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Scottish Power - Those Greedy BAS$%^&S
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money_saver12
Posts: 17 Forumite
in Energy
Apologies for the vulgar language..
but i have been frustrated with Scottish power..
They have been over charging me for almost a year. I'm on the economy 7 package
and they have conveniently calculated my total consumption at 1 rate (higher ofcourse!)
After about 2months of calling i gave up.. [still no corrected bill]
Now with winter approaching they have doubled my direct debit on the basis of an estimate reading., from 35 a month to 68 a month.
Do i have no say in how much i pay by direct debit. im just tired of dealing with this company now.
Unfortunately i stay in a block of flats so little of no scope of changing providers..
but i have been frustrated with Scottish power..
They have been over charging me for almost a year. I'm on the economy 7 package
and they have conveniently calculated my total consumption at 1 rate (higher ofcourse!)
After about 2months of calling i gave up.. [still no corrected bill]
Now with winter approaching they have doubled my direct debit on the basis of an estimate reading., from 35 a month to 68 a month.
Do i have no say in how much i pay by direct debit. im just tired of dealing with this company now.
Unfortunately i stay in a block of flats so little of no scope of changing providers..
0
Comments
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Firstly it is a Direct Debit Agreement. So Company and you have to agree on level of DD.
If you both can't agree, then you refuse to pay what they demand(tell them) However you will revert to paying Quarterly(normally) and lose the DD discount; or if they are not prepared to offer you credit, you get a pre-pay meter.
Staying in a block of flats does not stop you switching supplier.
You are far better to write(not phone) and send an email copy, as then you will have something on record.0 -
Hi money saver_12 - Are you saying in your post that Scot. Power are taking both the Day & Night readings from your Eco 7 metes and adding them together so everything is charged on the expensive day rate ? Not heard of this one before, but nothing surprises me.
Don't waste your time phoning or Emailing - You must write a letter headed Complaint, (By doing this you start you start an official process that Scot Power under the terms of their licence must reply to, and if you are unsatisfied with the reply, you can move the complaint up to the Industry Ombudsman)
Best of Luck0 -
Hi money saver_12 - Are you saying in your post that Scot. Power are taking both the Day & Night readings from your Eco 7 metes and adding them together so everything is charged on the expensive day rate ? Not heard of this one before, but nothing surprises me.
For people who used to be on an E7 tariff and reverted to a 'normal' 24/7 tariff, it is quite a common procedure to leave both meters in place and add both readings together.
That is exactly what happens with my account. If I use, say, 200kWh on E7 meter and 1,000kWh on day meter, I am simply charged for 1,200kWh as any person not on E7.
Could it be that the previous occupant to the OP had this arrangement?0 -
Scottish Power are out-and-out !!!!!!.I shot a vein in my neck and coughed up a Quaalude.
Lou Reed The Last Shot0 -
Moneysaver, if you have storage heaters, I would definitely recommend contacting SPower and asking them to change you on to the E7 tariff. You get 7 hours of cheaper electric on this tariff - hours vary (can be between 12.00 midnight until 7.00am, 1.00am - 8.00pm, 1.30pm - 8.30pm or even a split times such as 10.00pm-1.00 am and then 4.00am-7.00am. Also bear in mind that the hours don;t alter between GMT and BST. During the summer the meter switches over to the cheaper price an hour earlier than during winter).
If you don't have storage heaters, it may well be better to not be on an E7 tariff. You do lose 7 hours of cheap electricity but you pay more on the higher price with an E7 tariff, compared to if you paid the same unit price all the day. As you normally don;t use much electric during the night if you don't have storage heaters, you would be paying more overall on the E7 tariff.
Hope that makes things a bit clearer....
You also need to give SP your meter reading. You won't know if you are paying an accurate amount on the DD unless you do this. If you are not confident about reading the meter yourself, ask them to make an appointment to come and read it themselves. Personally, I don't like paying for utility bills by DD anyway because you are not in control of how much you pay. There are other ways of paying, other than DD, prepayment or quarterly. For example, you can pay over the internet each month or by using a payment card in a Paypoint outlet. I would say these payment methods are preferable as you control what is being paid and you can pay regularly rather than in one large lump sum (as you do if paying on receipt of a quarterly bill). You can even work out how much electric you use each week, fortnight or month and pay that amount, no more and no less.
