It's not far from the truth. I don't think they can technically get away with hitting your credit score before you signed a contract, and instead will send you

It's not far from the truth. I don't think they can technically get away with hitting your credit score before you signed a contract, and instead will send you a "first bill" once you do contact them, which will include the difference between the meter reading when you moved into the property, and whatever reading they had from the last tenant. Often this results in a headache while you try to avoid paying for electricity/gas you didn't consume. But it's not unheard of for utility companies to fuck with your credit score when the only major error you made was not contacting them quickly enough.