scottish power - claiming my credit back

th1982

Hi,

Again hoping someone can offer a bit of help with this - I'm currently a scottish power duel fuel customer on the online energy saver 4. Around the spring/beginning of summer I contacted Scottish power to request them the refund the rather hefty level of credit I had accrued with them over the winter (!) - guess my energy saving attempts have been fruitful - as it seemed i was paying for way way more than what i was using.

They didn't refund the money (over £100 even after putting my meter readings in), and instead reduced my monthly DD by £10, I contacted them again, as the price still seemed high especially given the amount of credit I have, and again all they did was lowed the monthly payment by about £6.

I am now considering swithcing suppliers as EDF are offering a much more competitive price based on my estimated annual useage (from the record I have on my online account page on SP) - only rivalled by NPower but from a lot fo reviews I've read in various places I think I'll avoid them, the saving isn't much more anyway. My concern however is that given what i've heard from various people about switching from SP (such as them still trying to charge after people have switched fromt hem etc) I really don't want to switch while they still have my credit, but so far I've not got far with gettint it back from them despite repeat requests.

The other issue is that I haven't much money anyway and it's a constant battle balancing my incomings and outgoings and so while £100 might not seem much to them, it's an awful lot to me, and I don't see why they should get to sit there with my money.

What am I best doing now, just requesting again, or is there something else I can do?

brewerdave

If you switch they will refund any final credits by cheque - you will find that they separate out the gas and elec., recalculating theoretical direct debits for the two supplies and as they may switch on different dates the amount owed/owing is a bit difficult to calculate in advance; I was pretty sure that I was in credit for both so I cancelled my Direct debit in advance but if you are in any doubt leave the DDs open as ,if they can't collect the amount owing they may screw up your switch away.
Also make sure that you have taken account of any penalty clauses for switching away.This could eat into any credit you think you are due.

Premier_2

th1982 wrote: »

... while £100 might not seem much to them, it's an awful lot to me, and I don't see why they should get to sit there with my money.

What am I best doing now, just requesting again, or is there something else I can do?

Have you considered paying quarterly on receipt of bill?
Naturally, by paying on receipt of bill, you won't be giving SP a penny more than you've actually consumed
SP will give a discount of £150 per year for dual fuel for prompt payment, (£50 for electric, £100 for gas) which can be guaranteed if you pay the quarterly bill by DD.
This discount is not always included in the comparison sites, (and where it is, it is not always at the correct amount) so check carefully.

th1982

i wasn't aware of that so thanks, as it is the reason i'm querying is because I'm actually looking to switch as there are other companies offering a much better deal for me as i'm a low G&E user.

I would rely on them refunding anything owed but I've heard a lot of bad stories about them screwing up with things, trying to take payments after switching, and then sending snotty letters about not DD being cancelled despite and about money owed when the reality is the person switched well before and owes them nothing.

It just concerns me that switching while they still have a hefty amount of my money in credit, could leave me short for quite some time while I argue that it is MY money and i was in credit with them after switching etc. I update my useage online regularly and when i come to switch i'd aim to update the meter reading daily is i can until it switches to help prevent me still owing them money. I'm just annoyed that more than once I've asked for my money back and each time they haven't returned it - I thought if i requested money back that was in credit they are legally obliged to return it to me since it is MY money?

jenlan

I'm currently a Scottish Power dual fuel user and managed to rack up a large £120 credit after last winter. I rang SP up end of March and asked for my £120 back - which I got without any fuss within 1 week of asking (they return the money via x2 cheques rather than direct debit). The only stipulation was that I had to give them an up to date meter reading at the time of asking for the refund (which seemed fair enough to me). They also revised down my monthly payment without my asking them, which I was very pleased about. It sounds like you should get back on the phone to them and insist on the money - after all, it is yours!!

sweetstudent

What may have happened and caused you a credit is your mpan may be receiving payments from another mpan with a prepayment meter thus causing a fictitious credit.

Scottish_Power

th1982 wrote: »

Hi,

Again hoping someone can offer a bit of help with this - I'm currently a scottish power duel fuel customer on the online energy saver 4. Around the spring/beginning of summer I contacted Scottish power to request them the refund the rather hefty level of credit I had accrued with them over the winter (!) - guess my energy saving attempts have been fruitful - as it seemed i was paying for way way more than what i was using.

They didn't refund the money (over £100 even after putting my meter readings in), and instead reduced my monthly DD by £10, I contacted them again, as the price still seemed high especially given the amount of credit I have, and again all they did was lowed the monthly payment by about £6.

I am now considering swithcing suppliers as EDF are offering a much more competitive price based on my estimated annual useage (from the record I have on my online account page on SP) - only rivalled by NPower but from a lot fo reviews I've read in various places I think I'll avoid them, the saving isn't much more anyway. My concern however is that given what i've heard from various people about switching from SP (such as them still trying to charge after people have switched fromt hem etc) I really don't want to switch while they still have my credit, but so far I've not got far with gettint it back from them despite repeat requests.

The other issue is that I haven't much money anyway and it's a constant battle balancing my incomings and outgoings and so while £100 might not seem much to them, it's an awful lot to me, and I don't see why they should get to sit there with my money.

What am I best doing now, just requesting again, or is there something else I can do?

Hi th1982

If you PM me with your account details, I'll be happy to have a look at your account for you.

I can confirm that you are entitled to request the refund of any credit on your account, as long as this credit is based on actual meter readings (this is done to ensure that we are only refunding you a true credit and not leaving your account in a potential arrears situation).

However, you should be aware that, as a DD customer, we try to set your monthly payment levels at an amount that will spread your projected annual costs throughout the year. Normally, this results in a credit building on your account over the summer months (when usage is normally at its lowest) to be used over the winter months. Barring any other factors, such as price changes or significant changes to your usage, this would help prevent massive fluctuations in your monthly payment amount.

If you choose to have the credit you have built up over the summer refunded, there is a good chance that your DD amount will be increased in order to cover your winter usage. Of course, I am unable to go into any greater detail without looking at your account but it is something for you to think about before you decide to have your credit refunded.

I look forward to hearing from you

Kind regards

Paul @ ScottishPower