Scottish Power's exit fee

hunnycat

blue_monkey wrote: »

Maybe because you did the readings for the summer months and when you turn your heating on in the winter your bill will go up a lot, plus you cook more hotter meals in the winter and maybe use the water more when you have more hot baths? I guess it depends what size house you live in and how many of you there are and they work it out this way.

We paid £57 to SP for 6 months last year when we moved then the heating went on and we've had to up our payments to £150 to pay the debt back plus this years bills - in our old house we was paying £150 a month but with electric heating so we thought we had got a good deal - then I worked the units out for myself and realised that it was not that much cheaper and we'll be paying around £115 a month for the years supply. I'd have rather have paid the higher amount for the year. At least you'll be in credit when the winter comes and can leave whenever you like. We cannot leave because we owe them the money.

Last year after moving in here I gave a reading for end of May to start of August BG and Eon and it was around £60 combined. That was without heating and cooking fuel though.

You could always opt for Quarterly payments.

yeah we are using less in the summer however we have gone from a 2 bed house with no heating at all to a 3 bed flat which has central heating. in the 2 bed house they were only taking £90 a month even over the winter which covered all my bills fully and that was when i was on maternity leave and in the house 24/7.
we turn everything off when not in use and nothing is left on standyby. If its chilly jumpers and blankets are used rather than heating. They point blank refuse to change the monthly payment to something that is reasonable and close to what i would be using!

epsilondraconis

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

Hi Tracey,

As the others have already confirmed, you should not be charged a cancellation fee if your supplies did not leave before 31 August.

Please feel free to PM me your account details and I can see exactly what is going on for you.

Craig @ ScottishPower

Although a lot is being written about SP at the moment, at least Craig @ SP is standing by his original statements and is willing to address the cancellation fee if the supply didn't leave before 31 Aug. Thank you Craig.

I too am leaving SP and submitted my application to EDF on 22nd Aug as I know there is the 12 day cooling off period when signing up to EDF. This ensured the transfer occurs after the 31st Aug date.

1carminestocky

KimYeovil wrote: »

Just think of it as an extra bonus payment for their incompetence. The penalty is not enforceable. Let them take it then complain to the regulator. You will receive the penalty back plus compensation of £20 to £60.

Excellent advice. :beer: Only problem is I wonder how many punters like the OP will just pay it and put it down to 'experience'? Maybe the regulator should be informed now of what SP plan to do and contact them to ensure NO-ONE is charged this exit fee who hasn't ceased their SP supply before 31/8/09. This whole industry is an absolute and utter mess. The suppliers are businesses, you expect them to try every wheeze going to maximise their profits. The blame for this mess lies entirely at successive Govt's door - it shouldn't have been privatised in the first place but, good God, once it was it should have been regulated with an iron fist.

PS Kudos to Craig from SP, btw. He would appear to be a welcome oasis in a desert of dodginess.

ed123_2

..Am I correct in thinking that the £50 penalty is not enforcable regardless if you transfered before/after 31/8/09? ie That it is an illegal/unfair clause in the contract??....ed (& assume the regulator would confirm this?)

1carminestocky

As long as the actual switchover to the new supplier happened AFTER 31/8/09 (doesn't matter when you actually applied to switch) then SP cannot enforce the £50 exit fee. If they do, as KimYeovil suggested earlier, let them do it then contact the regulator as that way you will get the £50 back PLUS compensation.

blue_monkey_2

hunnycat wrote: »

yeah we are using less in the summer however we have gone from a 2 bed house with no heating at all to a 3 bed flat which has central heating. in the 2 bed house they were only taking £90 a month even over the winter which covered all my bills fully and that was when i was on maternity leave and in the house 24/7.
we turn everything off when not in use and nothing is left on standyby. If its chilly jumpers and blankets are used rather than heating. They point blank refuse to change the monthly payment to something that is reasonable and close to what i would be using!

I do know what you mean hunny, I am pretty much the same although when it is cold I did have it on. I do not see how I can bring the costs down further, I have the water heater on once a day to top the water up for the kids bathtime and we use their water and then top it up with hot save running a full bath again (sounds gross but they are not that dirty!!) you just have to do what you have got to do but I do think that I pay so much money in gas and electric.

I guess the other thing you could do is pay quarterly and put the money in a seperate savings account. I do think they are charging you the same as us and we are in a 2 bed central heated house, I also think now that paying more initially would have been better as it gives you more power to walk away as if you owe they'll expect you to pay it. I think we are almost up to date now and then I'll look around to see if anyone else is cheaper, back when we moved here SP were the cheapest but we did not cap.

Sorry to be O/T.

Scottish_Power

Can I just take this opportunity to clarify that Tracey the OP has definitely not been charged any cancellation fees as her transfers are taking place after 31 August.

I am looking into the reasons why she may have been given the impression the fees would apply, as this is definitely not the case.

Craig @ ScottishPower

DVardysShadow

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

Can I just take this opportunity to clarify that Tracey the OP has definitely not been charged any cancellation fees as her transfers are taking place after 31 August.

I am looking into the reasons why she may have been given the impression the fees would apply, as this is definitely not the case.

Craig @ ScottishPower

Thankyou for this update. Please do report back when you discover why she was given the impression that fees would apply.

5562

I had someone call me a few days ago aswell. He told me that i would be charged a fee for starting the transfer process before the 31st Aug even though my transfer will not complete until after this date.

I challenged him on this and told him that this was illegal and that i would claim these costs back. He backed down and just said thank you and goodbye.

I think some people in the retention department are giving incorrect information to keep the customers. Will see if i will be charged once the transfer is complete.

Dave_save

I too was told this by a SP rep, and I challenged his view that I'd be charged a penalty fee if my new supplier started the change process prior to the end of August. It's clear someone in SP is telling reps to scare customers into remaining with them. The truth is.... if you are still under contract with SP and they were still supplying you until the end of August, they cannot charge any exit penalty fees.