British Gas have fucked my credit rating! Can it be repaired?

[BadLittleBunny]

I switched gas and electric providers from BG earlier this year and once all Meter readings had been submitted, owed £300 to BG. Went on to my online account to pay it, but the balance showing was £0.00

Thought nothing more of it and assumed that they'd done some adjustments or something, before closing the account.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I had an Experian alert telling me that my (impeccable) credit rating had gone down. I'd just gone over half of my credit card limit, so assumed that was what was having an effect. No big deal.

I then got another alert a couple of weeks later and my credit rating is now showing as 'poor'.

Ran my full credit report, and the £300 is showing as outstanding and 3 months late to BG!

I rang them and sent a screenshot of what I could see online, and they've said they'll be getting back to me in the next few days as they can see that the account balance said zero.

However, in the meantime, my bank have slashed my cc card limit and I'm sure it's only a matter of time until I want/need to buy something via credit or similar and I'm really worried that this isn't going to be an option for me.

Will BG be able to sort the black mark on my credit file, and will my financial standing then just revert to what it was?

I'm furious and worried - how can they have fucked up so badly?

(Am also going to fight them if they try and insist on the £300, as they've caused so much distress)

It's unbelievable isn't it? I'm fuming!

I wonder if it's a bigger deal because it's a utility bill?

You need to log a complaint with BG. If there is an error, they can correct what has been reported on the credit file. (It is possible, we do this on a regular basis at my work). Keep all of your evidence safe.

The utility companies are more than often wrong. My dh questioned a bill and had to get a manager on the phone as they couldn’t work out the calculations. God only knows how many other customers were overcharged 🤦🏽‍♀️

Yes if it’s proven to be a mistake they can contact the credit reference agencies and amend it.

To go from an impeccable rating to poor because of a £300 payment being 3 months late is odd though, have they entered it as a default?

No, it's just showing as late. It does seem really heavy-handed, doesn't it?

British Gas are an absolute joke, keep on at them until this is sorted. The Ombudsman will help you with this but only after 8 weeks, I think, have passed. Keep all pics of meter readings etc and use webchat as you can screenshot the chats as evidence. Phone calls are pointless, they'll just tell you what you want to hear and you have no proof of what they say.

Once a complaint is raised with the ombudsman, BG will likely offer you compensation at some point down the line. The Ombudsman made them pay me more due to the nightmare I had had and told them so.

Yes they should be able to fix it.

Halifax removed all links to exh's failure to pay our joint mortgage once the house sold. I had letters from his solicitor to show ibwas not financially responsible for the house as I had relinquished any claim on the equity. They kept it on file abd as soon as my name 2as clear they removed all the defaults from my file.