Removal of prepaymeter at new address

snagglepuss16

im currently with scottish power for gas and electric and have been for 2 years. i pay by direct debit. however we are due to move house at the end of the month and this house has a prepayment meter for electricity. i emailed scottish power to ask them how i go about removing it. they said it would be £50, fair enough then another deposit of £150 for security!!!!!!!!on their website it says this is to make sure your bills are covered,more say for someone who has actually been using the meter. i think this is unfair as they have my 2 year track record of direct debit payments. do you think i should ring them? the person may not have understood my email, or am i just being plain diddled?

Scottish_Power

Hi Snagglepuss,

If we had no knowledge of you before moving into your new home, then we would look to obtain a security deposit before agreeing to remove the prepayment meter. This would then be returned (or used to reduce any outstanding balance) after you had been with us for 12 months.

As you were a customer of ours for 2 years at your previous address you should make our advisors aware of this (quoting account numbers etc) and when they see we know who you are no security deposit will be necessary.

A fee of £50 is chargeable for carrying out the meter exchange in both circumstances however.

Hope this has been of help to you.

Craig @ ScottishPower

snagglepuss16

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

Hi Snagglepuss,

If we had no knowledge of you before moving into your new home, then we would look to obtain a security deposit before agreeing to remove the prepayment meter. This would then be returned (or used to reduce any outstanding balance) after you had been with us for 12 months.

As you were a customer of ours for 2 years at your previous address you should make our advisors aware of this (quoting account numbers etc) and when they see we know who you are no security deposit will be necessary.

A fee of £50 is chargeable for carrying out the meter exchange in both circumstances however.

Hope this has been of help to you.

Craig @ ScottishPower

so i wont be charged the £150 just to confirm, also the meter is not from scottish power, does that make a difference to removal?

Scottish_Power

Provided you can give our advisors details of your previous account at your previous address and that there were no payment issues during your time there, there will be no need for a security deposit Snagglepuss.

The £50 fee to actually carry out the physical changing of the meter is the same regardless of which part of the country you are in and therefore whichever distributor installed the meter in the first place.

Craig @ ScottishPower

snagglepuss16

now scottish power phones today saying they had read my email and they wont change the meter for 12 months because its rented accomodation, even though thats what we're in now. do they just not realise im a customer, which they should or is this the case for everyone?

Scottish_Power

snagglepuss16 wrote: »

now scottish power phones today saying they had read my email and they wont change the meter for 12 months because its rented accomodation, even though thats what we're in now. do they just not realise im a customer, which they should or is this the case for everyone?

Sorry snagglepuss, as you had not stated you were moving from rented to rented accomodation I assumed you were buying and selling properties.

In that case the advice you have received from our advisors is correct.

My apologies for making such an assumption.

Craig @ SP

snagglepuss16

i dont see how this is fair as we have a proven track record though. is there any way to work around it, like if we have a 12 month contract from landlord? i dont understand how it wasnt a problem when we moved into this address we took over account from landlord and no questions were asked. if we did own the home would we need to give them proof either way?

Scottish_Power

Snagglepuss,

Our credit management policy was changed recent years, hence why you did not experience this situation the last time you moved.

Unfortunately there is no work-around solution other than paying the security deposit, or keeping the meters in place for 12 months.

Sorry I am unable to be of more assistance to you personally on this occasion, but as always I am feeding these issues back to the business area responsible to make them fully aware of the impact our policies have on customers.

Craig @ SP

snagglepuss16

just to confirm if i agree to pay the deposit of £150 i can have it removed, regardless of not owning the home?sorry for all the questions

andybos

hi snagglepuss,maybe there are other suppliers who may charge only for meter swops but without the need for a security payment?

Scottish_Power

snagglepuss16 wrote: »

just to confirm if i agree to pay the deposit of £150 i can have it removed, regardless of not owning the home?sorry for all the questions

That's correct yes.

No apologies necessary;)

Craig @ SP