Scottish Power Complaint

Rubiedog · 19 April 2017 at 6:38PM

I hope I'm posting in the right place. Apologies if not. I'm looking for some advice after receiving a bill of nearly £1100 for gas from Scottish Power. Sorry if this is long winded.

We moved into our house 2 and a half years ago. We set up an account with our new energy supplier for gas and electric (not Scottish Power). We then got letters from Scottish Power asking us to set up an account with them. I called them when each of the letters came in and also emailed on one occasion and each time it was confirmed to me that Scottish Power were not supplying us and I should ignore the letters. I thought everything was sorted and didn't hear from them for about 18 months.

This morning I got the bill from Scottish Power. I called them and they now say that they have been our supplier since 2014 and are attempting to charge us. I have raised a complaint with them but have absolutely no confidence in their ability to deal with it.

I have contacted our supplier (Extra Energy) who have advised that we are paying them for gas and our account is all up to date.

I don't know if anyone else has been in this position and what the outcome was for them?

Thanks

LewisHamilton · 19 April 2017 at 7:14PM

Hello

Firstly, it does not surprise me that you are having issues with Scottish Power.

At the moment there appears to be confusion as to whether or not Scottish Power should be billing you.

It sounds like your gas supply is the issue? If this is the case, the first thing you need to find out is your MPRN. Basically, the MPRN is the unique identification number to identify a particular property.

Once you know your MPRN, find out what MPRN Scottish Power is billing you to and what MPRN Extra Energy is billing you to. It would also be worth double checking and asking either supplier to confirm what the national database states for your MPRN i.e. the energy supplier that is supplying your MPRN and the meter serial number attached to the MPRN.

Whoever is supplying your MPRN should be billing you as whoever is supplying your MPRN is supplying your property.

So hopefully, Extra Energy is billing you to the correct MPRN and the national database confirms that Extra Energy is your supplier.

If this is the case then it is likely that there is either a meter serial number mis-match on the national database resulting in Scottish Power billing you, there is a duplicate MPRN (rare but can happen) or Scottish Power has simply made a !!!! up with its internal systems.

If it transpires that Extra Energy is in fact billing you to an MPRN that is not related to your property, and Scottish Power is actually your gas supplier, then Scottish Power should be billing you for the gas and Extra Energy should be refunding all the payments you have made towards your gas usage.

Although it cannot be confirmed without doubt, as the account would need to be looked at in full, but if it does transpire that Scottish Power is your energy supplier, then it is likely that they will need to apply the back billing code and only seek payment for 12 months of usage - you still receive all the payments back from Extra Energy. This issue is covered under the code of practice for accurate bills.

Good luck, raise an official complaint with Scottish Power and if it does not resolve it within 8 weeks, you can go to the ombudsman. Do this as soon as you can to stop it spiralling out of control. You can ask the ombudsman for help as soon as your complaint reaches 8 weeks old

dogshome · 20 April 2017 at 9:19AM

It's not clear from the post that you established EE were the encumbant supplier to the house when you moved in.
The rule is that you must register with the existing supplier when moving in, and only when they have ackowledged your occupancy, can you change to a different supplier.

Phone the National Data Base for gas meters on 0870 608 1524 - Be aware this is a premium rate number at 7p a minute - to check who your registered supplier is.

If they say it's SP then you are liable for this £1100 bill, but the upside is that EE have to return to you the moneys you paid them for the Gas now billed by SP.

The downside is that SP's bill will be based on their 'Standard Variable Tariff', which is the most expensive
However, because of the shambles SP made by denying that you were their customer and should ignore letters, there is a chance you have a claim under the 'Back Billing Agreement' that will limit thier claim to the cost of gas used only in the last 12 months

Cardew · 20 April 2017 at 10:17AM

As indicated above, it would appear that the initial error was by yourself in not setting up an account with SP(assuming they were supplying the property). All new occupants are on a legally binding deemed contract with the existing supplier as soon as they take occupation of the property.

Secondly Extra Energy should have liaised with SP to have the account switched to themselves. This would have entailed agreeing meter readings with SP at the date of taking over the account; you then would have received a small final bill from SP for the period from occupation to extra energy taking over the account.

It also seems likely that the previous occupants had not notified SP they were leaving. This will probably mean you are being billed in the £1,100 for some of the previous occupant's consumption.

Ian011 · 23 April 2017 at 4:56AM

dogshome wrote: »

Phone the National Data Base for gas meters on 0870 608 1524 - Be aware this is a premium rate number at 7p a minute - to check who your registered supplier is.

It is a premium rate number, but it's not 7p per minute. It's 7p per minute plus your phone provider's Access Charge.

From a landline the Access Charge is usually around 10p to 13p per minute.
From a mobile the Access Charge is usually around 44p to 55p per minute.

Scottish Power Complaint

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