I moved once and got a $10 final gas bill sent to the old address that I never knew about. The company was scummy and added a $10 late fee after 30 days. Then another $10 late fee after 30 days, etc, until it was around $120 and then they put it on my credit report and sent it to a collector.
This was like 20 years ago, but scummy fly-by-night companies will do this.
What enraged me most was that that the insurance company supposedly didn't know my new address, although they are my landlord at the new address...
The debt collection of course had no problem finding out my new address.
AFAIK (in the UK, at least), for an account to affect your credit record, without it actually going to court, would need for you to have signed a credit agreement at the outset.
I don't believe that's correct as scummy telecoms use the threat of ruining your credit to keep people paying even if they delivery no/subpar service.