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We Energies stops reporting to credit bureaus
We Energies stops reporting to credit bureaus
MILWAUKEE -- A recent decision by a major utility company is having unintended consequences for some customers.
Lynn Crump is an aspiring business woman who recently found her credit score dropped.
"With all three reports, an average of 21 points," Crump said. "I'm trying to, you know, maintain my good credit standing."
The reason for the credit score drop is not Crump's fault.
Lynn Crump
"We Energies was a trade line on my credit report and it's no longer here," she explained.
In late December, We Energies stopped reporting customer payments histories to credit bureaus. Since then, Contact 6 has heard from three people claiming their credit scores have gone down.
"If I would have been in a position to buy a home or apply for credit or anything, that would have been a shock to me, not knowing that this was removed," Crump said.
Brendan Conway, We Energies' spokesman, said the decision brings their company in line with other Wisconsin utilities that no longer report to credit bureaus.
"We were actually an outlier, so most utilities in this country don't," Conway said. "We don't control how this impacts your FICO score, right? So whether we're reporting or not reporting, we're not sure how those credit agencies handle that."
Contact 6 reached out to all three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. TransUnion was the only company to respond.
TransUnion said in a written statement:
Crump said We Energies should have given customers a heads up.
"I faithfully pay them every month," she said. "Should have put an insert into consumers' utility bills back start in September or October to notify us that this change was coming so we could have prepared ourselves."
We Energies said in the past some customers complained their payment histories were being sent to bureaus. The utility doesn't think this is a widespread problem, saying it has only received a couple of complaints.
Customers can request a 15-month summary of their payments to offer the credit agencies. TransUnion does not allow this kind of self-reporting. According to Experian's website, it does.