Utilities guarantor and credit ratings

agrado

I want to get my sister onto standard meters and away from having to use pre-payment meters for gas and electricity, not least because winter is coming up. Her credit rating is apocalyptic so the utilities companies won't agree to do this, but presumably we could persuade them to do so by my acting as a guarantor. My question is, assuming we make all the payments on time, would this result in my becoming associated with her address, and hence my credit rating being destroyed?

Carrot007

I doubt any company would entertain this. Most don't even like more than one person named anymore.

Keep it simple, put it in your name. As a guarantor you are anyway.

Address's don't have credit reports. People do (individual companies are free to blacklist addresses if they want, but that is them and not a credit report). You don't live there for any credit you may apply for so it is unlikely to have issues, and you can (and should) have the bills sent to your address not the "site" address.

agrado

Thanks for your reply. Credit reports on people have "Linked addresses", which it certainly seems you can end up with those due to being a guarantor for something at an address. I don't know what the effect of linked addresses existing are though.

That's strange and unfortunate if utilities won't allow guarantors :-( We'd prefer not to move the utilities to be in my name because she's going to be declaring bankruptcy or some similar procedure and we don't want to misleadingly reduce her outgoings.

D3xt3r5L4b

You don’t have a “credit rating” to get destroyed. 

There are some utility providers that don’t do credit checks for utility accounts and any checks that they do are usually only a soft search. 

And forgive the assumptions but as you were recently refused a tenancy based on your credit history do you believe you’ll be accepted as a guarantor?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77555272#Comment_77555272

agrado

D3xt3r5L4b said:

You don’t have a “credit rating” to get destroyed. 

There are some utility providers that don’t do credit checks for utility accounts and any checks that they do are usually only a soft search. 

And forgive the assumptions but as you were recently refused a tenancy based on your credit history do you believe you’ll be accepted as a guarantor?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77555272#Comment_77555272

"You don't have a credit rating to get destroyed" seems rather pedantic - there are files of data stored by credit reference agencies, and if those files contain data that people view negatively, then you will have problems getting credit, or even doing things that do not involve any credit such as getting a tenancy. I would prefer not to take actions that result in such data being put in my files, if I can avoid it.

I was refused a tenancy based on Equifax's total incompetence, not my credit history. Through a significant amount of work I have managed to get them to fix *most* of their errors (although possibly not all - see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6186930/equifax-current-years-on-the-electoral-register#latest) so I am now rated "good" or "excellent" by all of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Good enough to get an electricity meter I should hope, anyway ;-)

D3xt3r5L4b

agrado said:

D3xt3r5L4b said:

You don’t have a “credit rating” to get destroyed. 

There are some utility providers that don’t do credit checks for utility accounts and any checks that they do are usually only a soft search. 

And forgive the assumptions but as you were recently refused a tenancy based on your credit history do you believe you’ll be accepted as a guarantor?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77555272#Comment_77555272

"You don't have a credit rating to get destroyed" seems rather pedantic - there are files of data stored by credit reference agencies, and if those files contain data that people view negatively, then you will have problems getting credit, or even doing things that do not involve any credit such as getting a tenancy. I would prefer not to take actions that result in such data being put in my files, if I can avoid it.

I was refused a tenancy based on Equifax's total incompetence, not my credit history. Through a significant amount of work I have managed to get them to fix *most* of their errors (although possibly not all - see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6186930/equifax-current-years-on-the-electoral-register#latest) so I am now rated "good" or "excellent" by all of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Good enough to get an electricity meter I should hope, anyway ;-)

How a CRA rates you is irrelevant. 

They are not lenders and are not privy to a lenders own in-house lending algorithms, and neither is joe-public.

A CRA can rate you as “excellent” but a lender can (and sometimes will) refuse you for a £20 phone contract because you don’t match their criteria to lend to. 

agrado

D3xt3r5L4b said:

agrado said:

D3xt3r5L4b said:

You don’t have a “credit rating” to get destroyed. 

