Denied by Amaysim Electricity - any suggestions?

nessism on 27/03/2020 - 01:09
Last edited 27/03/2020 - 10:19

UPDATE: Error on my Illion credit file, provided doc and hopefully should clear and will try again.

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time forum poster here.

So I moved into a place about 6 weeks ago, about 3 weeks in I got electricity connected to ReAmped Energy, no sweat there.

Around the deadline of the Free Unlimited Calls/Texts/200GB Data for Life of Your Energy Plan deal I managed to get Amaysim to agree to honour it upon my signup and the $80 prepaid deposit, so I paid, and signed up.

Then I got an email:

*We perform a credit check on every customer before transferring their service. Unfortunately your application was unsuccessful and your order has been cancelled.

Check your credit status
If you wish to discuss the details of your credit status further, please contact Dun & Bradstreet, Public Access Centre on 132 333.*

Not entirely surprised by this, I've had health issues and subsequent financial hardship, but have consistently been in communication with all debtors, worked with a financial counsellor and successfully cleared a bunch of debts over the last year. To the best of my knowledge, I'm now clear.
My first guess is D&B, which are now illion.com.au (bizarre that they've listed 'Dun & Bradstreet') haven't updated my records.

So I did a search for me on illion.com.au.

This is what I got:

  • Risk of Failure Report Unincorporated Entity
    Risk of Late Payment Unincorporated Entity *

Pretty safe guess that this is what Amaysim got too.

Bizarre to me, however, that:
A. I didn't have any issue with ReAmped,
B. The're doing a credit check for a PREPAID account,
C. This is an essential service (some memory of these services legally not being able to be refused bocz they're, like, essential, maybe?), do they even have the right to not connect me?

If anyone has any feedback, advice or insight it'd be appreciated!

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Comments

  • Euphemistic on 27/03/2020 - 06:30
    +5

    Would you sign up someone who has a risk of failure or late payment?

    Unfortunately, while you’ve paid off your debts you will have a history and they don’t you you won’t do it again.

    • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 08:19

      Yet, shit happens, people get sick and here I am recovering, with no debts.
      So, what are my options to get essential services?

      • MilkDrinker on 27/03/2020 - 08:25
        +2

        A different company? Can do AGL if you are in a rush

        Avoid sumo if you didn’t get in with Amaysim.

        • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 10:21
          +1

          Thanks, seems to be an issue with Illion, should clear and be alright. Cheers.

      • brendanm on 27/03/2020 - 18:14

        Use reamped energy, as you were doing, until your credit is good again.

  • Jetstream on 27/03/2020 - 08:30
    +4

    How's your entitlement going?
    If I was in business I would find it 'essential' that people pay on time.

    I guess the good news is, after a period of time, your history no longer becomes relevant and your options will begin to open up again

    • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 08:36
      -1

      "MY" entitlement?

      Seems you missed the bit where I prepay, among other things.

      But thanks for dropping your kids off at the pool.

  • Baysew on 27/03/2020 - 08:43
    +3

    I didn't have any issue with ReAmped

    Stay with ReAmped.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 27/03/2020 - 09:27
    +5

    C. This is an essential service (some memory of these services legally not being able to be refused bocz they're, like, essential, maybe?), and seems especially ludicrous in this #COVID19 climate to refuse essential services. Do they even have the right to not connect me?

    Electricity is an essential service. Your choice of retailer is not.

    I don't know what state you're in but essentially the retailer with the "billing rights" (currently supplying electricity or was the last to supply energy to a meter) will be the "retailer of last resort" and will be required to give you electricity even if you have the credit rating of zero. No one else is "required" to connect you and will do their usual assessments.

    • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 09:28

      Ok, that's clear. Thanks.

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 27/03/2020 - 09:32
        -1

        Also, if it helps, clearing your debts doesn't restore your credit rating.

        If a default is listed against you, it will usually have 1 of 3 statuses, Open, Settled or Paid. It remains recorded and doesn't get "wiped" until the statutory amount of time has lapsed (5 or 7 years).

        • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 10:21

          Fun times. Cheers.

  • Seraphin7 on 27/03/2020 - 10:05
    +3

    but, hey, in this great LNP state, things breakdown so fast these days

    Yep, the LNP are definitely the reason you can't pay your bills.

    Do they even have the right to not connect me?

    Yes.

    • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 10:08
      -2

      Just … why bother?

      • brendanm on 27/03/2020 - 18:16

        Sums up your thread pretty well really.

        • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 20:19

          Thank you for your esteemed feedback.

  • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 10:13

    As an update: Illion runs https://www.creditsimple.com.au - quick to sign up and can instantly see your report. They've got an old debt on my file that's been paid, that shouldn't be there.

    Have provided docs to clear it, and talked to someone at Illion.
    Nothing else is out of order, but that'd be the flag they were looking for.

    No more snarky comments needed, as much as they're apreciated.

    Thanks to those that took the time to help and inform - appreciate it :) .

  • JimmyF on 27/03/2020 - 10:15
    +1

    Denied by Amaysim Electricity - any suggestions?

    They seem to have told you why, being

    Risk of Failure Report Unincorporated Entity
    Risk of Late Payment Unincorporated Entity

    Just because its prepaid, doesn't meant they have to take you on still.

    Move on to the next provider, as this one said no. You can piss and whinge all you like, but it won't change anything. They don't have to accept your business if they don't want to.

    • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 10:18
      -2

      Where, exactly, pray tell did I piss, or whinge?

      Edit: took out political ref that may have ruffled snowflakes.

      • JimmyF on 27/03/2020 - 11:18
        +3

        Where, exactly, pray tell did I piss, or whinge?

        The entire post for starters, its dripping with entitlement, but lets start with the bits you have edited out (but the post history still shows) like

        seems especially ludicrous in this #COVID19 climate to refuse essential services.

        Correct, electricity is an essential service to the community, but there is no law saying retailers/providers must provide it to you if you have bad credit history etc. You have the choice of many different retailers to supply to you and it's their choice if they wish to take you on as a customer.

        As they outlined by them, they see you as a high risk from the points provided by them.

        Move on to a different provider. Amaysim has spoken. Why do you want to use Amaysim so badly?

        • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 20:16
          -1

          So you're whinging about you percieving me whinging?
          Got it, and thank you.

          There are actually laws overseen by both the ACCC and the Australian Energy Regulator, but i'll leave that to you to figure out.

          I clearly detailed in OP why I applied to Amaysim.

          Peace!

          • JimmyF on 27/03/2020 - 21:39

            @nessism:

            There are actually laws overseen by both the ACCC and the Australian Energy Regulator, but i'll leave that to you to figure out.

            and not one of them say a retailer has to offer service to someone with a bad credit rating. WHICH IS WHAT YOU ARE WHINING ABOUT.

            So you're whinging about you percieving me whinging?

            No that was you, who was whining that you hadn't been whining. I made a statement in my first post that you had been, and you should move on to a new retailer, but here we are……

  • pegaxs on 27/03/2020 - 11:59
    +2

    Amaysim electricity is the worst. What they have done is done you a favour. I was with them for 3 months and that was too long. Really bad phone support, broken billing system, lies on contract, not passing on bonus/pay early, really short or weird billing cycles, waaaaay over charging "estimate" readings and not giving back the difference, hidden costs/manipulated pricing. (was getting a good solar FIT, but was being slugged on peak and daily charges that more than deleted the FIT offer I was on.)…

    My suggestion is "Avoid at all costs".

    • nessism on 27/03/2020 - 20:12

      Right, well maybe I dodged a bullet! Thanks.

  • blimpyboy on 27/03/2020 - 13:25
    +1

    Hey, not sure if you're still reading this thread since you've written an update, but I thought I'd quickly write to offer some more advice, particularly since I think it's unfair that some folks had a go at you over previous hardship.

