negative credit Thames Water

toto22 · 8 July 2019 at 2:54PM

I have just been informed by Thames Water that they have been giving me negative credit whenever I've been late paying a bill. They have overcharged me several times, they pester me all the time yet I always pay my bill, sometimes I have simply contested what they say I owe. I was not informed that they would contact Equifax, their advisors pester me so much I would have thought someone would have told me about this. They are incompetent, the technician (who was sent out only to discover that my water pressure was low because of an internal issue that I had already explained to them ) told me that this happens all the time, a waste of money and time, yet they call me up on the weekend to arrange a pointless appointment. Now I find out they've sent some negative reports to Equifax, yet where do I go to complain about this and their incompetence?

matelodave · 8 July 2019 at 2:56PM

The answer is "don't be late paying the bill"

toto22 · 9 July 2019 at 7:15AM

If you've got nothing helpful to say, why respond at all?

Cardew · 9 July 2019 at 7:58AM

Welcome to the forum.

If you have been overcharged, or received poor service, then submit a formal complaint in writing to the company. If it is not solved to your satisfaction you can refer the matter to the Ombudsman for their consideration.

However it is not sufficient to simply complain they are incompetent; you need to give details.

In Thames Water's multi-page terms and conditions there will doubtless be detail of action taken with customers who are late in paying bills.

toto22 · 9 July 2019 at 8:13AM

Thank you. I did make a complaint, my main gripe is finding out about the negative credit report -my late payments were due to me contesting their bills and considering how frequently we communicate I would have thought they'd have made this much clearer to me

[Deleted User] · 9 July 2019 at 11:19PM

Cardew wrote: »

Welcome to the forum.

If you have been overcharged, or received poor service, then submit a formal complaint in writing to the company. If it is not solved to your satisfaction you can refer the matter to the Ombudsman for their consideration.

However it is not sufficient to simply complain they are incompetent; you need to give details.

In Thames Water's multi-page terms and conditions there will doubtless be detail of action taken with customers who are late in paying bills.

As you know, there are no 'Terms and Conditions' with regard to the supply of water to domestic premises. The customer neither signs, nor agrees to, anything. The water companies publish a statement detailing what they are going to do, that's all. This statement includes information about how they'll access credit reports (without explicit permission from the customer). The standard statement has contents such as "We search credit reference files to obtain an understanding of your finances". Really? My finances are none of your business! And, "Why do we report to credit reference agencies?", Amongst the reasons given is this gem: "To help you build a credit history". Unbelievable!

Cardew · 10 July 2019 at 10:57AM

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

As you know, there are no 'Terms and Conditions' with regard to the supply of water to domestic premises. The customer neither signs, nor agrees to, anything. The water companies publish a statement detailing what they are going to do, that's all. This statement includes information about how they'll access credit reports (without explicit permission from the customer). The standard statement has contents such as "We search credit reference files to obtain an understanding of your finances". Really? My finances are none of your business! And, "Why do we report to credit reference agencies?", Amongst the reasons given is this gem: "To help you build a credit history". Unbelievable!

I am no defender of water privatisation; however for the purpose of this thread the term 'terms and conditions' is approrpriate.

https://www.stwater.co.uk/about-us/responsibility/our-responsibilities-to-you/your-rights-as-a-customer/

Above is the statement from Severn Trent and of course it is approved by the Regulator and complies with the Water Act.

toto22 · 10 July 2019 at 11:07AM

My issue with them is that considering how often they were calling me up and speaking with me, they could have had the decency to tell me about the negative credit beforehand and not afterwards!

negative credit Thames Water

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