Removal of 'unjust' Defaults on Credit Report - British Gas

Kirsty321

Hi Folks. I could really use some help please....

2013 - 2014 I rented a property in London. The gas was supplied by British Gas. Bills paid regularly. I always manage my accounts quite well. Quarterly billing if my memory serves me correctly.

I don't generally have credit. No credit cards etc but recently tried to apply for a personal loan to help my sister out with medical expenses for a procedure my young niece rather urgently needs, only to be refused because of defaults on my credit report.

I was a bit miffed. I delved into it and found details of an old British Gas account. They had been marking my account as "late payment" since 2014. I contacted them, they said it was an old archived account but nevertheless payment was still outstanding and I promptly paid the balance IN FULL. I think it was around £200, just over. Something I would have done YEARS ago, had they notified me of the balance owing.

I emailed BG and said that I felt it was very unfair and that the default markers were unjust because how can I be late paying a balance which I didn't know was owing? I left a forwarding address with the agency I rented that property from, had no issues with other utility companies in paying their final bills etc. I have been on the electoral role at both addresses since leaving there so I am easy to find. Even my email address is the same but I received absolutely nothing at all from British Gas in respect of this amount owing. It wasn't until I contacted British Gas about it in fact, that the matter has been resolved.

I received a reply from a BG employee/representative which said (and I quote) "“I’m sorry you haven’t received any payment reminder from us due to which your credit file was affected. Please be assured I’ve now arranged to remove the markers from your credit file and it will be done by 4 July 2019”. Not that “it might” be done or “they would try and get it resolved” but an email offering ASSURANCES that it would be done by 4th July 2019.

Today I receive notification from Equifax and BG that their "specialist team" say the defaults are correct and won't be removed.

What can I do and where do I stand please peeps? Just seems really unfair. I'm a good bill payer. I paid it instantly when I knew it was owing and I cannot even begin to express the importance of getting this loan without too much more delay... I am feeling very disheartened right now.

[Deleted User]

Sorry not what you want to hear but regardless of not knowing the markers are fair. You were late paying and that's what happens, they'll be on your file 6 years from the date they were put on.

[Deleted User]

You are responsible for utility bills, not the landlord or agency.

If you owed money from a final bill then you should have kept tabs on the account (online or otherwise) to check when the final bill was produced and payable.

boo_star

It sounds to me like the markers are correct. Presumably you moved from the address in 2014 so I'm not exactly sure how BG were supposed to inform you, unless you gave them a forwarding address.

Either way, although someone may have said the markers would be removed it sounds like someone who either didn't really know what they were talking about and/or presumably didn't really have the authority to make that claim. Ultimately their incorrect advice hasn't made you worse off, you're still in the same position you were before they told you the markers would be removed.

spadoosh

_shel wrote: »

Sorry not what you want to hear but regardless of not knowing the markers are fair. You were late paying and that's what happens, they'll be on your file 6 years from the date they were put on.

Ignore this.

British Gas have rules to follow when applying a default on your credit report. The first thing you should do is find out if theyve followed these rules.

The big ones to look out for are informing you of the debt and then informing you of the debt, making you aware a default will be applied and an opportunity to settle the debt before it is defaulted. Theres a certain amount of you keeping to your side of the contract that will need to have happened, ie current adresses. That said they need to keep records of issuing such defaults so should readily be able to produce the letters they sent, they cant, tell them to remove the default.

What exactly have you done? What dates are for the first email reply? And what are you on about with regards to the specialist teams, is this from an enquiry you made to equifax, BG or both?

boo_star

spadoosh wrote: »

Ignore this.

British Gas have rules to follow when applying a default on your credit report. The first thing you should do is find out if theyve followed these rules.

The big ones to look out for are informing you of the debt and then informing you of the debt, making you aware a default will be applied and an opportunity to settle the debt before it is defaulted. Theres a certain amount of you keeping to your side of the contract that will need to have happened, ie current adresses. That said they need to keep records of issuing such defaults so should readily be able to produce the letters they sent, they cant, tell them to remove the default.

What exactly have you done? What dates are for the first email reply? And what are you on about with regards to the specialist teams, is this from an enquiry you made to equifax, BG or both?

Default notices only need to be sent for debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.

spadoosh

boo_star wrote: »

Default notices only need to be sent for debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.

Wahhh, didnt know that.

Jeez thats brutal. So they dont even need to inform someone of a debt before they can apply a default on their credit report?

Kirsty321

In reply to Spadoosh:

Thanks for this. I will request the information from them.

So far, I have contacted British Gas on their standard email address so that I can keep everything documented "in writing" as it were. To begin with they were telling me that they were never the gas supplier at the address - I have logs of live chats where they have advised me of this on more than one occasion. This is when I was trying to find out exactly what the balance owing was for because it was quite some time ago in all fairness and I change suppliers often depending on the best deals so I really would not have remembered who my suppliers were at a property some 4-5 years ago. So when they told me they didn't supply the address I thought the information on my credit report was entirely incorrect and set up a dispute with Equifax advising them of the same.

Equifax requested further info from BG and BG told Equifax the information was correct and that I should contact BG for more information. Which I did.

This time BG told me that the account had been archived hence why they could not find it previously but that the balance of £200 and some odd was outstanding. I paid it instantly with them on the telephone. I then made a complaint in writing on the same day 19th June via about the defaults which had been applied to my account because I had not received a notice of the amount owing. I received a reply 20th June advising me that they would be removed by 4th July. I have kept Equifax in the loop throughout and yesterday I received an email from Equifax advising me that BG had said the defaults would not be removed as they are correct. I immediately emailed BG about this and received a reply today which said:

"I apologise for the delay in providing you an update.

As per the notes updated by our specialist team dated 02 July 2019, the markers reported by us are correct and they cannot be removed.

You will need to call our specialist team on 0333 202 9559* to further discuss about this and they will be happy to assist you further accordingly."

That's as far as I have got at the moment.

Kirsty321

Thanks all for taking the time to respond. Looking like I can't really do a great deal then if its not regulated by the CCA?

spadoosh

boo_star wrote: »

Default notices only need to be sent for debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.

How does this even play out? If theyre exempt from the CCA how can they be lending money to default on?

[Deleted User]

You can pay what you owe and learn a lesson from it?