Left Scottish Power but they created new DDs

lynne56

Hi

I am with rbs.

Colin Scottish Power are my current supplier! I have pricesure online nsc plan.

Lynne

Scottish_Power

Hi lynne56

The tariff you are on has a cancellation charge of £30.00 for electricity and £20.00 for gas, however, if you can make a saving of over £50 by changing your tariff, is it worth it? This is the choice you have.

I recommend you contact us to discuss alternative tariffs and how much you can protentially save. Ask for your annual consumption for gas and electricity in kWhs. Also request the unit rates for any potential new tariff. Once you have this information you can then compare this with the unit rates being offered by any other supplier.

Let me know if you have any other queries and I will try my best to help.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower

JohalaReewi

lynne56 wrote: »

I was thinking of switching from SP. I have only been with them 5 months, but I am a bit wary now. I pay by direct debit. Uswitch says I could save over 600 pounds by moving to edf. What do you think chaps?

If switching away from SP, don't cancel your DD until you have the final bills and you have definitely switched to the new provider. If you cancel the DD before the swicth SP will automatically put you on the standard (expensive) tarif for the rest of your contract.

As soon as SP know you are switching, they will disable your online account. Make sure you make a note of your SP account numbers (gas & electric). When online access is restored after the switch, you will have to type in your old SP account numbers to gain access. They will be on your final bills but you might not get them until 1 month after the switch.

After the switch, keep a close watch on your bank account for any extra SP DDs.

Be prepared for the late evening 'please dont go' phone call from SP. They will promise you great rates if you return but won't confirm in writing and you have to agree on the phone there and then. Bit like doorstep selling but on the phone.

£600 sounds like a big saving. Have you double checked it is correct? I switched to EDF who worked out to be only £80 cheaper over the year. And I got some cashback via topcashback to sweeten the deal.

JohalaReewi

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

Hi JohalaReewi

Thank you for confirming the details on the final gas account. The invoice should be received by you within 7 days from the date it is generated. Taking almost a month is not normal and this should be taken up with the Royal Mail to find out what caused the delay.

Not sure it was RM - see below

If the final gas statement is dated 18 December and your account is in credit then we have no reason to apply for a Direct Debit in December.

you mean 18 November

I am unsure what you mean by the Direct Debit being taken and grabbed back in 1 Dec. Does this show as a Direct Debit payment being taken and also being re-appplied to the account on the same day?

Yes. It is on the payment summary part of the final gas bill.

The Final Bill was made up to the 18 November. In the payment summary part of the bill, it shows the DD of the 1st December so the bill must have been printed by SP after this date. Can't really blame RM for this.

Premier_2

JohalaReewi wrote: »

...
The Final Bill was made up to the 18 November. In the payment summary part of the bill, it shows the DD of the 1st December so the bill must have been printed by SP after this date. Can't really blame RM for this.

The final bill was probably issued assuming the successful collection of the amount due 1 Dec.

This doesn't mean the bill was produced after this 1st Dec ... infact as you started this thread on 2nd December, it couldn't have been could it?

It sounds like you attempted to cancel the DDI before the final collection (transaction code 19). If you had done this with the Originator only, then the Originator would be able to collect that final payment, even using transaction code 18 (re-presentation) if it first failed first time despite the DDI having otherwise expired under transaction code 19.

However, you said you cancelled the DDI direct with your bank. In which case the Originator cannot collect a new DD payment unless you gave express permission for them to create a new DDI. I've informed you that your bank is entirely liable for any losses due to their failure to ensure that the Originator didn't hold the necessary approval to create a new DDI.

JohalaReewi

Premier wrote: »

The final bill was probably issued assuming the successful collection of the amount due 1 Dec.

No because it shows the refund of the payment as well. There is no way SP could have known in advance that I was going to reclaim the DD.

This doesn't mean the bill was produced after this 1st Dec ... infact as you started this thread on 2nd December, it couldn't have been could it?

Yes it could - I received this final acccount letter on the 18th December.
The SP Rep suggested it had been stuck in the post for a month.

It sounds like you attempted to cancel the DDI before the final collection (transaction code 19). If you had done this with the Originator only, then the Originator would be able to collect that final payment, even using transaction code 18 (re-presentation) if it first failed first time despite the DDI having otherwise expired under transaction code 19.

However, you said you cancelled the DDI direct with your bank. In which case the Originator cannot collect a new DD payment unless you gave express permission for them to create a new DDI. I've informed you that your bank is entirely liable for any losses due to their failure to ensure that the Originator didn't hold the necessary approval to create a new DDI.

There was no need for SP to take a December payment at all.
1. Both gas and electric had been switched and the final meter readings taken.
2. The account was £130 in credit after the final bills
3. I was no longer an SP customer and did not owe them anything

Anyway.
I have switched from SP.
I did get the DD back via the DD guarantee scheme.
Still waiting for SP to refund the money they owe.

Suggestions for SP.
Don't block online account access for customers who have decided to switch.
Don't take money via DD when none is owed and the account is closed.
Do send the refund cheque with the final account.