British Gas/Lowell

McMooshie

Hi everyone

I am looking for some advice on an old British Gas bill that has come back to haunt me.

I’ve recently had a letter from Lowell telling me I was owe them £300 for this bill.

I have queried this with BG and it does appear I am definitely owe this money which I can pay, however, BG never recorded a default with any of the CRAs and when they closed the account in 2018 and passed to Lowell the clock has restarted on the debt and will now stay on my credit file until 2024.

I have sent a complaint to BG asking them why they didn't record a default and that I want this amended (so that the debt will fall off in 2020) but all they will tell me is that it went through their internal processes and what they have recorded to the CRAs is correct. They have refused to amend the default date to 6 months after I missed the first payment.

I am considering going to the ICO but really, do I have a leg to stand on with this?

Many thanks for any advice.

[Deleted User]

How many missed payments show on the British Gas account?

McMooshie

I’m not sure I understand what my credit file shows if I’m totally honest.

Is there a way I can upload screenshots?

[Deleted User]

Which credit file are you looking at?

You would have to upload to a photo hosting website then post the link back here to the pic

McMooshie

On CheckMyFile,

Equifax shows a 4 for Sept 2014, 5 for October then 6 all the way to Dec 2017 with an S Jan 2018.

Experian and Transunion show the same - ticks from Dec 13 to May 14 and then 1,2,3 for June, July, August. The rest is as above for Equifax

(Hope that makes sense!)

McMooshie

I can’t upload links as I am a new member unfortunately

McMooshie

I should probably note, I moved out of that property at the end of July 2014

[Deleted User]

Yes so really on November 2014 it should have defaulted.

If you are speaking to the normal British Gas team they don’t really help - you need to specifically ask to raise a complaint to their credit team.

[Deleted User]

McMooshie wrote: »

I should probably note, I moved out of that property at the end of July 2014

Did you tell them you moved out?
Was it a shared property or was it vacant after you moved out?
Was anyone else named on the BG account other than you?

McMooshie

Should I ask for it to be escalated or is there another email address I can contact?

I’m not disputing the debt, just the date of default.

McMooshie

Honestly, I can’t remember if I told them I was leaving or not. I wasn’t in a very good place mentally at that time.

I was the only person on the bill but the copies they have sent me, my surname is spelt wrong. Can I use that against them?