Equifax - what does "Special Arrangement" mean?

artyboy

If so this is outrageous - the whole idea of a fixed DD is to allow for ebb and flow between seasons - if EON thinks this equates to a genuine AP scenario when in debit then they will be getting a lot of complaints.

MrFrugalFever

I would be putting in a formal complaint (to EON)!

When Igloo went under (along with many other Energy providers), OFGEM apparently stepped in and I was automatically transferred across to EON Next and I can’t recall ever having discussed, read or agreed to them reporting to the CRA’s. Luckily, since Feb 2022 I have ended my relationship with them and as such do not have anything reported on my reports.

If you were migrated across due to the above similar reason and don’t believe you have been adequately informed or agreed to such personal data processing then perhaps challenge that at the same time as their rather quite unreasonable ‘Special Arrangement’ marker. Do get a Statutory Report from each CRA first to double check this as it’s not unheard of for the brokers (Clearscore/Credit Karma etc) to get things wrong!

K_S

Same here, I just checked and it's showing the same for my newly added Eon Next account on Clearscore. I'm in the same position as others in the thread, in debit but all payments on track.

This is really worrying as it's impossible to predict how this sort of status will be read by different mortgage lender systems that use Equifax, and other credit providers as well.

I'm going to order a stat report from Equifax and if it's showing similar, raise a formal complaint with Eon Next.

artyboy

Well it's not just me then. Just for reference, I was never SOLR'd to Sainsburys/EON (although goodness knows I've had my share of that). I was one of the lucky ones that got in on the last 2 year fixed deals before everything went tits up...

A couple of months ago,I got a mail from them saying that my account wasn't "on track" due to being in debit, with a suggestion to make a payment in addition to my DD. Based on my historical usage, I knew this was BS, and sure enough, I've already halved the debit since then based on lower usage. I'll be in credit by the time the contract ends in 5 months. 

I'll certainly be asking some questions tomorrow, with a formal complaint to follow soon after if I don't like the answers!

K_S

AGG2022 said:

I know the above message wasn't aimed at me, but I checked my credit score with checkmyfile and it turns out the "special arrangement" is being marked as an arrangement to pay.

My account is only in debit £200, which is actually down to E.ON underestimating my bills and a broken smart meter, which they previously admitted in writing is their fault. A couple months ago they reached out to increase my direct debit because of this and apparently this constitutes an arrangement to pay and they don't want to remove it. 

Really annoyed and not sure what to do. I've never missed or made a late payment or had any debt in my life and now I've got this on my credit report for 6 years......

@agg2022 Their explanation doesn't make any sense unless you missed any Direct Debits. Providers adjusting/increasing the monthly DD amount to clear debit balances is normal, how does that amount to an Arrangement To Pay.

I would order a copy of my free statutory Equifax report to see what it shows as there. In the meantime I'd also raise a formal complaint with Eon Next (if you haven't already) saying that you don't agree with the way they are reporting your account to Equifax.

artyboy

I've just registered on Equifax to get my statutory report, and as suspected, this is marked as an Arrangement to Pay. It's also showing 1 month overdue markers for February and April - neither of which show up on the Clearscore report (that just has a single on time marker for April and nothing else).

Complaint on the way. I wonder if the MSE team would be at all interested in this issue if it's happening more widely - I bet the vast majority of affected people have no idea what is happening...

K_S

@artyboy That isn't sounding good at all. I'm still waiting on Equifax to manually verify my identity before issuing the stat report.

As a mortgage broker, this definitely sounds like something that can cause applicants lots of extra costs due to not being able to get a mortgage with lenders like NatWest, Accord etc. who check Equifax. As you said, based on what I see in this thread, there are probably a ton of people affected by this who aren't aware, especially if the actual Equifax report is showing it as even worse than what's visible on Clearscore.

artyboy said:

I've just registered on Equifax to get my statutory report, and as suspected, this is marked as an Arrangement to Pay. It's also showing 1 month overdue markers for February and April - neither of which show up on the Clearscore report (that just has a single on time marker for April and nothing else).

Complaint on the way. I wonder if the MSE team would be at all interested in this issue if it's happening more widely - I bet the vast majority of affected people have no idea what is happening...

molerat

artyboy said:

molerat said:

Shown up on my new report

Can I ask, are you on a standard DD arrangement, and are you currently in credit or debit with EON? Just want to be sure we're comparing apples and apples here - I'll be spitting feathers if anyone that is in debit is marked as 'special arrangement', given that's perfectly normal with energy contracts...

In credit at the time but my account is generally in debit after the monthly bill is taken then swings into credit as soon as the regular monthly budget DD is posted.

K_S

Got my Equifax report, it's being marked as an Arrangement To Pay with an AP marker (I for Equifax) against April, and I presume will show for May and June as well.

Absolutely ridiculous. Let's see where I get to with a formal complaint to Eon Next.

This is how Equifax themselves define an Arrangement To Pay, as an Adverse marker!

artyboy

K_S said:

Got my Equifax report, it's being marked as an Arrangement To Pay with an AP marker (I for Equifax) against April, and I presume will show for May and June as well.

Absolutely ridiculous. Let's see where I get to with a formal complaint to Eon Next.

This is how Equifax themselves define an Arrangement To Pay, as an Adverse marker!

Ah... that's helpful as I'd misread my "I" markers for Feb/April as being "1"s instead.

My account is the white labelled Sainsburys Energy one, so I sent them a complaint email yesterday with a screenshot of my report entry and demanding to know what the hell they were doing. No response yet but suggest we compare and contrast what we get back. 

I'm just wondering how many people are affected by this...