does need your permission. How come the water companies don't?

Quentin

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

The thing I don't get about this is that every other organisation does need your permission............

Whoever told you that has mislead you

[Deleted User]

Quentin wrote: »

Whoever told you that has mislead you

I think it was Experian - on this forum, if I'm not mistaken. So they are lying then?

Sillvinho11

Hi,

I had exactly the same issue. I just ran a check on my Experian credit report and it appears as if I have a debt of £3632 to Spark Energy for a house that I was renting over 2.5 years ago. I'm not familiar with the company and have never even had any contact or follow ups from them?

Plus, I was paying my electricity and gas via NPower whilst a tenant.

This is the only account having a negative impact on credit score and I need to get it resolved ASAP.

I have reached out to SPARK but I am yet to hear back. Does anyone have any suggestions to help with this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

FullForce

Sillvinho11 wrote: »

Hi,

I had exactly the same issue. I just ran a check on my Experian credit report and it appears as if I have a debt of £3632 to Spark Energy for a house that I was renting over 2.5 years ago. I'm not familiar with the company and have never even had any contact or follow ups from them?

Plus, I was paying my electricity and gas via NPower whilst a tenant.

This is the only account having a negative impact on credit score and I need to get it resolved ASAP.

I have reached out to SPARK but I am yet to hear back. Does anyone have any suggestions to help with this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm not sure who you "reached out to", but Spark Energy fell into administation late last year.
(Spark Energy is now a trading style of Ovo Energy, so do not get confused)

You will need to contact the administrators, KPMG, to discuss your historic debt
https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2018/11/spark-energy-supply-limited--in-administration-.html