hi jayy,

i'm glad you got your situation sorted out - i'm still having issues with mine and i'd like some advice if possible.

was the lady who called you actually from british gas or was it one of their collection agencies? if you had a contact number or a branch where she worked that would be ideal. i'd love to speak to someone helpful! i seem to be going round in circles with various employees and not getting anywhere.

it seems our circumstances are pretty similar - BG admitted that they didnt update my address when i moved.

looking forward to hearing from you

A.

Jesus I got this wrong didn't I -- sorry for the confusion that's skim reading again getting me in trouble - my apologies for the error.

I'm somewhat surprised they agreed to remove the default, that's a great result especially considering the details!

British Gas weren't at fault in this case. I was. I moved house without supplying them with a forwarding address. As far as they were concerned I was receiving all letter's they had sent. I made it quite clear in my letter to them that I understood they were not at fault. I think this helped in their final decision. I pointed out my perfect credit history ect, it was very grovelly and pathetic but needs must.

Mynewt:

In the case of the OP he failed to supply the correct infomation to BGAs

Unless I'm mistaken or the thread has been moderated, Jayy was the OP.

However it raises an interesting point, the complete lack of sanctions against organisations who state "we cannot remove a default" when as a matter of fact (and law) that is not true.

Its missinformation that's barely a smidgeon away from a lie.

Hi Jayy,

Its a different situation entirely if BGAS are at fault, in this case they have proven they were provided the correct infoamtion in a timely manner and simply failed to act on it - hence why they are able and have removed the deafult.

In the case of the OP he failed to supply the correct infomation to BGAs so they simply did not have the tools to do anything with, hence the correct outcome in his case.

That said glad you have a positive outcome in your own case.

Back again

Thought I'd come brighten everyones day with a rare story of success.

I received a call last week, 13/11/09, regarding the letter I wrote to British gas about 2 1/2 weeks previous. I spoke to a very nice young lady, Kelly Dawson, who sympathised that I was not living at said address and that my forwarding address hadn't been updated. She called me again today, 16/11/09 to tell me that this default has now been removed and will be update on my experian credit profile within 72 hours.

I really cant express how happy I am about this.

Really glad with the results after just one letter.

I just spoke to Experian again, they told me that BG have an online system that allows them to add and remove defaults. If they were to remove the default today, it would show on the credit file tomorrow.

Dont let them tell you they cant remove default notices - its a lie.

Well its nice to know I'm not alone in this fight, and this is promising news if experian ect have confirmed that they do have the means to remove the default. Surely they must realise that if you call to pay the sum days after the default was applied that it's a genuine mistake. Why would anyone deliberately let something go to a six year black mark?

I will post this sickeningly beggy, grovelling letter today and keep you posted on any replies I receive. I'll also keep a copy for myself and have it sent recorded deliver and get a recipt.

Jayy

First of all, I am in the exact same situation. My credit file is immaculate aside from a default from British Gas back in 2007 from an account I ended in 2005. I provided a follow on address but never recieved any correspondance from them until a debt collector called me and I paid the debt immediately.

I only found out about the default a few days ago as my wife and I are soon to be applying for a mortgage.

Legally, British Gas must serve a default notice. Nothing was recieved. Also, they DO have the power to remove the default. Experian, Equifax and a number of debt consultants have confirmed this.

I am livid that this has happened and am taking the matter up with them as I write. I'll make formal complaints about their conduct if nothing is done.

I'm sorry but your supplier is entirely in the right here, if not a little unsympathetic.

While I can understand why you would think a letter of such importance should be signed for, it leaves the system open to people being well aware of the contents of the letter and simply refusing to sign it to throw a spanner in the works. The letters are sent as per normal post, however the contents are obviouslly very much different.

Any default will have an impact its just a question of how much, and this from what I understand depends on the lender in question. You can't have the mark removed as unfortunately you have defaulted on this occasion. The best you can do is to access your credit report/s and comment on the default, this will be seen by lenders and may (or may not) be taken into consideration when they review the decision to lend to you.

