BGas blocking me wanting to get a credit meter from PAYG

wagtail

I was a struggling single parent over 25 years ago and got a PAYG electric meter put in. Now i`m much better off. I used to have oil heating but the council put eco heating in a couple of years ago(Air Source).  It really isn`t cheaper than oil as they promised, it is costing me around £50 a week on my meter in Winter and £15 in Summer.

So last week I rang British Gas and asked them to put a credit meter in so that I could pay by DD. My plan was to get rid of the standing charge but then also swap around and get the better deals, not that I told them that.

He said we will have to do a credit check. So I agreed. I was quite surprised when he said I had failed their credit check. I said I have no CCJ,s, no late payments so could he explain. He said I would have to check with Experian. I asked what it was coming up with and he said I would have to be in Segment 1 or 2. I asked what I was in and how many were there? He said I was in Segment 4 and there are only 4.

I checked with Experian after the call and I am in the Good category and my score with them is 881 out of a possible 999.

There is, however a lack of update from Barclaycard which makes it look like I have more credit than I have. I did a balance transfer of £1,500 from BC to a 0% NatWest in October, so the credit report is saying that I have over £3,000 of money owed out when it is actually half that. I have a credit available on the Nat West of £5,500. So it looks like I am using half my available credit. The other owings are to a monthly car insurance which is never late or missed (low amount as I am quite old)  and there is also a mention on there that my council rent is also paid monthly on time and never late.

I attempted to contact BC but couldn`t get through so on their automated service I have cancelled the card in the hope that that will spur them to do an update to Experian.

I would be grateful for any advice. I am pretty shocked at the response from BG and how they are interpreting my credit history and I am becoming quite annoyed at the fact that they seem to be blocking people from getting out of this awful situation where many of the poorest in our country are paying more for electricity than everyone else.

I thought I would write to BG with a complaint about their process and state what my check on Experian is saying. Any thoughts on that?

Also, does anyone think that it is possible to get an energy provider to change you straight onto a credit meter at no cost? If so any suggestions?

Gerry1

Switch to EDF.  There's no credit check.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/switch-prepaid-gas-electricity/#can

t0rt0ise

British Gas often say people fail the credit check. I don't know whether they just don't want the bother of changing the meter or what. Don't worry about it. Just change providers as the previous poster says.

Cardew

I suspect, if you change supplier, they will make you wait for a period before fitting a credit meter.

Ectophile

If you've cancelled the card, you will have made your credit score worse. You should have waited a few weeks for your credit score to be updated. It's only done once a month.

The credit score is based on both how much credit limit you have (the more the better), and how much of that you're using (the less the better). If you give up the credit card, you lower your total credit limit.