I agree - probably not too much longer before they're all doing it, but that won't stop me fighting it in the meantime. Mind you, BG probably did me a big favour when they started reporting on my account because I was like many others I suspect - too complacent to bother shopping around. My bills with EON are way below BG's. So in that, at least, I'm happy.

My issue with BG reporting was that, as a customer of some 25 years, I never had a credit agreement from them in the first place and therefore never gave permission for them to share my data with anyone. My account was generally in credit, meaning that BG owed me money - not the other way round! I can see that anyone with a poor credit rating would be happy for their account to be reported as a way of improving their record but I didn't need to improve my record. Maybe I'm being unreasonable in not wishing to share my personal data with all and sundry? There is just far too much personal info being bandied about these days by all sorts of organisations, and I do believe it should be more controlled. I also believe that customers have the right to be notified that information will be published about them BEFORE it is published; that way they can choose whether to stay with the supplier or move on.

I switched to dual fuel with EON (nothing appears on my credit report so far, so I assume they don't yet report) and I've saved at least £500 a year including the boiler/central heating care. Switching wouldn't help Mr Jolly with his credit report problem, but I agree with 2Grumpy about checking whether it's an estimated bill - BG were always very happy to estimate my bills despite my accessible outside meter which they could read whether I was home at the time or not. Let us know Mr Jolly?

Summary: HFC: CCJ for £10 per month in about 1990. TBI: bought the debt TBI contacted debtor 12 years ago, who started paying £24 per month under duress and in total ignorance of any rights. 2007 Debtor started to get wise and questioned whether they should be paying or not. Original creditor confirmed they had no documents. TBI went to Court to enforce Judgment. DJ admitted on the day that he had not read the debtor's documents, asked TBI barrister "is there any grounds here?", TBI barrister said possibly duress, DJ told debtor to pay up at original CCJ of £10 per month. Order made for £10 per month. Barrister told debtor in confidence "TBI always go the whole 9 yards, not nice to deal with". Debtor made two payments of £10, then got bolshi and stopped paying. Nothing from TBI for more than one year, statement arrived showing nothing received but not pushing for payment. Another year passed, letter from TBI "you have not made payments for a long time, here is a form, please fill in regarding your financial circumstances". Debtor ignored it. Lots of phone calls, not answered, phone messags left "Please call us". About 6 weeks later, another letter from TBI: "Please pay us, we might ask Court to enforce". Very gentle letter. TBI have a problem I think. Debtor needs to take this to a solicitor "but can't afford. Anybody else had this sort of problem with TBI? I am not the debtor but, if I was, I would say "Stuff you, TBI!"

Received a phone call from BG, going over the same old line about how they now report on all accounts to CRAs. I asked for somebody higher up the chain to phone me as that idiot was little better than the callcentre person. Got a phone call from another bod who was a bit more clued up. Spent about 25 minutes putting my point across, and he said he understood my concerns but that BG has made a business decision to report on all accounts to CRAs. He insisted that Terms & Conditions would have been sent to me but apparently they have no proof. I insisted that I never had them. We are at stalemate, as I suspected would be the case, and I told him I was going to research alternative suppliers over this weekend, but he is due to ring me again tomorrow. Anyway, have decided to get rid of BG for gas and for boiler/central heating/drains etc cover and go to EDF for dual fuel provided they don't report to CRAs. For boiler etc, I will revert to a local gas installer/repairer/plumber (he is Gas Safe registered) on an as needed basis. So when the BG man rings me tomorrow, I will tell him my decision. Also that I am going to tell all my friends and relatives what BG are up to. I suspect a lot of them will vote with their feet too.

