Scottish Power bailiff letter ...arghh!

Hintza

Bill posted 9 December 2008. Due to Christmas etc got popped in a pile of mail.

Phone call from SP 2 January 2009 were told we would deal with it asap.

Bill paid 5 or 6 January 2009

Letter from Debt collection company dated 6 Jamuary 2009.

Now bearing in mind this account has never been changed and is my OH name and I have nagged her to do something about it. We are in effect lifelong SP customers who have been getting milked by them for years.

I am raging at this as you can imagine.

My question is what do we do? Ask for an apology, which I imagine is unlikely or just say stuff you and change suppliers?

Slightly worried that they will all be the same nowdays when it comes to billing.

Magentasue

Well, you could ask for an apology, I suppose. Not sure I could be bothered. Would probably feel annoyed for five minutes and then forget about it.

Switch? If you can find a better deal, yes.

But I don't think the two are connected.

Hintza

It's the time scale that I find awful. No reminder and a debt collection company chasing you within a month. Just bloody rude if you ask me.

Joyful

Sorry but if you get three months of Energy and are then asked to pay for it you need to do it ASAP. The days of waiting for red reminders are long gone as the suppliers now charge if they have to send out reminders. That's why companies like DD payers. They don't have to pay to send reminders out.

Magentasue

Hintza wrote: »

It's the time scale that I find awful. No reminder and a debt collection company chasing you within a month. Just bloody rude if you ask me.

Agreed. I would be annoyed. But it's all computer driven rather than someone being impatient and rude. I use DD because of the discount and because I like to pay a fixed amount but I do prefer not having to remember to make the payment.

ali_p_4

was it actually a bailliff letter or had it been passed onto their collections dept(sterling). Also it usually says on any letter if you have already made this payment in the last x days to disregard. But i am not defending them I have had my fair share of them!!

Hintza

ali_p wrote: »

was it actually a bailliff letter or had it been passed onto their collections dept(sterling). Also it usually says on any letter if you have already made this payment in the last x days to disregard. But i am not defending them I have had my fair share of them!!

Aye thats the one.

It's the stupidity of these people that get me. They had a cash cow where the provider Scottish Power hadn't been changed since de-regulation. My OH paid their over inflated rates but not for much longer as we can save £300 by changing to an alternate supplier.

Cardew

It seems all the companies are playing 'hard ball' on this issue and sending overdue accounts to the 'debt collectors' very quickly these days.

Like the UK, the USA encourage payment by their version of Direct Debit, although they don't seem to offer any discounts for that method of payment.

However in the USA it is standard practice with many Utility companies to charge a penalty if a bill is not paid within xxdays.

Premier_2

Ask to pay by variable DD every 3 months on receipt of bill. Never be late paying a bill again

tuggy12

Hintza wrote: »

My OH paid their over inflated rates but not for much longer as we can save £300 by changing to an alternate supplier.

Would you kindly post how you can save £300 by switching supplier?

I'm with Scottish Power and cannot find an alternative supplier that would save me anything like that amount.

Premier_2

tuggy12 wrote: »

Would you kindly post how you can save £300 by switching supplier?

I'm with Scottish Power and cannot find an alternative supplier that would save me anything like that amount.

a) Do you live in the West Coast of Scotland and (b) do you have the same consumption as Hintza does?

Also remember that the legacy supplier of an area is often the most expensive ... but may be cheaper for an individual in a totally different area.

Just put your own usage details & area into a couple of the comparison sites listed above in the resource bar and you will soon discover who is currently the cheapest supplier for your own situation.

If there was just 1 company that was the cheapest for everyone, then there would be no need for the comparison sites ... or indeed the other suppliers.
(other than they would have no incentive to keep their prices low)