Cancelling Scottish Power Fixed Contract

Gambler

Has anybody cancelled their fix?

I applied online for the SP fix on 30th July and received a letter and pricing leaflet on 12th Aug.

When checking my bill recently I realised I have been charged the higher standing charge of the Oct-09 fix instead. I have queried this with customer services but am getting little joy. The difference is nearly £100 annually on top of the £1,500 I thought I would be paying.

Do I have grounds for switching without having to pay the £50 cancellation fee as SP have changed the terms of the contract?

Secondly how do these fixed contracts work when you are nearing the end of the term. Do you have to wait until the end of the contract before initiating the switch, therefore spending a minimum of 6 weeks on SP’s standard tariff?



Thanks

AndysDad

I think as your bill is for £1500 then you are way above the minimum 225/1143 Kwh and if thats the case then you pay no more for your units whether you are on NSC or not.The benifits come in the summmer months when your consumption is less.I signed up to the same tariff in August and also noticed that I had been put onto the Standing charge tariff.Rang them up yesterday and they swapped me over to the NSC tariff without any trouble.

Gambler

AndysDad wrote: »

I think as your bill is for £1500 then you are way above the minimum 225/1143 Kwh and if thats the case then you pay no more for your units whether you are on NSC or not.The benifits come in the summmer months when your consumption is less.I signed up to the same tariff in August and also noticed that I had been put onto the Standing charge tariff.Rang them up yesterday and they swapped me over to the NSC tariff without any trouble.

Andy I'm not too bothered whether its SC or not as I realise the price will be the same. The problem I have is they are not charging as per the tariff I signed up to. They've put me on the next one fro some reason .

Premier_2

Gambler wrote: »

...Do I have grounds for switching without having to pay the £50 cancellation fee as SP have changed the terms of the contract?...

No, but you should have grounds for getting the tariff originally agreed to when they sent you the contract.

Contract them to explain the error and ask for the previous bills to be adjusted accordingly too.

Gambler

Premier wrote: »

Contract them to explain the error and ask for the previous bills to be adjusted accordingly too.

Already tried that, even raised a complaint but they are just the same as most customer service dept's - useless :mad:

Gambler

I now have to provide evidence of the tariff 'I thought' I was on. So I now have to send them a copy of the letter they initially sent to me. Crazy.

Quentin

Tell them you will on receipt of their payment to cover the cost of the copy and your time (the banks charge around £10 to £25 for supplying copies of documents) and the postage (suggest they avail themselves of special delivery to ensure this document doesn't get lost again).

Premier_2

Gambler wrote: »

...Secondly how do these fixed contracts work when you are nearing the end of the term. Do you have to wait until the end of the contract before initiating the switch, therefore spending a minimum of 6 weeks on SP’s standard tariff?



Thanks

You can't switch away from the contract until the end date (or if you do, expect to be charged an exit fee)

However, it'll take any company at least 4 weeks from applying before they switch you, so you could always apply 4 weeks prior to the end date and reduce the 4-6 weeks down to 0-2 weeks.

Also, you don't have to go onto the suppliers standard tariff. Contact the supplier near the end of the contract and ask to transfer to the most appropriate tariff for your needs at the contract end date. It may be worthwile doing this as they might otherwise sign you up for another fixed deal (but that would depend on your existing contract wording).

dbuk44

Premier wrote: »

You can't switch away from the contract until the end date (or if you do, expect to be charged an exit fee).

Hi - what is the source of this please? I am currently looking to switch.

I have a Scottish Power Fix, and there is nothing in my T&Cs about being unable to switch before the end date or an exit fee if I do.

Thanks

Gambler

Quentin wrote: »

Tell them you will on receipt of their payment to cover the cost of the copy and your time (the banks charge around £10 to £25 for supplying copies of documents) and the postage (suggest they avail themselves of special delivery to ensure this document doesn't get lost again).

Thanks Quentin, I've scanned the documents but you make a valid point. It makes you wonder who is providing the service in this scenario.

Imagine how many people they may be overcharging without them realising. Thankfully I know how to check my bills.

Gambler

Premier wrote: »

You can't switch away from the contract until the end date (or if you do, expect to be charged an exit fee)

However, it'll take any company at least 4 weeks from applying before they switch you, so you could always apply 4 weeks prior to the end date and reduce the 4-6 weeks down to 0-2 weeks.

Also, you don't have to go onto the suppliers standard tariff. Contact the supplier near the end of the contract and ask to transfer to the most appropriate tariff for your needs at the contract end date. It may be worthwile doing this as they might otherwise sign you up for another fixed deal (but that would depend on your existing contract wording).

Thanks for this. I've calculated that it may well be worth paying the exit fee now that the winter is over as I their electricity prices are excessive.