Direct Debits sound good because you pay a slightly lower unit price. However, DDs lead to inaccurate instalment amounts because you pay in advance and can not anticipate exacly how much electric or gas will be used - you can only make an intelligent guess. Why do you think utility companies offer cheaper unit prices for paying by DD? Answer - because there is something in it for them.0 -
mattcanary wrote: »
Personally, I don't like paying for utility bills by DD anyway because you are not in control of how much you pay. There are other ways of paying, other than DD, prepayment or quarterly. For example, you can pay over the internet each month or by using a payment card in a Paypoint outlet. I would say these payment methods are preferable as you control what is being paid and you can pay regularly rather than in one large lump sum (as you do if paying on receipt of a quarterly bill). You can even work out how much electric you use each week, fortnight or month and pay that amount, no more and no less.
Direct Debits sound good because you pay a slightly lower unit price. However, DDs lead to inaccurate instalment amounts because you pay in advance and can not anticipate exacly how much electric or gas will be used - you can only make an intelligent guess. Why do you think utility companies offer cheaper unit prices for paying by DD? Answer - because there is something in it for them.
Of course 'there is something in it' for companies when their customers pay by DD. Guaranteed cash flow and lower administrative costs.
However you 'don't pay in advance' when paying by DD.
The majority of us prefer paying utilities by DD because you get an attractive discount that far outweighs any lost interest you would gain by paying quarterly in arrears.
Secondly it is just so much less hassle to pay by DD and you are in control of what you pay - in the sense that you can cancel the DD if you do not agree with their proposed DD figure.0 -
Ebico don't offer a discount for paying by DD so depends which supplier you are with. And for me Ebico are just about the cheapest supplier out there.
Also people are often compacent with DDs. They just assume that what they are paying by DD is covering their usage and don;t actually properly look at the statements (if indeed, they even get any regularly). You are certainly not in control of what you are pauying if you choose DD! Electric suppliers arbitrarily change the amount to suit their own ends and it is not unknown for them not to inform the customer in advance to this efffect. If you come off DD because of this, the supplier will press for the whole arrears (if any) to be paid off in one go.
I know a lot of people pay by this method but I feel it is often a false economy.0 -
mattcanary wrote: »Ebico don't offer a discount for paying by DD so depends which supplier you are with. And for me Ebico are just about the cheapest supplier out there.
Also people are often compacent with DDs. They just assume that what they are paying by DD is covering their usage and don;t actually properly look at the statements (if indeed, they even get any regularly). You are certainly not in control of what you are pauying if you choose DD! Electric suppliers arbitrarily change the amount to suit their own ends and it is not unknown for them not to inform the customer in advance to this efffect. If you come off DD because of this, the supplier will press for the whole arrears (if any) to be paid off in one go.
I know a lot of people pay by this method but I feel it is often a false economy.
If they don't inform customers in advance of any increase in the DD, then they have broken the terms of the DD Guarantee and your bank will refund immediately, without question.
If the DD is properly set, then there shouldn't be any large arrears.
Most people want to spread the pain!(bills) over the year and not be faced with large bills in the winter.
I can't see any way it is a 'false economy' as the DD discounts are normally way higher than paying by any other method.0 -
Thank you guys for all your responses.
I have been banging my head with them for a bill corrected since July..
I really dont want to be in credit with SPower. I cant imagine fighting to get my money back incase..
Id rather have them chase me for the bill.
Any one have the complaints address handy.0 -
Hi money_saver12
I'm sorry to hear that you have been experiencing some problems with your ScottishPower account.
If you would like to PM me your account details then I would be happy to investigate your concerns and get back to you.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Paul @ ScottishPower“Official Company Representative
I am the official company representative of Scottish Power. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0
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