MSE News: Warning for Scottish Power customers on fixed rate deals

thingamaBob

I have had the email from Scottish Power which gives two options.
1. Do nothing and be automatically transferred to the new fixed tariff.
2. Opt out of the new fixed tariff and go on to the Standard monthly Direct Debit which currently has the same prices as the fixed rate deal.

I did a comparison with Energyhelpline, which, according to the MSE article "Is Your Capped Tariff Ending" takes into account the proposed new tariff after a fix ends. This showed that my best deal would be Scottish Power's Online Energy Saver 6, saving £138 over a year.

I couldn't find anywhere on Scottish Power's site any facility to say that I wanted to switch to Online Energy Saver 6 as from 1st September so have sent them an email saying that this is what I would prefer to do.
If I get no satisfactory response to my email by 1st September, I will take the opt out option and then do a switch to the next best recomendation from Energyhelpline.

cw18

I'm getting the same response on the comparison site, though my saving is less than £60.

I found the details under 'product prices', but not under 'product information'. that deal only runs until the end of July 2010, so I'm wondering whether it's about to be closed to new sign-ups (unless it's still open on 1st September, we can't take it up without paying the cancellation fees on our current fixed deals!)

Scottish_Power

Hi folks,

As advised on previous threads, customers on the Fixed September 2009 Offer will only be charged a cancellation fee if they actually leave us before 31 August 2009. Sorry if this has not been made completely clear upon contacting us.

The Capped Rate Sept 2010 Offer is based on the same prices as our current Standard Rates, these will vary depending on where in the country you live and what your payment method is. For individual customer-specific advice I recommend you call us directly on 0800 400 200.

It is worth remembering that our Capped Sept 2010 Offer means that your prices cannot increase, however if our Standard rates decrease so will yours. It is a capped offer as opposed to a fixed rate. There is a cancellation fee of £30.00 for electricity and £20.00 for gas that applies if you leave before the end of the offer, so it is worth bearing that in mind when making your decision.

For those not wanting to move onto the Capped Sept 2010 Offer, they have until 30 September this year to let us know. In doing so they will be moved onto our Standard rates, which are exactly the same but without the protection against any increases. There would be no cancellation fee if you leave us when on this tariff, so this may be the best option if you are looking to shop around.

We do still have a range of other tariffs available and as above, for specific advice on this please call us on 0800 400 200.

I hope this proves useful in helping you all decide what to do next

Craig @ ScottishPower

duggo1

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

As advised on previous threads, customers on the Fixed September 2009 Offer will only be charged a cancellation fee if they actually leave us before 31 August 2009. Sorry if this has not been made completely clear upon contacting us.


Craig @ ScottishPower

So can I just clarify that you mean as long as the actual date of the actual switching of suply is what you mean, not just taking out a contract with another supplier?

Scottish_Power

duggo1 wrote: »

So can I just clarify that you mean as long as the actual date of the actual switching of suply is what you mean, not just taking out a contract with another supplier?

It's if your supply actually leaves us, not if you make an application before that date duggo1.;)

thingamaBob

Hi spcr,

As I said in my previous post above, I feel that when my fixed rate ends at the end of the month, the best thing for me would be to move to the Online Energy Saver 6 tariff but I can't find any facility on the Scottish Power website that will let me request this change. Is this because, as suggested by cw18, this tariff will not be available from 1st September?
Why are you only giving the option for the new fixed tariff or the Standard rate and not making all your other tariffs also selectable options?
I have been very happy being a Scottish Power customer for several years and don't want to move away just because of some administrative difficulty.

Scottish_Power

thingamaBob wrote: »

Hi spcr,

As I said in my previous post above, I feel that when my fixed rate ends at the end of the month, the best thing for me would be to move to the Online Energy Saver 6 tariff but I can't find any facility on the Scottish Power website that will let me request this change. Is this because, as suggested by cw18, this tariff will not be available from 1st September?
Why are you only giving the option for the new fixed tariff or the Standard rate and not making all your other tariffs also selectable options?
I have been very happy being a Scottish Power customer for several years and don't want to move away just because of some administrative difficulty.

Hi ThingmaBob,

As we have such a wide range of tariffs, each of which have different rates depending on payment method and the area you live in I think it would be difficult to give every possible option to customers.

We do welcome customers to contact us directly so they can receive specific and individual advice if they need this.

I have heard no suggestion that Online Energy Saver 6 is due to be made unavailable.

Craig @ ScottishPower

cw18

thingamaBob wrote: »

I have been very happy being a Scottish Power customer for several years and don't want to move away just because of some administrative difficulty.

I'm with you on this one....

I've been with SP since buying a new build property in May 2002 - and the only problem I've had to date was convincing the company they were providing both my fuels rather than just one (which was what we were informed by the builders). Took until September 2002 for it to be accepted by SP - which meant the first bill for the second fuel would have been really nasty if I paid as they arrived !!

Means I don't have quite as much faith in administration as I could have though..... even though (as I said in an earlier post) any issues/concerns I've phoned about since then have been well dealt with - to the point I don't want to go through the hassle of changing and building up a relationship with another provider just to save a few quid a year. . I actually turned another provider away from my door a couple of days ago without hearing him out - something that stunned my son as he knows I'm watching the pennies!

duggo1

Thank You Craig

galba

Online Energy Saver 6 isn't for everybody - dual fuel only and possible termination fee. And when in 2010 does it expire ??


"Online Energy Saver 6 in an online capped price tariff where customers benefit from a price that is guaranteed to remain a minimum of 3% cheaper than ScottishPower standard monthly Direct Debit prices for gas and electricity until 2010
Online Energy Saver 6 was launched as a gas and electricity tariff on the 16th July 2009 when it replaced Online Energy Saver 5.
** Customers may be subject to an early termination fee if they leave the tariff before 31st July 2010.
**Online Energy Saver 6 is only available as a dual fuel tariff for those customers with both gas and electricity.
Customers can pay their gas and electricity bills for Online Energy Saver 6 by Monthly Direct Debit only.
Online Energy Saver 6 is available as an online tariff only where energy bills are available online and account management is arranged online"