    I'm not familiar with Amaysim's credit checking process, but I can guess that they have a standard on-boarding process which performs a credit check on all new electricity customers, including pre-paid, precisely because it's an essential service. If you stop paying your pre-paid account, or if you somehow exceed your prepaid allocation during the month, it gives them the awkward decision to either disconnect you or start a collections process to recover the money from you. A credit check beforehand is a smart way for them to pre-empt this kind of problem. Not every utilities provider runs credit checks, or runs them in the same way, however. This may explain why ReAmped connected you without any problems.

    Your post suggests that you went to Credit Simple to obtain your Credit Score, not your Credit File. Let me know if I'm wrong, but even the terminology you used in what you saw "Risk of Failure…" is not standard for a credit file, it's more related to a credit score, and it's not the root cause of your problem. You need a copy of your Credit File (which is also free) to be able to figure out what's on there that's right/wrong. It's stipulated by law that you must be given free access to your credit file once a year so please don't pay anyone for it, nor for any "credit repair" services.

    As others have mentioned, repaying an overdue loan or a previously defaulted amount doesn't erase that information from your credit file. All it does is add new information to say it was once unpaid, but now it's paid. This is much better than having a record to say it's unpaid only, but not as good as a blank file. If your credit file shows you've repaid the debts then the only thing you can do in most circumstances is to simply wait until it drops off your file (5-7 years, depending on circumstances).

    Once you go through the process of finding out what is on your credit file with Illion and fix anything that's wrong, you'll need to repeat this process with other credit file holders. Illion is not the only credit reporting body (aka credit bureau). Two others are Equifax (formely Veda) and Experian (and if you lived in Tasmania there is one more, I forget the name of it). If you have incorrect data in one credit bureau then it could be incorrect in the others, too. Getting corrections made takes a long time, and so it's best to do this when you're not actively in the market looking to get a loan or utilities account, etc.

    Hope this helps.

    • nessism on 28/03/2020 - 01:17

      That does help, thank you for taking the time - you are a scholar and a gentleman.

      And yes, not sure why some feel need to admonish someone who's dealt with hardship (note past tense) - survival of the shi#$est? They're assuming I'm lying? They think I've been doing it easier?

      It's not easy to put yourself out there, to ask for advice, to not be ashamed of going through hard times.

      Shit can happen to anyone, and u don't know what has happened to others.

      I'll just leave this here - a few notes re my story, just one of many:

      Health issues >3 years with many tests, a year of no answers, docs, clinics, hospitals and docs again. Then diagnosis. No effective treatments, and none Gov subsidised, and waiting in between.
      Utterly exhuasted, flu symptoms, digestive issues, rashes, headaches, even my sight is/was affected throughout, started housesitting (no fixed abode, not to be confused with homeless) coz I exhausted any savings I had, the meagre super I had, and couldn't work nor afford rent anymore.

      I've managed to get better given I'm an educated, white male with a working brain and requisite persistence and grind to educate myself, yet without free medicine, information and Gov support, I would have remained screwed. Dobtless in most places in the world I would be.

      Look, I'm a lucky one - I write bcoz all this has opened my eyes to just how easy it is to fall through cracks, how easy it is to take health for granted, coz what was available to me, just isn't for so many. For the naysayers, I'm talking about being able to see, know, a way out of hardship here 🙄.

      Anybody that's been thru similiar would have chosen money and health, to be able to maintain a biz, friendships, to give their children more time and energy, and yes, maintain a credit rating 🤣 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK over the reality they've dealt with. And it needs to be said - what I've been through pales in comparison to others suffering.

      Some have percieved me whinging, that wasn't intended in writing, and I'm still not clear how it reads like that.

      Anyway <endrant="walk a mile in their shoes" />

      I'll add this here coz between in yours and @zeggie replies, key questions are answered:

      Electricity is an essential service. Your choice of retailer is not.

      I don't know what state you're in but essentially the retailer with the "billing rights" (currently supplying electricity or was the last to supply energy to a meter) will be the "retailer of last resort" and will be required to give you electricity even if you have the credit rating of zero. No one else is "required" to connect you and will do their usual assessments.

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