Can utilities report to CRAs without a credit agreement?
Degenerate
Posts: 2,166 Forumite
I just discovered that a certain utility company has reported defaults on my account to Equifax. This was quite a shock, as I had no idea they even reported to CRAs. But heres the rub - I don't see how I ever entered into a credit agreement with them. Yes, I know that a credit agreement is mandatory for new customers, but:
- According to their website, they started reporting to Equifax in 2016.
- I've been been the account holder at this address continuously since 1993.
- For most of this time, my payments were taken automatically by Direct Debit.
- There was never any intervention required by me, no documents to sign, etc.
- Neither did I ever need to speak to them over the phone.
I don't see any point at which I could be said to have entered into a credit agreement. And there is something demonstrably amiss, because my file shows the agreement starting when I was still a child. I understand enough to know that entering into a credit agreement requires the consent of both parties, and I never gave mine. It seems to me that I'm "grandfathered in" from decades before they implemented credit agreements and CRA reporting.
Can someone point out how I'm wrong here? And am I right to think that absent a credit agreement, they had no right to be reporting my account conduct to a CRA at all?
- According to their website, they started reporting to Equifax in 2016.
- I've been been the account holder at this address continuously since 1993.
- For most of this time, my payments were taken automatically by Direct Debit.
- There was never any intervention required by me, no documents to sign, etc.
- Neither did I ever need to speak to them over the phone.
I don't see any point at which I could be said to have entered into a credit agreement. And there is something demonstrably amiss, because my file shows the agreement starting when I was still a child. I understand enough to know that entering into a credit agreement requires the consent of both parties, and I never gave mine. It seems to me that I'm "grandfathered in" from decades before they implemented credit agreements and CRA reporting.
Can someone point out how I'm wrong here? And am I right to think that absent a credit agreement, they had no right to be reporting my account conduct to a CRA at all?
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Comments
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It's likely they sent a notice of variation. Ask them.0
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Wouldn't a notice of variation require the existence of a credit agreement in the first place? I'm not sure I even have any form of binding contract with them. I was 16 years old when I became the account holder at this address. (but 13 when the credit agreement started, according to what they're telling Equifax!)0
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No need for a credit agreement. You would have agreed to this in signing/accepting the terms and conditions of business. Small print is there for a reason.0
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Did you even read my posts? You really think they anticipated their 2016 decision to implement CRA reporting in their 1993 T&Cs? And what's the legality of T&Cs signed up to by a 16 year old? I'm not even sure if I signed anything back then. It's a water company, and looking into it, they may have been supplying service under statutory regulations rather than a contractual agreement.Thrugelmir wrote: »No need for a credit agreement. You would have agreed to this in signing/accepting the terms and conditions of business. Small print is there for a reason.0 -
Degenerate wrote: »Did you even read my posts? You really think they anticipated their 2016 decision to implement CRA reporting in their 1993 T&Cs? And what's the legality of T&Cs signed up to by a 16 year old? I'm not even sure if I signed anything back then. It's a water company, and looking into it, they may have been supplying service under statutory regulations rather than a contractual agreement.
T&C's get updated. They don't remain static. These would have been sent with your bills. By being allowed to pay in arrears (after the bill is issued) you are in effect being offered credit terms.0 -
Degenerate wrote: »I don't see how I ever entered into a credit agreement with them.
Why do you think there either is a credit agreement or an implication of a credit agreement? The account should be listed on your credit report under the category of 'public utility' rather than some kind of credit account - is this not the case here?0 -
Sorry mate, but I think you're talking b****cks. A credit agreement must be explicitly entered into. Most of the time it's unavoidable - even if it's over the phone, they read you the spiel and you have to agree to proceed - but that doesn't apply in my case.Thrugelmir wrote: »T&C's get updated. They don't remain static. These would have been sent with your bills. By being allowed to pay in arrears (after the bill is issued) you are in effect being offered credit terms.
I'm pretty sure the "they varied their T&Cs" talk is nonsense too - I've been looking into this, and from what I can tell, water companies are "statutory undertakers" - they are obliged to provide service, and their customers are obliged to pay the bills, on the basis of rules set out in law by the Government - they don't get to set their own T&Cs. This would also explain how I was able to be account holder at 16, before I could legally sign a contract.
It's listed as "other". My understanding was that for a company to report to a CRA, I had to have entered a credit agreement that permits them to do that - a credit agreement does not necessarily mean a credit product.Why do you think there either is a credit agreement or an implication of a credit agreement? The account should be listed on your credit report under the category of 'public utility' rather than some kind of credit account - is this not the case here?
EDIT: I may have been confusing the issue by talking about a "credit agreement" like that is the key thing. My key point of contention is that I think they needed my permission to share data about me with CRAs. That would be included in typical credit agreements, but actually it stands alone as a data protection requirement.0 -
I think you are the one talking b****cks, as you eloquently put it.
From a water companies T&C's:
We will share your personal information with Credit Reference Agencies and Fraud Prevention Agencies to better understand our customers and help:
Assist in the management of your account
Better tailor the services and products we provide to you
Identify early sign of financial hardship so that we may extend appropriate support
Assist in the prevention of over indebtedness
Verify your identity for the purposes of fraud prevention.
You don't get to opt out of any other those, whether you like it or not. A utility company provides a service to you, if you choose not to pay for that service, that doesn't mean that there are no consequences just because a water or electric company has to provide a service. As long as the CRA record is a true reflection of your account why would you worry?
Not all companies report although most are these days - that is good. I don't want to pay more on my bill because some deadbeat doesn't want to pay.0 -
camelot1971 wrote: »From a water companies T&C's:
We will share your personal information with Credit Reference Agencies and Fraud Prevention Agencies to better understand our customers and help:
Irrelevant. I stated clearly enough in the first post that I understand that new customers are obviously required to agree to this. This was not the case when I became account holder in 1993, and I didn't give permission for this change when they made it in 2016. I've been looking into data protection regulations and they are very clear that EXPLICIT PERMISSION is required to share data.0 -
Explicit permission is NOT needed if it is a condition of service.
You can opt out but then you relinquish the service.
The regulations are very clear on the matter.0
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