Lucy* regularly reviews her monthly credit report to ensure the maintenance of her excellent credit score.
Therefore, when she observed a significant decrease last November, she was understandably perplexed.
She had initially subscribed to a credit report service after learning it was advisable practice to check for any debt assigned in error.
Her proactive measures proved advantageous when she discovered that the decline in her score was not due to her actions, but rather an error by Octopus Energy.
Subsequently, months of correspondence ensued between the energy provider and her credit agency until the matter could be rectified.
Billing mistake: Our reader Lucy* was left with debt markers on her credit score after an error
Unexplained Payment Arrears
Lucy identified in her ‘flawless‘ credit report that her falling score was attributed to late payments with Octopus Energy.
She is a customer of Octopus for her residence and consistently maintains a good credit standing.
She soon realized the payment arrears had been incorrectly assigned to a rented property for which she holds the freehold.
Lucy has owned the property in north London for numerous years but has neither resided there nor established any utility accounts.
Instead, she leases out one of the apartments, and another individual possesses the leasehold for the other.
She understood that the outstanding balance of £265 had been accumulated by one of the leaseholders, who subsequently emailed Octopus to affirm the responsibility was his, not Lucy’s.
Octopus verified to him they had erred in attributing the rented property to Lucy and stated they had requested an update to the information to prevent future misunderstandings.
The energy firm also informed Lucy of a discrepancy and that they had requested the removal of all missed payment markers.
Despite consistently following up with both Octopus and the credit agency Transunion for several months, the debt markers persisted.
In March, it became apparent that the database contained two addresses for the apartments, and when the other leaseholder’s tenant vacated, the name reverted to Lucy as the freeholder.
Yet, no changes occurred for Lucy. She reports that her bank had reduced her credit card limit to £500, despite her never having arrears, a situation she directly attributes to the debt markers.
Upon contacting This Is Money, Lucy stated that she had consistently maintained an excellent credit rating and was ‘genuinely concerned about the potential long-term consequences for herself and her family.’
Octopus soon confirmed to Lucy that the marker had been placed against her name mistakenly and would be removed.
However, Lucy remained unconvinced. Since November, she had received assurances that the problem would be resolved, which had not happened.
Land Registry Error
When This Is Money contacted Octopus, they stated that it was an isolated error originating from one of their operations teams.
During the investigation into who was responsible for the debt on the rented property, Lucy’s details, as the freeholder, were erroneously obtained from land registry records, instead of those of the leaseholder.
A spokesman for Octopus Energy stated: ‘The marker on Lucy’s account with the debt collector has since been removed, and we have agreed to provide a £500 gesture of goodwill, which has been refunded to her bank account. She is satisfied with the resolution.’
This Is Money also contacted Transunion to inquire whether her credit score would be adjusted to reflect Octopus’ error.
A spokesperson for Transunion said: ‘The error on the credit report occurred because Octopus Energy reported an account to Transunion for which the consumer was not liable.
‘Since this complaint was registered, Octopus has corrected the data on their system, and our team has contacted the consumer and informed them that their dispute has been successful.
‘The account has now been removed from their report. It is crucial to note that Transunion can only amend information once a lender has confirmed the disputed details.’
‘Despite the successful removal of the account, it is possible that some remaining data issues may still arise.
‘Therefore, the matter has been escalated, and our teams will ensure this is treated as a priority matter.’
Lucy has opted to donate her £500 payment to Radical Recruit, a charity assisting disadvantaged individuals in entering employment.
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Octopus Energy error resulted in debt markers on credit score – why is resolution so complex?
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