They finally sent an email response to my complaint, much in the same vein as others on here received. Here is my reply: Thank you for your emails, the second email attaching your Terms & Conditions. I must point out that you have never previously supplied me with Terms & Conditions stipulating that you would record and report my account to a Credit Reference Agency, nor have I ever signed any agreement with you or given my permission for you to share my personal data with any third party. As you must know, to share my personal information with third parties requires you first to obtain my express permission, which you did not do, and you are therefore in breach of the Data Protection Act. I therefore insist that you cease processing my data as I have no wish for you to share my information with any third party. I would also point out that my credit rating is already first class and I do not need or want the assistance of British Gas with this (implied in your 5th paragraph). I also note the implication that any missed payment will adversely affect my record - this could be construed as blackmail. However, it is totally irrelevant because, as you are well aware, my account is paid by monthly direct debit, the amount of which is arbitrarily fixed by British Gas and varies so wildly from one quarter to the next that I am invariably in credit, sometimes by quite large amounts, thus making me an unsecured creditor of British Gas. I look forward to receiving confirmation that you have ceased sharing my data with all third parties. Incidentally, with regard to the first of your energy saving tips, this is misleading and disingenuous. Assuming that it would cost me somewhere in the region of £3,500 to replace my existing boiler, it would take me almost 15 years to recoup the cost of this, based on your quoted annual savings figure of £235. Given also that your savings figure is optimistic to say the least, and that the average life of these new boilers is only 10 to 12 years, that cost would never be recouped, and therefore there would be no saving at all – in fact, there would be a loss. My final paragraph is irrelevant - I just threw that in to show them what I think of their ethics. I don't suppose for one moment that I'll succeed in stopping them from reporting to the CRA, but I'll give them plenty of grief in the meantime and I'm planning to get my MP onto this - it's about time he started earning his keep.

I'm investigating alternative suppliers who don't use CRA's but it looks like they all do now. I don't care particularly about making any great saving. I just don't want big brother knowing my every move and reporting it to the world and his wife. Does anybody know of energy companies who don't carry on like this?

I received an automated email response to my complaint emai. They hope to respond within 7 days ... blah blah. I don't suppose they will have anything of use to say when they do respond. However, their call centre rang me tonight in response to my call to them last night. Some halfwit tried to reassure me that my British Gas account being on my credit report will "benefit" me. I told her I don't need BG's assistance with my credit record. She said everybody is doing it and if I took out a mobile phone contract, the same thing would happen. I replied that, if I took out a mobile phone contract, I would sign an agreement and receive Terms & Conditions, whereas I signed nothing with British Gas and have never received any T&Cs from them. Anyway, she was useless, had never heard of the Data Protection Act, nor the Consumer Credit Act. I'll wait for an email response to my complaint, but I suspect I will be voting with my feet and saying goodbye to British Gas.

Well, I opened my account in 1991, I have not moved house in that time, just same old monthly direct debit arrangement, not changed to duel fuel or anything else. Therefore, nothing has changed since 1991, yet I have just been alerted of an addition of an account to my file by British Gas. It shows the account opened in 1991 (long before the 1998 quoted above), shows a balance of £31 (which makes no sense whatsoever when I look at my last bill, the payments made since then, and my estimated gas usage since then). I have never ever signed anything to say they could process my data. I phoned their call centre - stupid thing to do - waste of a phone call! I've sent an email complaint and will update with what they say. As others have said, it's the principle of the thing. Where will it end? Will the milkman want to add an account to my credit report? What about the postman - I had to pay £1.01 excess postage the other day because somebody put insufficient postage on a packet I received. How about the mini-cab outfit down the road, I have an account with them. This nonsense has to stop.

My friend has over the last 2 years had letters from Mack Hall and various others on behalf of Mack Hall, all for the same supposed debt, and today another from Response Credit Management also on behalf of MH, again for the same alleged debt. He has never answered any of the letters from any of the ****, and nothing ever happens, despite their threats to send "field collectors" etc. If you know that you owe nothing, or that it's statute barred, is there really any need to respond at all? All these letters have been filed in a box entitled "Rubbish" and never responded to. I note that at the bottom of the letter from Response Credit Management, written in bold, are the words "Call us NOW to pay by debit or credit card, this is the quickest and simplest method of payment". Now, I might be wrong but I thought it was against OFT guidelines for debt collectors to urge people to put themselves further in debt by using their credit card to pay off debt!

Subscribing

Still watching - with bated breath, and fingers crossed.

Thanks Kermit. My mind's at rest now re my own possessions. But I really sympathise with my lodger who I've known for years. He became my lodger after his house was repossessed and I know he's genuinely horrified at his situation and powerless to do anything. I also know that the Courts can be totally useless, District Judges all too cosy with Claimants and their barristers. I better stop ranting now before I get myself wound up. Thanks to all for your responses.

Thanks for that clarification, Tomtubby. I'll tell him to contact the Court then. Maybe that'll be the end of all this. I hope so for his sake, as he's had a nightmare of a time over the last 10 years or so and this mess was all the result of some really bad luck - redundancies one after the other - you know the theme.

I hope you're right, Wwow.