British Gas have trashed my credit rating - what can I do?

starrybear

p00hsticks said:

starrybear said:

I just didn't double check that the £0.00 was the correct amount. Who would waste time doing that when it was there in (metaphorical) black and white on my screen?

.. I would if I'd previously been told (by some method you don't describe) that my final closing balance was -£300 and I could see it hadn't been automatically taken from my bank account because I'd cancelled the direct deblt. 

The discrepancy would have made me want to contact BG to confirm which of the two figures were correct. 

And hindsight is a wonderful thing - I desperately wish now that I had double checked. 

However, as the 'link to pay now' as quoted in their email yesterday is still taking me to the screenshot above, I honestly don't see how this is my fault? 

They've done so much damage, when I obviously originally tried to go online and pay the balance. I feel helpless, as having looked through my emails, there's no record of a system change, and even if there were, i can't access it?

Does anyone think I should be trying to take this further? From some of the posts I've looked up from PP, BG are notorious for wriggling out of things on a technicality, but this is so unfair?

KittenChops

starrybear said:

born_again said:

d.                   A refund of the £14.99 I’ve had to pay Experian for my full credit report, as well as the same £14.99 monthly fee I’m going to need to continue to pay, probably for a good few months yet. to ensure that this mess is sorted out.

Why are you paying for that?

You can get the same for free...

I wanted the forensic deep dive - my free version of Experian doesn't give me the detail, just the score. Not really the point anyway - it's more of an indication to BG as to how much hassle they're causing me, but thank you.

Credit report info can be viewed by using these apps:  ClearScore (which takes its data from Equifax), Credit Karma (Equifax & Transunion) and there's a third one for Experian (but I can't remember what it's called - sorry).  Just remember to ignore the 'scores' these apps give - they're based on their own algorithms - lenders will use their own algorithm to determine whether they'll lend or not.

These are all free (they make their money from people using the links in the apps to apply for credit) and although you're not getting a 'real time' view as they don't update immediately, they will do what you need (i.e. keep an eye on what BG are reporting)

Cancel your paid for subscription - you don't need it

missmuffet84

Did you get anywhere with this?
I have exactly the same scenario even down to the nil balance when I click the link they sent for my final bill! I noticed this was dated October 2023 though so notified them immediately that I seemingly could not access the newest area of my account and it took them another week to send via an attachment the actual final bill. (I settled that within two weeks)
 I switched supplier on 04 sept so my initial contact with them on 27 sept was to find out where the hell my final bill was I was eager to settle it as I didn’t want to over pay if I was in credit as I was now paying two suppliers, Additionally they confirmed I could cancel my direct debit via online the chat. All sent as evidence.

They have marked my credit file claiming there was an outstanding amount from my July bill of £51 that I should have paid when I cancelled my direct debit on 27 sept despite the fact they did not communicate this to me at any point nor could I have checked as I couldn’t access my account! I referred them to the energy ombudsman and am awaiting a decision, they opened 3 complaint numbers to deal with this as each time didn’t meet their own service timelines I have many emails of confusing conflicting drivel from them, had two failed promised call-backs, and the first I knew about the £51 was in their comments to the energy ombudsman case. So far they have commented that they won’t remove the credit file mark but would pay me £50, I have refused, I just want the mark removed :-(