Hi,
Thank you for your response. I contacted them first thing this morning and spoke to a very nice helpful lady. I explained the circumstances and what they're basically saying is that because I never suppled them with a forwarding address I am in the wrong. Surely a letter taking such serious action, namely the default letter which they told me was sent on the first of this month, would have been sent via recorded delivery to ensure it reached the person it concerned?

I begged and begged but she said theres nothing they can do, and they do not have the power to remove the default. I settled the account immediately. She told me that because I have settled it quickly after the default action was taken (it was applied on the 30/09/2009 but has only showed on my credit rating yesterday) that it shouldn't have too much of an effect on me getting credit in the future. I seriously doubt this thought?

Is there any sort of agency or commission I can write to that can review these things and pass judgement on them? It's the only black mark I have, or have ever had, on my credit rating.


Jason

Well the first thing I would do is contact british gas and make sure they sent the statements out and to which address. If they were sent to the site address, see if your tenants forward the mail to your agents, if not why not. If they did why have your agents not dealt with it?

For any supplier to have got to this stage there would have had to been various different written communications sent and ignored. While you claim you have nothing to do with the property if your the landlord its your responsibility, even if you have had an agent working on your behalf the buck still stops with you i'm afraid, which is why utilising agents while conveniant can be highly problematic.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that if you move, you inform your supplier of where you are mving to and this case points out just how important. You admit to not providing a forwarding address - so how is your supplier menat to contact you if something is amiss? (unless in this case as above your tenants or managing agents do the right thing and pass on your mail).

Assuming for the moment that British Gas are in the clear (which they stillmight not be) your only hope is to contact british gas or the assigned DCA explain the situation and see if they will remove the default, if you clear the balance. There's no guarentee that they will but its worth a shot - failing this you can (i beleive) comment on the default and explain the cirtcumstances this may be taken into consideration when applying for credit in the future.

If you wish to pursue the possibility of a fault at British Gas you will need to confirm what addresses they have for you, where and if they sent any documentation, you may need to also request a SAR (subject access request) which will provide you with a copy of any and all infomation british gas have about you, including letters, statements and so on. This request costs will cost you an admin fee of £10.00 and will take upto 40 working days to complete. It may (or amy not) highlight any failings of british gas that you can use to request the default be compeltely removed.

Good luck.

Hi,
I'm a first time user to the forum but really needed some advice as I've just came across something on my credit profile and feel physically sick.

I have been monitoring my credit profile very closely since the start of the year, I made a few late payments to my credit cards and my score dipped very rapidly to 218. Now I have battled all year to get to the most recent score (last week) of 866. In another months time I was going to be ready to talk to my bank about a 14,000 consolidation loan and my life would have completely changed for the better.

However,

I logged in tonight to check to see if my old credit accounts I had closed down was showing on my profile, and to my complete and utter disgust I have a DEFAULT on a British Gas account. It says on my experian credit report that it wsa Started on : 30/08/2008. and that special instructions were started on 01/10/2009. Now this is at my old address, I moved out in October last year, I own the property but I rent it out through an agency and I have literally nothing to do with it. I dont deal with the tenants just the agents. Now I havent received or seen any mail. Surely, if they had servred some sort of warning notice or collection letters these would have been sent to be signed for by me?

I've seen nothing, and knew nothing about it, before I moved out last year my account ws £160 odd in credit. I paid monthly to them, then they took from that stash of money, quarterly. I informed them I was moving out and judging by what I saw online that would cover the gas bill and a few pounds more, which I wasnt concerned about. I didnt change adress with them as I was moving back to my parents.

Now I have various credit cards , finance on my computer and finance on my car. I have NEVER just not paid anything, just for the sake of it. The worst thing I have ever done is paid an account maybe a week late and I was punished for it and learned my lesson.

Is there anything I can do? It says even if i settle this account, which i intend to do as soon as their lines open tomorrow morning, that this will remain on my account for 6 years.

I cant believe that I'm so close to getting all my finances back on track and being able to move back into my mortaged property next year, now this has happened. Any advice would be much appreciated

Jayy

P.S. The default is a piddly £149.