There are some utility providers that don’t do credit checks for utility accounts and any checks that they do are usually only a soft search. 

And forgive the assumptions but as you were recently refused a tenancy based on your credit history do you believe you’ll be accepted as a guarantor?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77555272#Comment_77555272

"You don't have a credit rating to get destroyed" seems rather pedantic - there are files of data stored by credit reference agencies, and if those files contain data that people view negatively, then you will have problems getting credit, or even doing things that do not involve any credit such as getting a tenancy. I would prefer not to take actions that result in such data being put in my files, if I can avoid it.

I was refused a tenancy based on Equifax's total incompetence, not my credit history. Through a significant amount of work I have managed to get them to fix *most* of their errors (although possibly not all - see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6186930/equifax-current-years-on-the-electoral-register#latest) so I am now rated "good" or "excellent" by all of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Good enough to get an electricity meter I should hope, anyway ;-)

How a CRA rates you is irrelevant. 

They are not lenders and are not privy to a lenders own in-house lending algorithms, and neither is joe-public.

A CRA can rate you as “excellent” but a lender can (and sometimes will) refuse you for a £20 phone contract because you don’t match their criteria to lend to. 

Sigh. Yes, of course, but nevertheless, as I said, it remains a fact that some things will tend to make you more "credit-worthy" (e.g. a history of paying debts on time) and some things will tend to make you less (e.g. a record of failing to pay debts on time), and presumably the "credit scores" are a generalised indicator of this. Someone rated "excellent" by all the agencies could theoretically find it hard to get utilities on a standard meter but in reality they probably won't.

D3xt3r5L4b

agrado said:

D3xt3r5L4b said:

agrado said:

D3xt3r5L4b said:

You don’t have a “credit rating” to get destroyed. 

There are some utility providers that don’t do credit checks for utility accounts and any checks that they do are usually only a soft search. 

And forgive the assumptions but as you were recently refused a tenancy based on your credit history do you believe you’ll be accepted as a guarantor?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77555272#Comment_77555272

"You don't have a credit rating to get destroyed" seems rather pedantic - there are files of data stored by credit reference agencies, and if those files contain data that people view negatively, then you will have problems getting credit, or even doing things that do not involve any credit such as getting a tenancy. I would prefer not to take actions that result in such data being put in my files, if I can avoid it.

I was refused a tenancy based on Equifax's total incompetence, not my credit history. Through a significant amount of work I have managed to get them to fix *most* of their errors (although possibly not all - see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6186930/equifax-current-years-on-the-electoral-register#latest) so I am now rated "good" or "excellent" by all of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Good enough to get an electricity meter I should hope, anyway ;-)

How a CRA rates you is irrelevant. 

They are not lenders and are not privy to a lenders own in-house lending algorithms, and neither is joe-public.

A CRA can rate you as “excellent” but a lender can (and sometimes will) refuse you for a £20 phone contract because you don’t match their criteria to lend to. 

Sigh. Yes, of course, but nevertheless, as I said, it remains a fact that some things will tend to make you more "credit-worthy" (e.g. a history of paying debts on time) and some things will tend to make you less (e.g. a record of failing to pay debts on time), and presumably the "credit scores" are a generalised indicator of this. Someone rated "excellent" by all the agencies could theoretically find it hard to get utilities on a standard meter but in reality they probably won't.

You’d be surprised.

MinuteNoodles

agrado said:

Sigh. Yes, of course, but nevertheless, as I said, it remains a fact that some things will tend to make you more "credit-worthy" (e.g. a history of paying debts on time) and some things will tend to make you less (e.g. a record of failing to pay debts on time), and presumably the "credit scores" are a generalised indicator of this. Someone rated "excellent" by all the agencies could theoretically find it hard to get utilities on a standard meter but in reality they probably won't.

If that was the case then bankrupts wouldn't have 999 scores yet many do despite the fact they've not been discharged.