Customers fight British Gas billing errors - how to check your credit score
British Gas told ITV News Alison's case was isolated but we have been contacted by other consumers who say they’ve faced British Gas errors, as ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi explains
Words by Deputy Content Editor Liz Little
British Gas has referred itself to the Information Commissioner over its handling of customer data, ITV News can reveal.
The unusual referral followed an exclusive investigation by ITV News into extreme customer service failures by the UK’s biggest energy supplier.
The Information Commissioner confirmed it had received a report from British Gas following an incident where credit reference agencies were erroneously informed of non-payment of a debt.
The ‘incident’ refers to their reporting of missed payments against the credit record of Alison Greenough.
The now-former British Gas customer was preparing to remortgage her family home in January when she discovered her excellent credit score had been demolished by problems with a British Gas direct debit.
Alison had to accept a loan with far higher repayments, costing her more than £7,000.
Since ITV News’ investigation, Alison has successfully taken her complaint against British Gas to the small claims court.
She was rewarded £7,363 compensation from the energy giant, who accepted responsibility. Catherine O’Kelly, the Managing Director of British Gas, called Allison to personally apologise for the experience.
Alison says the energy firm put her family through “months and months of hell”, but she is hopeful her case can inspire others who may have a similar experience.
British Gas told ITV News Alison's case was isolated. However, we have been contacted by other consumers who say they’ve had credit score problems after British Gas errors.
Liam Cook and his partner had applied for a mortgage to buy a new family home – expecting their first child together in just three months.
Experian's John Webb explains what you should do if you are concerned about incorrect defaults on your account
They were rejected due to missed payments for a British Gas electricity account amounting to £1,000 – despite being customers with another provider. Liam then discovered the missed payments were actually for his neighbour’s consumption. He immediately disputed the case.
Liam told ITV News that despite countless calls to British Gas, customer service agents were unable to resolve his issue. "You see adverts saying, ‘We pride ourselves on customer service’... but this is the reality. This is what I’m left with and what I have to clean up for them.”
After ITV News contacted British Gas over Liam’s case, they were able to remove the incorrect marks against Liam’s credit record and the mortgage has now been approved.
British Gas said Liam’s meter was incorrectly registered by a property developer, but accepted things should have been put right much sooner with better communication and customer service.
Liam hopes British Gas will learn from his case, telling ITV News: “There’s impact and worry and stress that comes with everything that they've done... It’s being able to take that on board so it doesn't happen to other people.”
Another energy customer, Elaye Abidee, discovered her credit score had taken a hit when she was turned down for a TV subscription.
British Gas had been sending a bill to her former address – despite having contacted the firm before she moved. Elaye too found customer service agents were unable to help her, so contacted the Energy Ombudsman and eventually her credit file was corrected.
"No mortgage provider would lend to me because of these defaults, I am too high risk. Everything I had worked for up until that point – gone.”
British Gas concedes it posted Elaye’s bill to the wrong address - though it says it also sent bills online and via emails.
Acknowledging its errors, the energy firm sent Elaye a £100 compensation cheque. But just like her previous bills - it was sent to the wrong address.
Like most big firms, British Gas shares information with credit reference agencies. They compile financial reports, known as credit scores, that lenders check. However, the wrong information can end up with you getting the wrong credit score.
The accuracy of the credit score you get relies on the information these agencies get. And British Gas isn’t the only firm that makes mistakes. Consumer group Which? found a third of people who checked their credit reports discovered an error caused by a wide range of firms.
If you have been experiencing issues with your Energy Provider, we want to hear your story. Get in touch with the team at: consumerteam@itv.com
John Webb, Senior Consumer Affairs Manager at Experian told ITV News that errors on credit reports are “extremely rare” - but the onus should be on the company providing data to ensure it is correct, not their customer.
Though all of the energy customers ITV News has spoken to say the responsibility fell on them to try and navigate the British Gas customer service system, and they did not know the credit agencies could dispute any issues on their behalf.
What should you do if you are concerned about incorrect defaults on your account?
Experian says the first thing anyone should do is check their free statutory credit report, which is available from all credit agencies.
They suggest you do this at least once a year, but especially before applying for any new credit or accounts.
If something on the report doesn’t look right, report it to your credit agency. They will then provide support throughout a dispute process – which includes adding a note against the account to advise other lenders it is being investigated.
The credit agency will then contact the company who will investigate the claim and report back if it is incorrect – and if it is, all markers will removed.
ITV News contacted British Gas over complaints of unfairly damaged scores. They told us in a statement: “When we make mistakes, we hold our hands up, we make it right and we learn from them because we care about our service and we care about our customers. These were unconnected cases, where some aspects were beyond our control but where we made mistakes, we're sorry for that. We'll learn from these isolated cases to continue to improve our customer service.”
The Information Commissioner told ITV News: “We received a report from British Gas Trading Limited regarding this incident where credit reference agencies were erroneously informed of non-payment of a debt. After assessing the report, we provided data protection advice and closed the case.
“We expect organisations to use people’s information fairly, taking all reasonable steps to ensure the personal information they hold is accurate. People have the right to receive a copy of their personal information held by organisations and the right to have inaccurate personal information corrected promptly.
“If a credit file is inaccurate, people can raise a complaint with the relevant credit reference agency or the organisation that supplied this information. If anyone is struggling to get an obvious inaccuracy corrected on their credit file after contacting the organisation, they can make a complaint to the ICO."
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